Brandeis Concert Series

Karl L. King (1891-1971), Hosts of Freedom March

edited by John P. Paynter

Frank Erickson (1923-1996),  Toccata For Band

Frank Ticheli (b.1958) Amazing Grace

Intermission

Gorgon Jacob (1895-1984) William Byrd Suite (Selected from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book)

1. The Earle of Oxford’s March
2. Pavana
6. The Bells

Vaclav Nelhybel (1919-1996) Festivo for Symphonic Band

Flutes

Lyra Gold
Amelia Lysakowski
Jahnvi Mundra

Oboes

Mollie Penn

Bassoon

Samuel Herman

Clarinets

Joe Disalvatore
Kimberly LaPointe
Gavin Liu
Brian Lucy
Daphne Pissios
Julie Souza

Bass Clarinet

Elizabeth Ford
Oren Weinstein

Alto Saxophones

Lily Fasciano
Yana Stoilova

Tenor Saxophone

Jesse Dulkin

Trumpets

Alex Arnott
Vytas Navickas
Sam Nielsen

French Horns

Nadeem Bakr
Tabitha Greenlees

Trombones

Esther Horwich
Bob Piankian

Euphonium

Cole MacEwen

Tuba

Michael Aloisi

String Bass

Andrew Hazerjian

Percussion

Kevin Burke
Kate Jansens
Johnathan Jena
Emerson Rever

Karl King's Hosts of Freedom is one of his most popular and tuneful marches, composed in late 1919 or early 1920. The title reflects the wave of patriotic sentiment in the United States following the end of World War I. Written while King was in Canton, Ohio, it came just before he moved to Fort Dodge, Iowa, to lead the municipal band.

King was an influential American bandmaster and composer known for his prolific output of band music, especially marches. King learned music through self-study before starting his career as a circus performer and conductor for major American circuses including Barnum & Bailey Circus. He composed "Barnum and Bailey's Favorite" in 1913 during his time with the
Barnum & Bailey Circus. His musical style during this time reflected the fast-paced atmosphere of the "big top" circus. In 1920, King left the circus to become the conductor of the Fort Dodge Municipal Band in Iowa, a position he held for over 50 years. His support for the community band movement led to the Iowa Band Law of 1921 becoming law. The law enabled municipalities to fund their own bands. King was dedicated to creating musical compositions which schools could perform in their band programs. The musical compositions "The Melody Shop" and "Hosts of Freedom" by King remain widely performed by bands throughout the world.

Heritage Brass Band. (2020, June 4). Karl L. King. Retrieved October 27, 2025,
from https://heritagebrassband.com/2020/06/04/karl-l-king/

King, K. L. (1920). Hosts of Freedom [Musical score]. C. L. Barnhouse Company.
Karl King Band. (n.d.). Karl King biography. Retrieved October 27, 2025, from http://www.karlking.us/kkingbio.htm

Wind Repertory Project. (n.d.). Hosts of Freedom. Retrieved October 27, 2025,
from https://www.windrep.org/Hosts_of_Freedom.

Toccata for Band was composed by Frank Erickson in 1957 and has since become a popular staple for high school and college bands. Reflecting the conventions of its namesake keyboard form, the piece emphasizes the
agility and technique of the performers. The composition presents two opposing musical elements through its lively rhythmic theme which appears first in clarinets and trumpets and its lyrical flowing melody heard in the solo horn.

Frank William Erickson was a prominent composer, conductor,
arranger and music educator. After his service in the Army Air Force during
World War II, he enrolled at the University of Southern California where he
earned his master’s degree in 1951. Erickson’s lasting impact on music
education stems largely from the high‑quality repertoire he crafted for
school bands. During the 1950s he wrote a handful of pieces, among them "Air for Band" "Balladair," and "Toccata for Band” which have since become fixtures in the high school, college and community band repertoire. Beyond his output as a composer, Erickson taught at UCLA and San Jose State University authored a series of books on band technique and eventually set
up his own publishing house. His legacy reflects a commitment to both performance and music education.

