Download Program Notes - Coronado Concert Band

Program Notes
The Hounds of Spring was commissioned in 1980 by the John L.
Forester Secondary School Symphonic Band of Windsor, Ontario. It is
a concert overture in one movement. Its inspiration comes from a
poem of the same title written in 1865 by 19th century English poet
Algernon Charles Swinburne. According to the composer, it is a
musical portrait of young love in springtime, both playful and
romantic in character.
Aaron Copland’s Outdoor Overture was composed in support of a
campaign in New York City known as “American Music for American
Youth.” Its goal was to commission the writing of new, significant
works for school music programs. Copland, a strong supporter of
music education, wrote both a band and orchestral version of this
piece, which premiered at the High School of Music and Art in 1938.
Australian Up-Country Tune was written for a cappella choir in 1928 by
Percy Grainger for a performance at his own wedding to Ella Viola
Strom at the Hollywood Bowl. It is an original ballad, which he
composed to sound like an Australian folk song. This arrangement by
Glenn Cliffe Bainum remains a standard in the concert band
repertoire. Its beautiful folk-like melody and intricate linear scoring
are classic Percy Grainger.
Antonin Dvorak wrote his Symphony No. 9 in E Minor Opus 95 “From
the New World” in 1892-93 during his tenure as the Director of the
National Conservatory of Music in New York. At the time, his
reputation as a symphonist was surpassed only by that of Brahms.
Encouraged to write a symphony that embodied “his experiences and
feelings in America,” Dvorak immersed himself in American music
and culture. He was particularly interested in African-American
spirituals. While he did not use any true American melodies in the
work, we hear a profound influence of the spiritual in the Finale.
Symphony No. 9 was an immediate hit with audiences both in Europe
and America. It remains one of the most popular in the symphonic
repertoire today.