PROGRAM NOTES
Ocho Por Radio (1933/2025) (5’30”)
Silvestre Revueltas (1899-1940)
The work arose from a practical commission to create a short radio piece for an available group of eight performers: two violins, cello, double bass, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, and percussion. Rather than treating these limitations as obstacles, Revueltas embraced them, crafting a tightly focused chamber work that reflects his characteristic wit, rhythmic vitality, and inventive orchestration. With typical irony, the composer described the piece as “an algebraic equation with no possible solution,” inviting critics to judge its outcome.
Musically, Ocho Por Radio distills many hallmarks of Revueltas’s style into a compact form. A bold trumpet call opens the piece, followed by a violin melody that suggests popular Mexican idioms without directly quoting folk material. The ensuing discourse features sharp interjections in the winds, subtle percussion color, mestizo-style polyphony, and moments of polytonality. The single movement unfolds in three clear sections—fast, slow, fast—loosely recalling Baroque concerto form.
Premiered on October 13, 1933, at the Teatro Hidalgo in Mexico City, Ocho Por Radio exemplifies Revueltas’s restless energy and his ability to fuse humor, modernism, and national identity into a work of striking immediacy and enduring appeal. This arrangement was created by P. Justin White for the UGA Chamber Winds in Fall 2025.
Program Note by Justin White
Silvestre Revueltas stands as one of the most distinctive voices in twentieth-century Mexican music. His premature death invites inevitable speculation about the artistic paths he might have pursued, particularly in media music. Revueltas demonstrated a remarkable affinity for new technologies, composing influential film scores such as Redes and La noche de los mayas, and he also engaged with the then-emerging medium of radio. Ocho por radio (1933), translated as Eight for Radio or Eight Musicians Broadcasting, remains a vivid example of this engagement.
Figures in the Garden (1991)
(19’)
Jonathan Dove (b.1959)
Figures in the Garden was composed for the 1991 Glyndebourne Mozart bicentenary celebrations. Glyndebourne commissioned five composers to write wind serenades. Each serenade was to be musically connected, in some way, with one of Mozart’s operas and was to be played outdoors before the performance of that opera. I was asked to compose a piece to precede The Marriage of Figaro. Although Mozart’s comic masterpiece needs no introduction, musically or otherwise, I was attracted by the aptness of playing a serenade in the garden before performances of an opera whose last act is set in a garden, and which itself includes a number of serenades: Voi che spaete, ‘Deh veni, non tardar, and Suzanna and the countess’ letter-writing duet Canzonetta su sull ‘aria’
I had the idea that, with all the performances of The Marriage of Figaro that had taken place at Glyndebourne, sounds from the opera had in some way impregnated the garden: snatches of recitative, musical figures, instrumental colors. I didn’t want to overwork Mozart’s tunes -- it
would be disastrous if the audience were tired of them before the opera had even begun -- but each movement of Figures in the Gardens developed from a musical idea in the opera. Here and there an alternative scenario emerges: Suzanna sings her aria in the rain (because it’s an English garden), and Figaro and Suzanna finally enjoy a moment of shared tranquility that is denied them in the opera itself.
Program Note by the Composer
Jonathan Dove is a British composer renowned for his operas, choral music, and works that bridge music, theatre, and architecture. He achieved major acclaim with the comic opera Flight, premiered at Glyndebourne in 1998 and later won the Helpmann Award following its Australian premiere. Dove has written more than a dozen operas, including Siren Song, L’Augellino Belverde, Tobias and the Angel, The Enchanted Pig, and several television operas such as When She Died… and Man on the Moon. His output also includes operas for period instruments, widely performed choral works such as The Passing of the Year, The Three Kings, and The Far Theatricals of Day, and numerous song cycles. Instrumental works include concertos, chamber music, orchestral suites, and dramatic cantatas. Coming from a family of architects, Dove has frequently engaged with architectural themes, composing music for the Millennium Dome and Bridge and creating Work in Progress for the opening of The Sage Gateshead.
