21 ST BIENNIAL FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSIC: CLOSING CONCERT
with the UNIVERSITY WIND ORCHESTRA
Rodney Dorsey, Conductor
and UNIVERSITY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Alexander Jiménez, Music Director and Conductor
Saturday, January 31, 2026
Seven-thirty in the Evening
Ruby Diamond Concert Hall
PROGRAM
University Wind Orchestra
Rodney Dorsey, conductor
Montréal at Night (2025)
Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Beloved Community? (2021) Keane Southard
Soul Album (2024)
I. Spun from the Elements
II. Quiet Storm
III. AUDACITY
Nick Nadal, conductor
INTERMISSION
University Symphony Orchestra
Alexander Jiménez, conductor
An Imperfectly Shaped Pearl (2025)
Guilherme Rodrigues, conductor
Noah Hudson-Camack
Devin Cholodenko
Tegoniá (2024)
Expectations (2024)
Thomas Roggio, conductor
Fountain of Youth (2019)
Please refrain from talking, entering, or exiting while performers are playing. Food and drink are prohibited in all concert halls. Please turn off cell phones and all other electronic devices. Please refrain from putting feet on seats and seat backs. Children who become disruptive should be taken out of the performance hall so they do not disturb the musicians and other audience members.
Joey Stempien
Nico Gutierrez
Hubert Howe
Julia Wolfe
Stempien: Montréal at Night
Named the winner of the 2025 Barbara Buehlman Prize for Composition, Montréal at Night is a tone poem for wind ensemble that captures the visceral contrasts and hidden rhythms of the city after dark. Drawing inspiration from personal impressions of Montréal, the piece unfolds in three distinct sections, beginning with a gritty, rock-inflected opening that pulses in a driving 3/4 meter. Metallic percussion—a brake drum, tam-tam, and cymbals—lend a sharp, industrial edge, evoking the clamor and chaos of Downtown. An austere middle section conjures the eerie quiet of wandering deserted streets in the deep hours of the night, as jazz-inspired melodic motifs drift through the ensemble like half-remembered thoughts. Once these fragments coalesce, the swinging, pops-inspired finale channels the bright neon lights and creative buzz of Place des Arts, celebrating the city’s cultural heartbeat and bringing the work to a close with jubilant color and rhythmic vitality.
Joey Stempien (b. 2004) hails from Rochester, NY, where he has established himself as an emerging young voice in jazz and contemporary composition. Having published his first original work for big band at age 17, his unique and visceral affinities for melody and soundscape continue to allure audiences wherever his music is heard. His compositions have been brought to life by the likes of the US Navy Commodores, Eastman Jazz Ensemble, and the US Army Field Band Jazz Ambassadors, and have been performed by acclaimed soloists including Carlos Eiene, Jon Hatamiya, and Bill Tiberio. He has been commissioned to write original works for school ensembles and consortiums and has taken on work as a video-game composer. He was named the winner of the Midwest Clinic’s 2025 Barbara Buehlman Prize in Composition for his wind ensemble work Montréal at Night.
Southard:
Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Beloved Community?
Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Beloved Community? is a Concertino for Orchestral Winds composed in the summer and fall of 2021 as part of my dissertation project for the PhD in composition at the Eastman School of Music. The piece is a musical portrayal of Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of Beloved Community—the ideal society we should all strive for where all people can achieve justice, fulfill our potential as human beings, and live together in peace. To show this idea of diversity, the ensemble is divided into eight different groups that each play in their own musical style. At first, they seem incompatible with each other, but eventually figure out how to work together to create something new and beautiful in one large, complex, and diverse Beloved Community while still maintaining their own unique identities. This work is dedicated to my son, Theron, that he may inherit a world that has moved closer to Beloved Community.
Described as “a hugely prolific musician with a wide variety of skill sets” (newmusicbuff. com), Keane Southard is a composer whose music has been proclaimed as “a terrific discovery” (Bandworld Magazine) and “highly-professional and well-orchestrated” (Portland Press Herald). His music features a wide range of styles and approaches from traditional to experimental, systematic to free, and sacred to secular. He has been a recipient of many awards, most recently a residency at the Copland House and winner of the St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra Third International Composer Competition (Lithuania). He has been a fellow at
the INK STILL WET composer/conductor workshop at the Grafenegg Festival (Austria), the Intimacy of Creativity (Hong Kong), and the Bennington Chamber Music Conference. In 2013, he was a Fulbright Scholar in Brazil and has also taught at Bennington College and Nazareth College. Keane earned his Ph.D. in composition from the Eastman School of Music.
