Concert Bands of UC Davis
Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center
A unique concert band program that is built around three great works of 19th-century American Literature.
Campus Band | Steven Ilagan, student conductor
Timothy Mahr: Dig Down Deep
Mahr’s ecstatic concert opener showcases the sheer timbral versatility of the wind ensemble. The opening fanfare is stately and commanding, but unleashes bounds of aural kinetic energy that refuses to let up.
John Mackey: Sheltering Sky
Mackey’s folk-like ballad Sheltering Sky hearkens to the simple-yet-effective orchestrations of Percy Grainger or Gustav Holst, but incorporates dissonant harmonies that manifests in ways both intensely subtle and boldly dramatic.
Video Games Live – Part I
featuring Davis Chamber Choir
i. Halo Theme (from “Halo Suite”)
ii. Civilization IV
iii. Kingdom Hearts
A suite of three theme songs from landmark video games that defined the zeitgeist of the early 2000s. This performance of the suite features guest vocals from student-run vocal ensemble Davis Chamber Choir.
Concert Band | Pete Nowlen, Director
Ferde Grofé: Mississippi Suite (Twain)
Composer Ferde Grofé is sometimes called the ‘Norman Rockwell of Music.’ Famous for his Grand Canyon Suite, he did the original orchestrations for George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.
Tyler Grant: Resplendent Light (Thoreau’s Walden, Chap.10)
McBeth: Of Sailors and Whales
Of Sailors and Whales musically depicts characters from the Herman Melville classic, Moby Dick. Each movement will be preceded by a brief reading from the book describing the character delivered by a concert band member.