Alfred Music. (n.d.). Frank Erickson. Retrieved October 27, 2025, from https://www.alfred.com/search/products/?t=frank-erickson

HeBu Musikverlag. (n.d.). Frank Erickson: Composer / arranger. Retrieved October 27, 2025, from https://www.hebu-music.com/en/musician/frank-
erickson.1953/

Mosaic. (2021). Program Notes (MUAP 621 – Recital). Messiah University. Retrieved October 27, 2025, from
https://mosaic.messiah.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1080&context=conduct_st

Weller, T. (2023, March 14). Toccata for Band: Another Look. Retrieved October 27, 2025, from https://travisjweller.com/2023/03/14/toccata-for-
band-another-look/

Wind Repertory Project. (2024, June 14). Frank Erickson. Retrieved October
27, 2025, from https://www.windrep.org/Frank_Erickson

Composed in 1994, Frank Ticheli's setting of Amazing Grace is a moving and powerful arrangement of the cherished spiritual. The composer maintained the core elements of the original melody through his composition which presents itself with authentic straightforwardness and genuine sincerity. The piece develops from a quiet and chamber-like opening,
featuring a solo alto saxophone, into a climactic and full-voiced statement that swells with emotional weight. John Newton wrote the hymn "Amazing
Grace". He was a former slave trader who had a dramatic spiritual conversion at sea, and later became an Anglican priest and an important voice in the abolitionist movement. The hymn contains his personal account of being a "wretch like me" who received salvation through divine grace.

Frank Ticheli is a prolific American composer, conductor, and music educator whose works are performed worldwide by bands, orchestras, choirs, and chamber ensembles. A native of Monroe, Louisiana, Ticheli received his Bachelor of Music degree from Southern Methodist University before earning his Master's and Doctoral degrees in composition from the
University of Michigan. He served as the composer-in-residence for the Pacific Symphony from 1991 to 1998 and was a Professor of Composition at the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music from 1991 until his retirement in 2023. Many of Ticheli's compositions for concert band,

such as "Blue Shades" and "Symphony No. 2" have become standard repertoire and are known for their accessibility and emotional depth. His musical experience began with jazz and folk music and European modernism which formed the basis of his unique musical style. Ticheli is the recipient of numerous honors, including multiple awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the National Band Association/William D. Revelli Memorial Band Composition Contest.

Concordia University Irvine. (n.d.). Composer spotlight concert: Frank Ticheli. Retrieved October 27, 2025, from https://www.cui.edu/Portals/0/uploadedfiles/AcademicPrograms/Undergra
duate/Music/Ticheli-Concert-CWO-(1).pdf

Manhattan Beach Music. (n.d.). Amazing Grace by Frank Ticheli. Retrieved October 27, 2025, from
https://www.manhattanbeachmusic.com/html/amazing_grace.html

MacDowell. (n.d.). Frank Ticheli. Retrieved October 27, 2025, from https://www.macdowell.org/artists/frank-ticheli

Northshore Concert Band. (2022, February 4). Composer Frank Ticheli. https://northshoreband.org/blog/2022/2/4/composer-frank-ticheli

Ticheli, F. (1994). Amazing Grace [Musical score]. Manhattan Beach Music.

Wind Repertory Project. (2024, September 17). Frank Ticheli. Retrieved October 27, 2025, from https://www.windrep.org/Frank_Ticheli

Written in 1923, Gordon Jacob's William Byrd Suite is one of the most beloved pieces in the wind band repertoire, having been transcribed by the composer from his earlier orchestral setting. The work is based on six keyboard pieces from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book by the renowned Renaissance composer William Byrd (c. 1540–1623), commemorating the tercentenary of Byrd's death. Jacob remained faithful to Byrd's original
melodies and harmonies but freely transcribed the music for the unique timbres and dynamic range of the wind band. The composer achieves a masterful orchestration which brings Renaissance melodies back to life through his translation of virginal figurations into a diverse and vibrant musical landscape. The final movement "The Bells" demonstrates Jacob's masterful orchestral skills through its dramatic conclusion which ends with tubular bells producing a majestic contrapuntal effect.