Hudson-Camack: Soul Album
This piece was written as a response to a perceived lack of contemporary popular music representation on the concert stage and a venture in writing music that truly represented my musical history. The title Soul Album is more than a tongue-in-cheek pun. This piece is a collection of the souls that colored in my life, a sonic museum of influences and inspirations. In three movements loosely based upon Malcolm Arnold’s Prelude, Siciliano, and Rondo, the suite explores different Black American music genres that share a lineage with the blues and R&B. The work channels legendary funk, disco, neo-soul, and hip-hop acts among other genres in the diaspora. The drum set bridges the recording studio to the concert stage, acting as the glue that unites symphonic aesthetics with popular sentiment. From smooth grooves, to romantic crooning, to braggadocious beats, Soul Album captures a powerful fraction of the infinite excellence of Black music.
Noah Hudson-Camack is a composer who seeks to blend elements from disparate eras of Western art music, jazz, and popular music in his work. Believing in diversity as strength within art, the sewing together of different genre aesthetics is as much an objective in his music as developing strong motivic content, rich harmony, and complex rhythm. He explores these connections in his solo, chamber, jazz, and wind symphony works. Noah premiered Fanfare and Flight at the 2023 College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) Conference with the Vanderbilt Wind Symphony. He also was a finalist for the Austin Symphonic Band’s Young Composer Competition and a winner of Vanderbilt University’s Wind Symphony Call For Scores with his piece Quiet Storm.
Cholodenko: An Imperfectly Shaped Pearl
An Imperfectly Shaped Pearl is inspired by the structural principles of Baroque music which align with modes of pre-enlightenment thought. While the structures governing the classical era extend from rationality and logic, Baroque music continuously unfolds, taking the listener on a journey through various harmonic, textural, and temporal worlds. While classical tries to present conclusions about life in the form of musical themes, the structural processes of Baroque music are much more about exploration of life’s infinitude. In this piece I engaged with this sort of mentality--using a limited pallet of musical ideas as anchors (all taken from the opening trumpet melody) to spin out a piece that prioritizes an incessant forward motion, wandering through various harmonic landscapes.
As an artist, Devin Cholodenko is deeply interested in the introspection of time and memory and what that means to the experience of reality. Other inspirations come from history, nature, extreme experiences, mythology, and personal identity. His music has been performed, read, and recorded across the United States and internationally by chamber ensembles such as JACK Quartet, HUB New Music, Momenta Quartet, Switch Ensemble, Arx Duo, TEMPO Ensemble, and Bent Frequency. His Orchestral collaborations include The Lexington Symphony, The New England Philharmonic, the Columbia Civic Orchestra, and the Frost
Symphony Orchestra. His work has been featured as part of Composers Now, Red Note, June in Buffalo, Mizzou New Music Initiative, among other events and festivals. His work has earned recognition by the American Viola Society, The Art Music Society, NewEar, The Society of Composers, Creatives Rebuild New York and other organizations in various calls, competitions, and grants.
Gutierrez: Tegoniá
Teogonía is a symphonic poem based on a mural by Luis Alberto Acuña. Each section introduces one of the Chibcha Gods and the creation story of the Muisca people. The mural illustrates the five principal Gods of the creation story: Chiminigagua (all-powerful creator), Súe (God of the sun and light), Chía (Goddess of the moon), Chibchacum (God of thunder and storms), and Bochica (messenger of the Gods). The piece begins with darkness and the creation of the Earth followed by a lively dance representing Súe’s light and new life on Earth. The slower section depicts the moon and an eclipse which is the only time Chía and her husband (Súe) can be together. Concluding, Chibchacum brings a storm that floods the Earth ridding it of corruption and Bochica clears the storm by bringing a rainbow, paving the way for a new era. A tribute to Colombia, this piece infuses traditional dance rhythms like the bambuco as well as Latin percussion instruments in an orchestral setting.
Described as “a young musical promise” (La Vanguardia), Nico Gutierrez is a composer that consistently writes powerful, lush music for both multimedia and concert audiences. Born to Colombian parents, Nico embraces his heritage and infuses elements of his cultural upbringing into his music. His compositions have been performed by the Santa Fe Symphony, International Contemporary Ensemble, and Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá. An ambassador of Latin-American music, Nico has served as composer in residence for the Barcelona Festival of Song in 2014, 2019, and 2022 and has collaborated with opera companies like: Austin Opera, Fort Worth Opera, and Ópera de Colombia. Nico was also nominated for Best Overall Composition in the 2019 London Composition Awards and placed second for the Marion Brown Prize from Bowdoin College. His work can also be heard on several films and television series for A&E, CBS, HBO Max and companies like Huawei and Netflix.
Howe: Expectations
Expectations are things that we think will happen after a particular series of events, but which do not always turn out that way. In that case, we must reexamine the events to see if we can find a better explanation for what happened. In this piece, there are lots of places that will sound like other music you may have heard, but what follows is usually not what you would have expected. Reexamining these events will help you find a better understanding of this music. The piece was composed in the fall of 2024.
