BINGHAMTON YOUTH SYMPHONY

Barry G. Peters, Conductor

Fanfare Suite................................................................................................................... John Webber

III Fanfare and Passacaglia

John Williams Soundtrack Highlights ...................................................................... Arr. By Ted Ricketts

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Artificial Intelligence

The Patriot

March of the Toys from “Babes in Toyland”.....................................................................Victor Herbert

Shepherd’s Hey............................................................................................................ Percy Grainger

The Sleeping Beauty Suite.............................................................................. Peter Ilitch Tschaikowsky

Featuring the Ballet Arts Theatre of Endicott

SELECTED PROGRAM NOTES

Fanfare Suite, John Webber

The Binghamton Youth Symphony commissioned this piece to be written especially for the Winter 2005 concert.

John Webber is originally from England and received much of his musical training in the Marine Band when he was of high school age. Additionally, he attended Trinity College in London. He also attended several colleges and universities in the United States, including Catholic University where he received his doctoral degree.

At present, Mr. Webber resides near Ithaca where he continues to compose and run his own company, Webber Music. His compositions have been performed by orchestras in Europe as well as the United States. It should be noted this his compositions are not limited to orchestral. A complete listing can be round at www.webbermusic.com. You will find that he writes for various ensembles and soloists.

When Mr. Webber was asked to write this piece, there were several parameters he was asked to follow. The piece had to be for full orchestra which would feature all of the sections within the ensemble and it was to be something we could use to open a concert. Initially, there were three pieces submitted by the composer. Rather than choose just one of the pieces, we asked him to combine them in a suite to be used in this year's opening concert. The result is something that is exciting, varied in texture, and is challenging for every section within the orchestra.

When asked where he got the inspiration for the composition of the piece, Mr. Webber had this to say:

“To paraphrase a book I recently read: I don’t know, I’m too dumb to figure it out, all I have left is hope. This little suite was composed in the hope that today’s young people will be able to create a better world tomorrow. (Did we make a better world than our parents?) I wish to suggest, with this music, that acting with sincerity need not be the same as acting seriously.”

We hope you enjoy the piece and the performance.

Shepherd’s Hey, Percy Grainger

Percy Grainger is probably Australia’s leading composer. His music is based largely on Australian and British folk songs but at times can be very complicated and thought-provoking.

Grainger was interested in having his music performed by as many ensembles as possible, which explains pieces such as Shepherd’s Hey being scored for both band and orchestra.

If you have never heard the piece to be performed today, please don’t expect a dark, foreboding piece. Instead, you will hear a light, whimsical setting of an Australian folk song that ends with an exciting accelerando. You might also find yourself whistling or humming the melody for some time after the concert.