Gordon Jacob was an English composer, arranger, and esteemed music educator. After surviving the trenches and being taken as a prisoner of war during World War I, he studied at the Royal College of Music, where his teachers included Ralph Vaughan Williams, Charles Villiers Stanford, and Adrian Boult. Jacob became a member of the RCM faculty in 1926 to teach composition and orchestration until his retirement in 1966 while guiding numerous British composers from his generation. His teaching career spanned many years while he composed more than 700 musical pieces for different musical groups including orchestras and chamber ensembles and brass and wind bands.

Boosey & Hawkes. (n.d.). Gordon Percival Septimus Jacob: Biography. Retrieved October 27, 2025, from
https://www.boosey.com/composer/Gordon%20Percival%20Septimus+Jaco
b?ttype=BIOGRAPHY

Eastman School of Music. (2023, January 25). Eastman Wind Orchestra [Concert program].
https://www.esm.rochester.edu/uploads/EWO_1-25-23_consecutive.pdf

Wise Music Classical. (n.d.). Gordon Jacob. Retrieved October 27, 2025, from https://www.wisemusicclassical.com/composer/770/Gordon-
Jacob/

Wind Repertory Project. (2024, October 23). William Byrd Suite. https://www.windrep.org/William_Byrd_Suite

Composed in 1968, Vaclav Nelhybel's Festivo is an energetic overture known for its "dramatic confrontation"between the brass and woodwind sections. Having emigrated to the United States just over a decade earlier, Nelhybel composed Festivo after being inspired by the rich sonorities and expanded instrumental possibilities of the American symphonic band. The musical work features strong rhythmic patterns and bright instrumental colors and wind and percussion elements which demonstrate modern (1968) compositional techniques.

Vaclav Nelhybel was born in Polanka, Czechoslovakia during 1919 before he moved to the United States to become a Czech-American composer, conductor, and music educator. He studied composition and conducting at the Prague Conservatory before moving to Switzerland in 1942 to escape Nazism. After working with Swiss National Radio and as a lecturer at the University of Fribourg, he became the first musical director of Radio Free Europe in Munich in 1950. Nelhybel immigrated to the United States in 1957, becoming an American citizen in 1962. The American
“symphonic band” inspired him to create original music for the ensemble which became popular in school music programs because of his vibrant and dramatic composition style. Nelhybel wrote over 600 compositions for a wide range of ensembles, including numerous works for wind band that are now staples of the repertoire, such as Trittico, Symphonic Requiem, and Festivo. He was a revered teacher and lecturer, spending his later years as composer-in-residence at the University of Scranton, which now houses his extensive collection of works.

University of Scranton. (n.d.). Vaclav Nelhybel biography. Performance Music. Retrieved October 27, 2025, from https://www.scranton.edu/academics/performance-music/nelhybel/bio.shtml

Wind Repertory Project. (2024, July 22). Vaclav Nelhybel. Retrieved October 27, 2025, from https://www.windrep.org/Vaclav_Nelhybel

Thomas A. Souza, a native of Taunton, Massachusetts, grew up immersed in music, often attending concerts by the Taunton City Band where his father played clarinet, singing in the choir with his mother, or listening to his grandfather play the organ upstairs. He currently serves as the Band Director at North Middlesex Regional High School in Townsend, Massachusetts. Previously, Mr. Souza spent eighteen years as the band director at Fairgrounds Middle School in Nashua, New Hampshire, where he also held the role of K-12 Music Coordinator. Since 2005, he has been the conductor and director of the Brandeis University Wind Ensemble. During the summer, Mr. Souza conducts the Townsend Military Band and teaches at the Mary Jo Leahey Symphonic Band Camp at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

Mr. Souza earned both his bachelor’s degree in Music
Education and Music Performance, and his master’s degree in Conducting from the University of Massachusetts Lowell. He is currently pursuing a doctorate in Music Education at William Carey University. His dedication to music education
has been recognized with several honors, including the Ron Kraus Outside the Profession Award from the Nashua Education Foundation, Teacher of the Year by Symphony New Hampshire, and recognition by SBO Magazine as one of the 50 top educators in the United States, representing New Hampshire. Mr. Souza is also active as a guest conductor and adjudicator throughout New England.