FROM FATHER, Wis. (WFRV) – Ukraine was in attendance Monday night for an in-person and online concert by the St. Norbert Community Band:
+ A dove of peace and the Ukrainian flag on the printed cover of the program.
+ The first work of the evening, the national anthem of this country.
+ The introduction to this work, a quote spoken by director Philip Klickman of the great American conductor/composer Leonard Bernstein: “It will be our response to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than never.”
And so the concert was well played by the group which is distinguished by its composition. A significant number of its musicians owe their lives to music, almost everyone has been playing “lifelong” and knows their way around artful group works and all have a connection to St. Norbert College.
The group was born 31 years ago, so the idea of providing an opportunity remained.
Monday’s concert went exploring.
Thoughts of war began the concert – the firm and powerful anthem followed by John Williams’ “1941” and its call to arms tune.
Caesar Giovanni’s next “Overture in B-flat” might well be titled something like “Building a Massive Skyscraper with Enormous Equipment”. He is muscular, lively and powerful. In this track and others, the band unleashed notes of POWER that are why most people in the audience sit at a distance at their shows… He can deliver.
Philip Klickman’s introduction to “Toccata” told the story of a style of composition from the 16and century that continued to be used because it’s so interesting. The thing is dramatic and funereal at the beginning then evolves towards the agility even the storm with passages circulated between players.
The great work of the evening was Vittorio Giannini’s “Symphony No. 3”. The band had some trouble mastering the tricky difficulties of the first movement; there are so many layers throughout this work. But then it all clicked together – the luscious, dark, slow second movement (the exposed oboe is beautiful), the hasty compromises of the third, and the driving gallop of the fourth with its explosive finale.
Intense, beautiful and dedicated were there.
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Program: “Spring concert”
+ Ukrainian national anthem – Mykhailo Verbytsky
+ “March of ‘1941’” – John Williams
+ “Overture in B flat” – Caesar Giovanni
+ “Toccatta” – in the style of Girolamo Frescobaldi, series of arrangements by Gaspar Cassado, Hans Kindler, Earl Slocum
+ “Symphony No. 3” – Vittorio Giannini
Energetic Allegro
Adagio
Allegretto
Allegro brilliantly
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Staff
Director: Philip Klickman
Flute: Lynn Liddle-Drewiske, Mary Tesch, Shelby VanRossum, Ashley Zipperer, Sue Zipperer
Oboe: Kimberly Hawkinson
Bassoon: Barb Wagner, Hannah Swan
Clarinet: Sandy Bader, Lisa Boldt, Ellie Brielmaier, Sophia Jimos, Wolfgang Vetter, Nicklas Waroff
Bass clarinet: Tracey Klickman
Alto Saxophone: Jay Allen, Taylor Jadin, Sue Tengowski
Tenor saxophone: Mark Wells
Baritone saxophone: Jeremiah McMahon
Trumpet: Nick Carncross, Steve DeVillers, Greg Sauve, Jamie Waroff, Cathye Wavrunek
Horn: Linda Cook, Evan Haas, Andrew Parks, Vicky Wilda
Trombone: Steven Bader, Brian Sauve, Kyle Siegrist
Bass trombone: Eric High
Euphonium: Andy Zipperer
Tuba: Steve Wilda
Percussion: Mahri Hodges, Lauren Pritzl, Kelsey Reed, Tom Tengowski, Joe Vetter, Marquise Weatherall, Steven Yungwirth
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THE PLACE: The 724-seat Byron L. Walter Theater includes a proscenium stage (flat facade). Its walls are made of textured concrete blocks laid in waves. The ceiling includes white acoustic clouds. Seating material and carpeting are the theater’s traditional red. The theater is located in the Abbot Pennings Fine Arts Hall of St. Norbert College in De Pere. It is the larger of the two theaters in the building, the core of which was constructed in 1955. In 1989, the Walter Theater was renovated to improve the lobby and interior aesthetics, adding seating and improving acoustics .
THE PERSON: Byron L. Walter (1877-1954) was a businessman. He ran Green Bay Hardware, Inc. until his retirement in 1953. Walter was a co-founder of Paper Converting Machine Co. and served for a time as president. After his death, the Byron L. Walter Family Trust was established and made the theater possible. The trust continues to make numerous contributions to community projects and institutions.