THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY College of Music presents
University Wind Ensemble
Patrick Dunnigan, Conductor
Andy Dubbert, Graduate Associate Conductor
Drew Hardy-Moore, Graduate Associate Conductor
with special guests
Rodney Dorsey, Conductor
Marcy Stonikas, Soprano; Matt Hightower, Tuba
2026 Florida Tour
February 17 – Ruby Diamond Concert Hall (Tallahassee)
February 18 – Steinmetz Hall (Orlando)
February 19 – Riverview High School (Sarasota)
February 20 – CBDNA/USF Concert Hall (Tampa)
Tuesday, February 17, 2026 7:30 p.m. | Ruby Diamond Concert Hall
PROGRAM
Over The Moon (2023)
Ring to the Sky (2025)
— World Premiere — Commissioned by the Florida State University College of Music
Chorale Prelude: So Pure The Star, Op. 91 (1963)
Rodney Dorsey, conductor
Molly On The Shore (1907/1920)
Andy Dubbert, graduate associate conductor
Frank Ticheli (b. 1958)
Thomas Singletary (b. 1970)
Vincent Persichetti (b. 1958)
Percy Grainger (1882–1961) (ed. Mark Rogers)
The Meadowlands (2025)
Matt Hightower (b. 1987)
Matt Hightower, tuba
INTERMISSION
To Ensure An Enjoyable Concert Experience For All…
Please refrain from talking, entering, or exiting during performances. Food and drink are prohibited in all concert halls. Recording or broadcasting of the concert by any means, including the use of digital cameras, cell phones, or other devices is expressly forbidden. Please deactivate all portable electronic devices including watches, cell phones, pagers, hand-held gaming devices or other electronic equipment that may distract the audience or performers.
Recording Notice: This performance may be recorded. Please note that members of the audience may at times be included in this process. By attending this performance you consent to have your image or likeness appear in any live or recorded video or other transmission or reproduction made in conjunction to the performance.
Florida State University provides accommodations for persons with disabilities. Please notify the College of Music at (850) 644-3424 at least five working days prior to a musical event to request accommodation for disability or alternative program format.
Fanfare for the Common Man (1942)
Drew Hardy-Moore, graduate associate conductor
Aaron Copland (1900–1990)
The Space Coast (2025)
Jennifer Jolley I. Pre-Breathe (b. 1981)
II. Her Speed Left the Winds Behind III. Press Conference
Marcy Stonikas, soprano
— World Premiere — Commissioned by the Florida State University College of Music
Obscura (2026) Viet Cuong (b. 1990)
— World Premiere — Commissioned by the Florida State University College of Music
Slavonic Dance No. 1 (1878)
Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904) tr. Patrick Dunnigan
ABOUT THE CONDUCTORS
Patrick Dunnigan is Director of Bands and Professor of Music at the Florida State University College of Music, where he serves as conductor and music director of the University Wind Ensemble and oversees all aspects of the FSU band program. A nationally recognized conductor, clinician, and scholar, his work includes widely performed arrangements for concert band and numerous publications on conducting and instrumental music education, including the textbook Marching Band Techniques. Dunnigan has appeared as a guest conductor and presenter at major national and international conferences and is a former National President of the College Band Directors National Association.
Rodney Dorsey is Professor of Music at the Florida State University College of Music, where he conducts the FSU Wind Orchestra and leads the graduate wind conducting program. Prior to his appointment at Florida State, he held faculty positions at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and previously served on the faculties of the University of Oregon, University of Michigan, DePaul University, and Northwestern University, following earlier experience teaching in the public schools of Florida and Georgia. An active guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator, Dorsey has appeared at major national and international events and is an elected member of the American Bandmasters Association and current President of the Midwest Clinic.
ABOUT THE FEATURED SOLOISTS
An award-winning teacher, performer, and composer, Matt Hightower is Assistant Professor of Tuba and Euphonium at the Florida State University College of Music and principal tuba with the Tallahassee Symphony. In addition to his work at Florida State, he maintains an active career as a performer with ensembles around the world and as a composer and arranger for wind ensemble and marching band. His students have earned recognition at national and international competitions, including the Leonard Falcone and Macauley Chamber Music Competitions and International Tuba-Euphonium Association events.
The Meadowlands (2024) is a concerto for tuba and wind ensemble that traces the musical heritage of Kentucky from its earliest roots to contemporary influences. Inspired by the Iroquoian origin of the state’s name—often translated as “meadowland”—the work moves from reflections on Indigenous history through the evolution of bluegrass, culminating in an energetic “newgrass” style. Written as Hightower’s first full-scale work for wind ensemble, the piece represents a personal musical homecoming and was premiered under the direction of Patrick Dunnigan.