Hubert Howe was educated at Princeton University, where he studied with J. K. Randall, Godfrey Winham and Milton Babbitt. He was one of the first researchers in computer music, and Professor of Music at Queens College, where he taught from 1967 until 2011. He also taught at the Juilliard School from 1974 to 1994. He is currently Director of the New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival, and he was Executive Director of the New York Composers Circle from 2013 to 2024. Recordings of his music have been released by Capstone Records, Ravello Records, Ablaze Records and Centaur Records.
Piccolo
Moriah Emrich
Flute
Sam Malave
Kathryn Lang
Kendall Smith
Claire “Parky” Park
Oboe
Rebecca Keith
Jordan Miller
Sarah Ward (+ EH)
Bassoon
Hunter Fisher
Dakota Jeter
Elizabeth Novak (+ contra)
Clarinet
Harper Golden
Jenna Eschner
Charlotte MacDonald
Daniel Kim
Taylin Hamilton
Xavier Williams
Zhu Zhiyao
Hali Alex
Jariel Santiago
Reymon Contrera
University Wind Orchestra Personnel
Rodney Dorsey, Conductor
Bass Clarinet
Steven Higbee
Saxophone
Jack Blumer, alto
Kaiden Klingler, alto
Ash Stewart, tenor
Micah Mazzella, baritone
Trumpet
Noah Solomon
Sharavan Duvvuri
Jeremiah Gonalez
Avery Hoerman
Jordyn Myers
Will Rich
Horn
Gio Pereira
Eric On
Allison Hoffman
Jeason Lopez
Clare Ottesen
Trombone
Connor Altagen
Elijah van Camp-Goh
Landon Ellenberg
Bass Trombone
Maxwell Brower
Euphonium
Anthony Gonzalez
Adam Zierden
Tuba
Yoni Zegye
Colin Teague
String Bass
Jarobi Watts
Piano
Lujie Wang
Harp
Margaret Anne Altagen
Percussion
John “JJ” Baker
Caitlin Magennis
Waylon Hansel
Owen Montgomery
Jordan Brown
University Symphony Orchestra Personnel
Alexander Jiménez, Music Director and Conductor
Violin 1
Jean-Luc Cataquet Santaella‡
Francesca Puro
Masayoshi Arakawa
Bailey Bryant
Stacey Sharpe
Abigail Jennings
Keat Zhen Cheong
Elizabeth Milan
Ioana Popescu
Emily Palmer
Rachel Lawton
Ilayda Ilbas
Mari Stanton
Sobin Son
Violin 2
Javaxa Flores*
Mariana Reyes Parra
Will Purser
Victoria Joyce
Hayden Green
Carlos Cordero Mendez
Katherine Ng
Samuel Ovalle
Noah Johnson
Quinn French
Alexa Dinges
Christopher Wheaton
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Jeremy Hill*
Nathan Oyler
Harper Knopf
Emelia Ulrich
Maya Johnson
Abigayle Benoit
Jonathan Taylor
Yey Mulero Rivera
Spencer Schneider
Noel Medford
Hannah Jordan
Tyana McGann
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Jake Reisinger
Abbey Fernandez de Castro
Thu Vo
Sydney Spencer
Mitchell George
Noah Hays
Tia Stajkowski
Ryan Wolff
Natalie Taunton
Param Mehta
Jaden Sanzo
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Paris Lallis
Kent Rivera
Connor Oneacre
Caleb Duden
Christian Maldonado
Flute
Paige Douglas*
Shelby Werneth
Jordi Banitt
Oboe
Rebecca Johnson**
Gracee Myers**
Steven Stamer
Andrew Swift
English Horn
Steven Stamer
Clarinet
Jenna Eschner**
Daniel Kim**
Hali Alex
Bass Clarinet
Steven Higbee
Bassoon
Hannah Farmer**
Josie Whiteis**
Hunter Fisher
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Hunter Fisher
Horn
Kate Warren**
Gio Pereira**
Allison Hoffman
Eric On
Jeason Lopez
Trumpet
Noah Solomon*
Avery Hoerman
Johniel Nájera
William Rich
Trombone
Grant Keel*
Aryn Nester
Bass Trombone
Brent Creekmore
Tuba
Yoni Zegeye
Percussion and Timpani
Darci Wright
Gabby Overholt
Matthew Korloch
Timothy Thomas
Alex Aquino
Caleb Blakeslee
Harp
Noa Michaels
Keyboard Lujie Wang
Orchestra Manager Za’Kharia Cox
Orchestra Stage Manager
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Orchestra Librarians
Guilherme Rodrigues
Tom Roggio
Library Bowing Assistant
Victoria Joyce ‡ Concertmaster * Principal ** Co-Principal
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