In November 1954, Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre sent an urgent appeal to Dmitri Shostakovich. A concert marking the anniversary of the Russian Revolution was days away, and the theater needed a celebratory piece to open it. Could he create one quickly? Almost overnight, Shostakovich tossed off his Festive Overture, perhaps the most exuberant work he ever composed.

The rousing piece tested Shostakovich again in 1962. After seeing Igor Stravinsky conduct, Shostakovich told his elder colleague that the podium tempted him, but “I don’t know how to not be afraid.” Nevertheless, when Shostakovich received an offer to conduct his overture and Cello Concerto a few months later, he agreed. Before the first rehearsal, his nerves were so frayed that he persuaded cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, the concert’s soloist, to help him polish off a half-liter of vodka. Even though the concert went over well, Shostakovich never conducted again.

There is little doubt of the impact of John Williams’ music on the entertainment world. His film music, including a more than twenty-year collaboration with director Steven Spielberg, has been an integral part of some of the film industry’s finest achievements. His unique talent and respected artistry have made these film scores a significant and vital part of our American culture. Spielberg and Williams came together in 2021 for the director’s highly anticipated biopic of Abraham Lincoln starring Daniel Day Lewis in the title role. For his original score to Lincoln, Williams drew on American musical influences from the Civil War era, combining them with his own distinctive style to bring to life the atmosphere of both the turbulent times surrounding the war and the warmth and humanity of the sixteenth president. This arrangement by Jay Bocook includes “The People’s House,” “The American Process,” and “With Malice Toward None,” which is named after the immortal words from Lincoln’s second inaugural address.

Karolju is a suite of original Christmas carols originally composed for choir and orchestra by American composer Christopher Rouse. The work was commissioned in 1989 by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra with support from the philanthropist Randolph Rothschild and the Barlow Endowment. It was completed in November 1990 and first performed on November 7, 1991 by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Chorus conducted by David Zinman.

After hearing the choral arrangement, Joe Frank, Jr. thought it would be a great piece for a wind band, but who could take on the daunting task of arranging such a complex and lengthy piece? Joe asked the PCB if they would commission the piece to be arranged by Buddy Mattei, the PCB’s own tenor saxophone player.  Buddy has been called upon many times to arrange and compose various pieces for the band.  Buddy is a graduate of the University of North Texas School of Music and has continued to teach and write and perform as a highly respected professional musician. He enjoyed a very successful twenty-one year career as a public school band director in Princeton (TX) and Allen (TX). Buddy and wife Marilyn (clarinet and music instructor then principal in Princeton ISD) had such a great impact on the music programs and the school district that in 2023 Mattei Middle School opened in the Princeton ISD. (Fun fact, PCB musicians Samantha Humphreys (flute) and Jason Tucker (French horn) are the band directors at Mattei Middle School.)

Carl Höhne was a German composer and cornet soloist. In addition to his solo works for brass, Höhne wrote a treatise on cornet performance. Slavische Fantasie (Slavonic Fantasy), a popular showpiece for trumpet/cornet, was written in 1899 for the cornet virtuoso Franz Werner. The work alternates between vocal lyricism and highly demanding technical passages for the soloist. Höhne is a bit of a “one-hit wonder,” as very little else is known about him as a musician and composer.

John Barnes Chance (1932-1972) was born in Texas, where he played percussion in high school. His early interest in music led him to the University of Texas at Austin, where he received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, studying composition with Clifton Williams. The early part of his career saw him playing timpani with the Austin Symphony, and later playing percussion with the Fourth and Eighth U.S. Army Bands during the Korean War. Upon his discharge, he received a grant from the Ford Foundation’s Young Composers Project, leading to his placement as resident composer in the Greensboro, North Carolina public schools. Blue Lake Overture was the first commission by Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp established in 1966 and located in West Michigan. The premiere performance was given in early 1971 by the Western Michigan University Wind Ensemble with the composer conducting.

Concertino, Op. 26, by Weber is one of the great works of the clarinetist’s repertoire. First performed on April 5, 1811, the concert was such a success that the composer was commissioned to write two more selections for the clarinet. These fine works brought even greater fame to Weber, already a highly respected composer, and established the clarinet as a leading instrument for the expression of Romantic music. The concertino unfolds in one movement in a theme and variations form. The work opens with a slow introduction and proceeds to a leisurely theme followed by several contrasting variations.

Yes, Halloween was last month, but this medley of favorite Christmas tunes sounds like it is still Halloween. Minor Alterations, (Christmas Through the Looking Glass) transposes each tune from major to minor keys, then disguised, layered and morphed even more, from the ominous “Deck the Halls” at the start to the final, frenzied “Nutcracker Suite” finale, each tune is lovingly twisted into something new and inventive.

A 1981 graduate of Plano Senior High, composer (and PCB favorite) David Lovrien has been a member of the Dallas Winds saxophone section since 1991 and also serves as the group’s staff arranger and webmaster. He has performed on 14 Dallas Winds recordings, including 3 Grammy-nominated CDs. David is a founding member of the Texas Saxophone Quartet, the first saxophone ensemble to win the prestigious Fischoff Chamber Music Competition in 1986. He can also be heard performing locally with “The Singapore Slingers” (1920’s retro-jazz orchestra) and “5 Second Rule” (Irish folk band).

Artie Shaw was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction.  Widely regarded as “one of jazz’s finest clarinetists,” Shaw led one of the most popular big bands in the late 1930s through the early 1940s. The Concerto for Clarinet was composed for clarinet and jazz orchestra.  Before his enlisted service in World War II, Shaw was tasked with providing music for the movie Second Chance featuring Fred Astaire. The film was a flop, but Shaw used one of his works from the soundtrack, “The Swing Concerto,” and reworked it into his “Concerto for Clarinet.”  The piece ends with a legendary altissimo C.

The PCB is honored and privileged to have Stockton Helbing join us on drums for this classic jazz number. As a composer, arranger, producer, bandleader, educator, music director, author, and entrepreneur, Stockton is always busy. He has released eight albums to date and two books, which are included in the percussion curriculum at the University of North Texas. Since 2016, Stockton has directed a jazz outreach program called the Helbing Jazz Initiative, and Stockton and his sextet have provided jazz masterclasses for thousands of elementary, middle, and high school students throughout the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. Stockton currently teaches drum set at the University of North Texas as an adjunct professor of music.

Stockton has performed and recorded with a wide range of artists including Maynard Ferguson, Doc Severinsen, Arturo Sandoval, the Maniacal 4, Erykah Badu, Jennifer Holiday, The Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Wayne Bergeron, and many more.