Biographical information proved by The Wind Repertory Project, Program note provided by the publisher​​

 Gustav Holst (1874-1934, London) was a British composer and educator. Holst learned piano at an early age, but was stricken with a nerve condition that affected the movement of his right hand, forcing him to give up the piano for the trombone. He received his degrees from The Royal College of Music in London, where he met fellow composer (and lifelong friend) Ralph Vaughan Williams and became interested in Hindu mysticism and spirituality, interests that would later shape the course of his compositional output. In 1901 Holst married Isobel Harrison, who would remain with him the remainder of his life. Before Holst became a well-known composer, he relied for income from playing the trombone in the Carl Rosa Opera Company and in the White Viennese Band, a popular orchestra specializing in "light music." In 1905, Holst became director of music at the St Paul's Girls' School in Hammersmith, London, and in 1907, he also became director of music at Morley College, retaining both positions until his death in 1934. Holst's compositions for wind band, although only a small portion of his total output, have made him a cornerstone of the genre.

The Second Suite consists of four movements, all based on specific English folk songs. 

Movement I: March: Morris Dance, Swansea Town, Claudy Banks. "The "March" of the Second Suite begins with a simple-five note motif between the low and high instruments of the band. The first folk tune is heard in the form of a traditional British brass band march using the Morris-dance tune "Glorishears". After a brief climax, the second strain begins with a euphonium solo playing the second folk tune in the suite, Swansea Town. The theme is repeated by the full band before the trio. For the trio, Holst modulates to the unconventional sub-dominant minor of B-flat minor and changes the time signature to 6/8, thereby changing the meter. (Usually one would modulate to sub-dominant major in traditional march form. While Sousa, reputably the "king of marches", would sometimes change time signatures for the trio (most notably in El Capitan), it was not commonplace.) The third theme, called Claudy Banks, is heard in a low woodwind soli, as is standard march orchestration. Then the first strain is repeated da capo.

Movement II: Song Without Words, 'I'll Love My Love'. Holst places the fourth folk song, I'll Love My Love, in stark contrast to the first movement. The movement begins with a chord from French horns and moves into a solo of clarinet with oboe over a flowing accompaniment in F Dorian. The solo is then repeated by the trumpet, forming an arc of intensity. The climax of the piece is a fermata in measure 32, followed by a trumpet pickup into the final measures of the piece.

Movement III: Song of the Blacksmith. Again, Holst contrasts the slow second movement to the rather upbeat third movement which features the folk song A Blacksmith Courted Me. The brass section plays in a pointillistic style depicting a later Holst style. There are many time signature changes (4/4 to 3/4) making the movement increasingly difficult because the brass section has all of their accompaniment on the up-beats of each measure. The upper-woodwinds and horns join on the melody around the body of the piece, and are accompanied with the sound of a blacksmith tempering metal with an anvil called for in the score. The final D major chord has a glorious, heavenly sound, which opens the way to the final movement. This chord works so effectively perhaps because it is unexpected: the entire movement is in F major when the music suddenly moves to the major of the relative minor.

Movement IV: Fantasia on the Dargason. This movement is not based on any folk songs, but rather has two tunes from Playford's Dancing Master of 1651. The finale of the suite opens with an alto saxophone solo based on the folk tune Dargason, a 16th century English dance tune included in the first edition of The Dancing Master. The fantasia continues through several variations encompassing the full capabilities of the band. The final folk tune, Greensleeves, is cleverly woven into the fantasia by the use of hemiolas, with Dargason being in 6/8 and Greensleeves being in 3/4. At the climax of the movement, the two competing themes are placed in competing sections. As the movement dies down, a tuba and piccolo duet forms a call back to the beginning of the suite with the competition of low and high registers.

The name 'dargason' may perhaps come from an Irish legend that tells of a monster resembling a large bear (although much of the description of the creature has been lost over time). The dargason tormented the Irish country side. During the Irish uprising of the late 18th Century, the dargason is supposed to have attacked a British camp, killing many soldiers. This tale aside, 'dargason' is more likely derived from an Anglo-Saxon word for dwarf or fairy, and the tune has been considered English (or Welsh) since at least the 16th century. It is also known as 'Sedony' (or Sedany) or 'Welsh Sedony'.

Holst later rewrote and re-scored this movement for string orchestra, as the final movement of his St Paul's Suite (1912), which he wrote for his music students at St Paul's Girls' School.

