Admission Cost: FREE

Cormac Cannon, conductor
Ryan Gonzales, guest conductor

Three colors weave their way through a diverse program of classic and brand-new music for wind ensemble. The USC Wind Ensemble performs the world premiere of the wind ensemble version of Noir by USC School of Music faculty composer Fang Man. Black and white emerge through the piano keys of Charles Ives’ classic The Alcotts, the imagery of historical newsreels in William Schuman’s first work for band, and two marches by John Philip Sousa. The finale, contemporary American composer Michael Daugherty’s Red Cape Tango, is a musical depiction of a “dance of death,” following Superman’s fight to the death with the villain Doomsday.

Fang Man, Noir  - World Premiere of Wind Ensemble Version
Ives/Elkus, The Alcotts
Sousa, The Black Horse Troop
Sousa, The White Rose
Schuman, Newsreel in Five Shots
Daugherty/Spede, Red Cape Tango

Admission Cost: FREE

Jay Jacobs, conductor
Grant King, guest conductor

Celebrating the United States Semi quincentennial, the USC Symphonic Winds presents a concert of American visions. Marie Douglas celebrates the vision of African American women band directors and conductor through Ascension. Experience the view of America through the lens of Ansel Adams in the music and accompanying film from composer Steve Danyew. The shaped-note tradition of 19th century hymns in America inspires Donald Grantham’s Star Spangled Heavens, and classic works by Aaron Copland and John Wiliams round out our concert and inspirational salute to 250 years.

Program:
Douglas, Ascension
Copland, An Outdoor Overture
Danyew, This World Alive
Grantham, Star Spangled Heavens
Williams, The Cowboys

Admission Cost: FREE

Cormac Cannon, conductor
Ryan Gonzales, guest conductor
Philip Bush, piano

The USC Wind Ensemble takes flight! Emerging composer Noah Hudson-Camack’s exhilarating fanfare is contrasted with the haunting rising intervals of David Biedenbender’s Enigma. Adam Schoenberg’s Rise is a haunting an evocative journey, while Frank Ticheli’s new work Over the Moon is a joyous and imaginative trip into space. Faculty pianist Philip Bush takes center stage in Olivier Messiaen’s groundbreaking Oiseaux exotiques, based on bird calls from around the world.

Hudson-Camack, Fanfare and Flight
Biedenbender, Enigma
Schoenberg, Rise
Messiaen, Oiseaux exotiques
Ticheli, Over the Moon 

Admission Cost: Free.

Jay Jacobs, conductor
Ryan Gonzales, guest conductor
Clifford Leaman, Tenor Saxophone

The annual concert for the USC Band Clinic features USC School of Music saxophone professor Clifford Leaman on the consortium premiere of Catherine Likhuta’s newest concerto for tenor saxophone. In addition to Likhuta’s concerto, the Symphonic Winds bookend this concert with works by Andrew David Perkins and Andrew Boysen.

Program:
Perkins, Hold Fast
Likhuta, (Title Forthcoming)
Boysen, Joyride

Admission Cost: Free

Cormac Cannon, conductor
Andrew Boysen, Jr., guest conductor
David Warren, guest conductor

The annual concert for the USC Band Clinic features guest composer and conductor Andrew Boysen, Jr., Director of Bands at the University of New Hampshire. In addition to Boysen’s work, the Wind Ensemble performs works by Joan Tower as well as John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The concert closes with the soundtrack from the classic Star Wars trilogy (and perhaps a special encore!)

Tower/Stamp, Celebration Fanfare
Boysen, Phoenix
Lennon/McCartney, arr. Berg, Black Bird
Williams/Hunsberger, Star Wars Trilogy

Admission Cost: FREE

Cormac Cannon, conductor
Jay Jacobs, guest conductor
David Warren, guest conductor

The USC Wind Ensemble reflects on the first days of spring with a program of deep and meditative works. Ottorino Respighi wrote Huntingtower for band in 1932, while Breathe by Katahj Copley will receive its world premiere in the version for wind ensemble. The Octet for Wind Instruments came to Stravinsky in a dream and displays the virtuosity of our most gifted students. Associate Director of Bands Dr. Jay Jacobs leads the ensemble in a brand-new work by Haley Woodrow dedicated to renowned band director Doug Stotter. The concert concludes with Flourishes and Meditations on a Renaissance Theme, a musical tour de force by Michael Gandolfi.

Program:

Respighi, Huntingtower 
Copley/Cannon, Breathe; World Premiere of Wind Ensemble Version
Stravinsky, Octet for Wind Instruments
Woodrow, Dark River; Consortium Premiere
Gandolfi, Flourishes and Meditations on a Renaissance Theme