Marcy Stonikas is Associate Professor of Voice at the Florida State University College of Music and an internationally active dramatic soprano. She has performed with major opera houses and symphony orchestras across North America, Europe, and Australia, including the Metropolitan Opera, Seattle Opera, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and Opera Colorado. A prizewinner in the Gerda Lissner and George London Vocal Competitions, Stonikas holds degrees from Oberlin Conservatory and the Chicago College of Performing Arts.
NOTES ON THE PROGRAM
Singletary:
Ring to the Sky
Thomas Singletary is an active conductor, composer, clinician, and music educator. His music has been performed by the Dallas Winds, the Summit Brass, and many collegiate wind ensembles and marching bands across the nation. Singletary holds degrees in Music Education from Florida State University and the University of Illinois, and he serves on the Music Education faculty at TCU in Fort Worth, Texas.
Ring to the Sky (2025) is a high-energy work driven by a brisk tempo and steady pulse. Singletary weaves a lyrical theme through constantly shifting duple and triple meters, with alternating short and long accents creating a persistent hemiola groove. Supporting the theme is a “bell-like” fanfare motive that embodies the spirit of the title, ringing out with excitement and celebration.
Jolley: The Space Coast
Jennifer Jolley is a composer and conductor whose music engages political and social issues through bold, expressive sound worlds. Her works have been commissioned and performed internationally by ensembles such as the Dallas Winds, Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, and Vermont Symphony Orchestra, and have been presented in venues including Carnegie Hall. Jolley is an Associate Professor of Music Theory and Composition at Lehman College and was a Fulbright Scholar to Egypt in 2023.
The Space Coast (2025) is a three-movement work for wind ensemble and soprano that draws its text from interviews with astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch following the first-ever all-woman spacewalk. The movements— Pre-Breathe, Her Speed Left the Winds Behind, and Press Conference—trace shifting perspectives, with the soprano voice woven seamlessly into the ensemble’s wide palette of timbral colors. Jolley’s scoring carefully balances the soloist and ensemble, allowing the text to emerge clearly while the winds provide a constantly evolving sonic environment.
Cuong: Obscura
Viet Cuong is a composer known for imaginative, colorful works that blend whimsy and depth through inventive instrumental textures. His music has been commissioned and performed worldwide by ensembles including the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Dallas Winds, and leading university and military wind ensembles, with performances at venues such as Carnegie Hall and conferences including Midwest, WASBE, and CBDNA. Cuong is currently Composer-in-Residence with the Pacific Symphony and serves as Assistant Professor of Music Composition and Theory at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Obscura (2026) opens with a hypnotic woodwind groove shaped by constantly shifting meters, gradually joined by piano and percussion that add a bright, shimmering layer to the texture. Long, sustained brass tones—used sparingly—contrast the rhythmic motion of the ensemble, creating a sense of depth and shadow beneath the surface. The work concludes with a delicate, flickering exchange of sixteenth notes between piccolos, piano, and percussion, dimming into obscurity.
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University Wind Ensemble Personnel
Patrick Dunnigan, Music Director and Conductor
Drew Hardy-Moore and Andy Dubbert, Graduate Associate Conductors
Piccolo
Ian Guerrero Mundaray
Flute
Matthieu North
Alex Kotsonis
Sophie Palm
Hazel Reid
Oboe
Loanne Masson
Peter Arbogast (+EH)
Lee Howell
Lorin Zamer
Bassoon
Benjamin Kiely
Diego Crisostomo
Alex Rameau
Genesis Olmeda-Perez
Contrabassoon
Genesis Olmeda-Perez
E-Flat Clarinet
Althea Keren Medenilla
B-Flat Clarinet
Dawson Huynh
Eric Olmsted
Nicholas Mackley
Joseph Eckhart
Daniel Burrow
Ava Raposo
Althea Keren Medenilla
Rachael Malawey
Abby Varnadoe
Bass Clarinet
Caron Braggs
Alto Saxophone
Lincoln McMullen
Jennifer Fuentes
Tenor Saxophone
Steven Waterston
Baritone Saxophone
Caleb Wolf
Trumpet
Max McLaughlin
Nathan Reid
Grason Peterson
Alisyn Jones
Tyler Bennett
Katherine Brinkman
Horn
David Pinero
Andrew Keller
Davis Craddock
Thiago Manoel Costa
Clare Ottesen
Trombone
Mateo Buitrago
Calvin Fein
Benjamin Hill
Bass Trombone
Jacob Zussy
Euphonium
Brendan Dominique
Kris Stottlemire
Tuba
Teddy Marvel
Xavier Gauthier
Sophia Farfante
Percussion
Austin Pelella
Ian Guarraia
Matthew Korloch
Nick Bahr
Jessica Weinberg
Will McCoy
String Bass
Gavin Smith
Harp
Amber Harris
Piano
Cristian Dirkhising
FEB 17
TALLAHASSEE
RUBY DIAMOND
CONCERT HALL 7:30 PM