Program Note written by the composer

Jodie Blackshaw (b. 1971) is a proud regional Australian who grew up in the south-east of rural Australia (Wiradjuri) and formed a very personal relationship with music early in life through the creative application of her imagination to musical colours and movement. Blackshaw has won multiple awards for her compositions and proudly composes music for all age groups and capabilities. In 2020 she completed her PhD in Composition studying with Carl Vine and later, Australian indigenous composer Dr. Christopher Sainsbury. Her music has been featured as test pieces in state and national competitions, appears on numerous state curriculum repertoire lists and has been performed by numerous school and professional ensembles throughout Australasia, Europe and the Americas.

Blackshaw has thrice presented at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago (2012, 2014, 2018) as well as conducted residencies and/or conference presentations in the Middle East, Hong Kong, Vietnam, The Netherlands, throughout Canada, Australia and the United States. Blackshaw is passionate about exploring and developing the sound of wind band music and believes that programming and performing composers with a different “sound world” is key. To that end, she founded the Female Band Composer database in 2017, which is now cited as a tool for repertoire selection by several leading educational institutions, curriculum programs and wind band performance conferences including The Midwest Clinic.

Peace Dancer is inspired by the First Nations text of the same name by Roy Henry Vickers (Squamish Nation). 

In the words of the author:

The story Peace Dancer is about a song and dance that is thousands of years old originating from the time of the flood. Songs have been composed for different Chiefs up and down the Pacific Northwest coast. The Chief who is chosen to do this sacred dance is recognized as a healer in each community, and the songs and dances are a reminder of the great flood and how the people lost their way and their love for all things in creation. During the dance there is a time when the dancer shakes the eagle down from their headdress to remind the people of the flood.

While this text affords many music-making opportunities, the composer chose to focus on one moment. We have really lost our way, we have not taught our children love and respect. This is achieved by dividing this short piece into "moments" of meditation, awakening, realization, and humility. It takes you, the audience, on an emotional journey, similar to realizing you have been in the wrong; maybe you have been unkind or acted in a way that does not become you. Once you realize the consequences of your actions, remorse and the understanding that there is a need to move forward with grace and humility follows. Thus is the lesson of Peace Dancer.

Program Note written by the composer

James Curnow was born in Port Huron, Michigan and raised in Royal Oak, Michigan where he received his initial musical training in the public schools and The Salvation Army Instrumental Programs. He lives in Nicholasville, Kentucky where he is president, composer, and educational consultant for Curnow Music Press, Inc. He also serves as Composer-in-residence (Emeritus) on the faculty of Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky, and is editor of all music publications for The Salvation Army in Atlanta, Georgia. His formal training was received at Wayne State University, B.M. (Detroit, Michigan) and at Michigan State University, M.M (East Lansing, Michigan).  He is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Bandmasters Association, College Band Directors National Association, National Band Association and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). Curnow has been commissioned to write over two hundred works for concert band, brass band, orchestra, choir and various vocal and instrumental ensembles. As a conductor, composer and clinician, Curnow has traveled throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan and Europe where his music has received wide acclaim. 

The word “nexus” is defined as a tie or link between people and events. Nexus, for solo trumpet and band, includes several links between composer James Curnow and educator Alfred Watkins, to whom the work is dedicated. A well-known theme (particularly to Mr. Watkins' students) is drawn upon as the piece utilizes two primary musical settings - an energetic and agile scherzo that appears in the beginning and again at the end, contrasted with an expressive Ballad theme.

Program Note written by the composer 

Brooke Pierson (b. 1987) is a multi-award winning composer, conductor, and educator based in Ypsilanti, Michigan (USA).  His music has been performed by countless university, school, and professional ensembles throughout the United States and abroad including performances with the US Army Band “Pershing’s Own”, the US Army Band at West Point, and the Dallas Winds. Since 2019, his music has been regularly featured at regional and national conferences, contests, and festivals including the annual Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic. In 2020, his work "The Lighthouse Keeps Watch" was  selected as winner of the NBA/Alfred Composition Contest. In 2021, he was commissioned by the West Point Academy Band/US Army to write his Symphony No. 2 "West Point", the first piece of this scope commissioned by the academy band since 1952. Brooke regularly serves as a guest and resident composer to institutions.