Symphony Basquiat (2023) (15’)
Kevin Day (b.1996)
I’ve been inspired by Basquiat’s work for many years and was enraptured by its visceral nature, authenticity, ferocity, and imaginative depictions of his state of mind. I had the chance to see his work in-person at the King’s Pleasure exhibit that took place in Los Angeles this summer and was even more struck by his level of detail, as well as learning more about who he was as a person from video interviews with his family and friends. The four movements of the chamber symphony correspond to five collages by Basquiat.
This work was commissioned by the University of Miami Frost School of Music for Dr. Robert Carnochan and the Frost Wind Ensemble, in commemoration of the grand opening of The Knight Center for Music Innovation in Miami, Florida.
Program Note by the Composer
Kevin Day is an award-winning, multi-disciplinary composer, jazz pianist and conductor based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Internationally acclaimed as one of the world’s leading musical voices, Day’s work is known as a vibrant exploration of diverse musical traditions from contemporary classical, cinematic, jazz, R&B, Soul and more. A unique voice in the world of classical music, Day takes inspiration from a broad range of sources, including romanticism, late 20th century music, jazz fusion and gospel. Across all areas, his work explores the complex interplay of rhythm, texture and melody across genres. Day is also a graduate of the Hugh Hodgson School of Music, having earned a Master of Music degree in Composition.
Flute
Blair Carrier
Emily Elmore
Gilbert Villagrana, Assistant Professor of Trumpet
R. Scott Mullen, Doctoral Conducting Associate
Jordan M. Fansler, Doctoral Conducting Associate
Derik J. Wright, Doctoral Conducting Associate
Marcus Morris, Assistant Director of Athletic Bands
Jadyn Hairston
Alexia Toma
Oboe
Triston Fielding
Anisa Herbert
Marcus Lewis
Michelle Moeller
Amanda Withrow
Clarinet
Tim Fitzgerald
Ryan Hanling
Riley Hartman
Eleanor Love
Jonathan Mack
Yash Mahadkar
Avery Pate
Ruwien Su
Caleb Weber
Bassoon
Jazmyn Barajas-Trujillo
J.T. Holdbrooks
Caleb Jackson
Saxophone
Manya Das
Aidan Eclavea
Bridget Sheridan
Yun Qu Tan
Jon Erik Tripp
Horn
Daniel Alford
Jonah Hammett
Patrick Malone
Ian Welch
Josh Wood
Trumpet
Will Cuneo
Palmer Hartley
Tim Jackson
Toby Johnson
Jack Rozza
Antonio Urias
James Vaughn
Trombone
Nichole Botsoe
Thomas Pajares
Jose Vasquez
Ian Wolff
Bass Trombone
Victor Guevara
Jonah Madari
Euphonium
Jared Barry
Andrew Haynes
Tuba
Jack Gordon
Jack Neja
String Bass
Peyton Lightcap
Piano
Eva Panagou
Percussion
Henry Campbell
Thomas Huff
Carrington Lauck
Jorjana Marin
Grayson Pruitt
Angelina Vasquez
Angelica Wright
*Members of the University of Georgia Wind Ensemble are listed alphabetically to acknowledge each performer’s unique contribution to our shared artistic endeavors.
Gilbert P. Villagrana, a conductor, trumpeter, and educator from El Paso, TX, currently serves as Limited-Term Assistant Professor of Trumpet and Conductor of the British Brass Band at the University of Georgia. He is also pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting at UGA, where he previously served as a Doctoral Conducting Associate with the UGA Bands. He earned his Master of Music in Trumpet Performance under Philip A. Smith at UGA and his Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of North Texas.
Prior to his graduate studies, Villagrana served in the United States Marine Corps with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Band at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, NC, performing as a trumpet instrumentalist, principal trumpet, brass quintet leader, and assistant enlisted conductor. He is also the first-call substitute trumpet with the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra and has performed with ensembles including the Quantico Marine Corps Band and the UGA Symphony Orchestra, in addition to being a multi-year finalist in the National Trumpet Competition.
As an educator, Mr. Villagrana has taught conducting at UGA, contributed to the Community Music School, and worked with young musicians through UGA’s Summer Music Camps. He has served on staff with the Redcoat Marching Band, where he helped shape both musical and visual instruction, and has maintained a private teaching studio while working as a clinician across Georgia, Texas, and the Carolinas. Since 2017, he has been a brass technician with the Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps, contributing to multiple Jim Ott Brass Caption Awards while mentoring hundreds of performers. His primary teachers include Philip A. Smith, Christopher Martin, Allen Vizzutti, Jason Bergman, and John Holt.
Marcus Morris is the Assistant Director of Athletic Bands. Before his appointment, he served as the Assistant Director of Bands at Dorman High School in South Carolina. During his tenure, he codirected the Wind Ensemble and the award-winning Marching Cavaliers. Dr. Morris conducted the Symphonic Band and contributed to the instructional staff for the Scholastic World Class Dorman Indoor Percussion.
A native of Spartanburg, South Carolina, Marcus holds a Bachelor of Music Education and a Master of Music Education (K-12) from Winthrop University. He also earned an Ed.S in Administration and Supervision and a Doctorate in Professional Leadership with an emphasis in Music Education from Converse University, where he was the inaugural President of the Graduate Student Association. Marcus is active as an adjudicator, presenter, performer, and clinician. He has presented numerous clinics and keynote addresses at music conferences, state-level arts conferences, and school district professional development in-services. In November 2019, he presented a featured session at the National Association for Music Educators Conference in Orlando. He has also presented at music education conferences nationwide, most notably the 2022 Midwest Conference in Chicago.
Marcushas collaborated with several collegiate institutions including the University of South Carolina, Clemson University, Western Carolina University, Converse University, Limestone University, and McNeese State University. He has conducted honor bands in several states, including North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida, and has received multiple citations of excellence, and leadership awards, and was recently a Grammy Music Educator of the Year Semi-Finalist.
Jordan M. Fansler is a conductor and music educator, pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Georgia. Fansler is a Doctoral Conducting Associate for UGA Bands, serving duties with the Wind Ensemble, Wind Symphony, Symphonic Band, and the Redcoat Marching Band. He is a recipient of the University of Georgia Presidential Graduate Fellowship.
Prior to UGA, Jordan was a Graduate Assistant at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma. He was previously Director of Bands at Harold L. Richards High School in Oak Lawn, Illinois. Fansler earned his B.M.E. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and holds a M.M. in Wind Conducting from Oklahoma State University.
He considers his main musical influences Nicholas Enrico Williams, Bradley Genevro, Mike Fansler, Jack A. Eaddy Jr., Michael C. Robinson, Steve Peterson, Beth Peterson, and Professor Barry Houser. His professional affiliations include the National Association for Music Education, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity.
Derik J. Wright is a conductor, arranger/composer, and music educator, pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Georgia. Derik is a Doctoral Conducting Associate for UGA Bands, serving duties with the Wind Ensemble, Wind Symphony, Symphonic Band, and the Redcoat Marching Band.
Prior to UGA, Derik was a Graduate Assistant at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, where he earned the Master of Music in Wind Conducting. Derik serves as an arranger for the “Spartan Legion” Marching Band at Norfolk State University in Norfolk, Virginia where he also earned a Master of Music in composition & theory and a bachelor’s degree in music media. Derik was previously the band director at I.C. Norcom High School in Portsmouth, Virginia, and has maintained activities as an educator and clinician with band programs in Virginia and Maryland.
Derik’s musical career can be attributed to his influential mentors such as Dr. Nicholas E. Williams, Dr. Jack A. Eaddy, Jr., Dr. William L. Lake, Jr., Dr. Anne Neikirk, Prof. William H. Beathea, Prof. Stephanie K. Sanders, Prof. Paul I. Adams, and Mr. Walter Harley. His professional affiliations include the National Association for Music Education, the Virginia Band and Orchestra Directors Association, the Society of Composers, Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.
R. Scott Mullen is a conductor and music educator, pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Georgia. Scott is a Doctoral Conducting Associate for UGA Bands, serving duties with the Wind Ensemble, Wind Symphony, Symphonic Band, and the Redcoat Marching Band. At the University of Georgia, Scott is the recipient of a Graduate School Research Fellowship and the Clementi Holder Student Development Fund. In 2025, his recording of Vital Sines by Viet Cuong with the UGA Wind Ensemble and the GRAMMY Award-winning chamber ensemble 8th Blackbird was selected for multiple broadcasts on NPR’s Performance Today.
Prior to UGA, Scott was a Graduate Assistant at the University of Central Florida, in Orlando, Florida. Scott was previously a teacher in Orange County Public Schools, and has maintained activities as
an educator and clinician with band programs in Florida and Georgia. His professional affiliations include the National Association for Music Education, the Georgia Bandmasters Association, The Florida Bandmasters Association, The College Band Directors National Association, Kappa Kappa Psi Band Fraternity, and Pi Kappa Lambda Music Honor Society.
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA BANDS GRADUATE STAFF
Jordan M. Fansler, Doctoral Conducting Associate
R. Scott Mullen, Doctoral Conducting Associate
Derik J. Wright, Doctoral Conducting Associate
Joseph Johnson, Graduate Assistant
Michelle Moeller, Graduate Assistant
David MacPherson, Graduate Assistant
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THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA HUGH HODGSON SCHOOL OF MUSIC.
TUES 9/9
THURS 1/29
THURSDAY SCHOLARSHIP SERIES
7:30 p.m.
7:30 p.m.
Hodgson Concert Hall
$20, Adult
$3, Student
Additional fees for online purchases apply.
CONCERTO COMPETITION WINNERS & UGA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
The Concerto Competition winners featured in this concert are:
Trey Floyd, tenor
P.I. Tchaikovsky: Lenski’s Aria from Eugene Onegin Daniel Johnson, bassoon
F. Mignone: Concertino for Bassoon and Chamber Orchestra
Hoberdan Peno, guitar
M. Ponce: Concierto del Sur I. Allegro Moderato
Luis Umbelino Da Silva, clarinet
W.A. Mozart: Concerto in A major for Clarinet and Orchestra
Tzu-Wei Wang, piano
S. Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No.3 in C major, Op.26, I. Andante - Allegro
Josh Wood, horn
F. Hidas: Concerto per Corno No I I. Maesoto, Vivace
FRI 1/30
7:30 p.m.
Ramsey Concert Hall
FREE CONCERT
GUEST ARTIST RECITAL: ROBERT McDONALD, piano
Pianist Robert McDonald has toured extensively as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia, and South America.
TUES 9/9
MON 2/9
7:30 p.m.
7:30 p.m.
Hodgson Concert Hall
$18, Adult
$6, Student
Additional fees for online purchases apply.
SUBAERIAL COLLECTIVE AND WOODWIND DUOS
Subaerial Collective is a trio of UGA faculty composer-performers: Adrian Childs, piano/keyboards; Peter Lane, bassoon/contrabassoon and technology; and Emily Koh, double bass/electric bass. Formed in September 2018,
Subaerial Collective champions works that expand the limits of traditional concert boundaries through the use of technology, reinterpretation of performance practice or re-contextualization of the concert experience. The program also includes woodwind duos featuring Angela Jones-Reus, flute; Amy Pollard, bassoon; and Brandon Quarles, saxophone.
FRI 2/13
7:30 p.m.
Ramsey Concert Hall
FREE CONCERT
UGA NEW MUSIC FESTIVAL
This event features new compostions from the UGA Compostion and Music Theory department.