Pierson holds a Bachelor's degree in Music Education from Michigan State University and is currently Chair of the Music Department at the Washtenaw International High School and Middle Academy, (Ypsilanti, Michigan), teaching Orchestra, Band, Music History, Music Culture, and Music Composition, where he has held this position since the school's inception in 2011. He also served as the music director of Grace Lutheran Church (Howell, MI) for 8 years as organist and musician. Pierson is a member of ASCAP and his music can be found with Alfred Music, Excelcia Music Publishing, C. Alan Publications, and his own publishing company Taurus Music Publishing.

Written for wind ensemble Octet primarily using instruments found in concert bands or through combining a woodwind quintet and brass quintet, Heart’s Lullaby was composed by Brooke Pierson in in 2020.  The piece functions as a, “song without words” with pastoral qualities in an intimate instrumentation. The timing of its composition led to additional parts, and flexible instrumentation, allowing ensembles opportunities for performance when wind bands across the world needed them the most. The work, essentially a lullaby, is intended to be performed singingly and expressively throughout; an expression of heart.

Program Note written by the composer

Filipino-American composer Carlos Lalonde (b. 2001) is an internationally performed artist whose eclectic catalog spans introspective chamber music to electrifying orchestral, wind band, and choral works. Their music has been described as “display[ing] wonderful craft and artistry, with a unique voice that will create a wonderful addition to the repertoire” (Austin Symphonic Band).   Deeply interested in creating thought-provoking art through music and sound, Carlos explores themes of identity, human emotion, the natural world, science, spirituality, and society. Their art often reflects the ever-changing world, traversing time both retrospectively and prospectively to engage with ideas that demand careful reflection or bold prediction.

Their music has been recognized, performed, and commissioned by top collegiate and professional ensembles across the United States, Europe, and Asia, including the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Lalonde’s works have earned acclaim, with recent composition awards from the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies, ASCAP, Cantus Vocal Ensemble, Alabama Orchestra Association, the Illinois Music Education Association, and Florida Bandmasters Association. In addition, Carlos received first prize in both the Jere Hutcheson Large Ensemble Composition and the Honors Competition in Composition at Michigan State University. They have held residencies with GTCYS, the Bach Society of Dayton, and served as composer-in-residence for the 2022 Alabama All-State Orchestra Festival.

As a pedagogue, Lalonde has twice presented at the Illinois Music Educators Conference, had their music selected for permanent inclusion in the South Carolina Music Educators Association (SCMEA) Concert Performance Assessment repertoire, and received the Dean’s Award for pedagogical research at Bradley University’s Scholarship Exposition. Their command of educational music has led to multiple publications with Carl Fischer Music, Walton Music, North Star Music, and Murphy Music Press, including several Editor’s Choice distinctions on J.W. Pepper. Lalonde also maintains a private studio and fosters a community of composers through their YouTube channel, which has thousands of active subscribers.

Lalonde holds a bachelor’s degree in music composition from Bradley University, a master’s degree in composition at Michigan State University, and is pursuing a doctorate in composition at the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance. Their mentors include Rachel Finnes, Lynnsey Lambrecht, Mark De Zwaan, Cory Boulton, Ricardo Lorenz, David Biedenbender, Viet Cuong, Zhou Tian, Michael Daugherty, and Bright Sheng. 

Uncommon Will was composed on the occasion of receiving the 2024 Jere Hutcheson Large Ensemble Composition Award at Michigan State University. The title draws inspiration from the institution where I had the privilege of completing my master’s degree in composition. Uncommon Will embodies a mentality—an unyielding spirit of determination that persists even in the darkest of circumstances. It reminds us that resilience is not the absence of struggle, but the decision to rise through it. The piece begins with a brief rhythmic idea that continuously morphs and evolves, growing stronger and more self-assured with each transformation. Along the way, it encounters resistance and uncertainty, yet pushes forward, ultimately transcending its own limitations. By the end, the idea achieves full realization—a celebration of perseverance, triumph, and the beauty of becoming.

Program Note written by the composer 

Bakhari S. Nokuri (b. 2005) is an African-American composer, producer, and drummer based in Los Angeles. He is a recipient of ASCAP’s Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award and Morton Gould Young Composer Award, as well as a winner of the National Young Composers Challenge. Though he grew up in Howard County, Maryland, Bakhari’s heart and soul are rooted in Baltimore, where he spent much of his time with his mother, Charmaine (Michelle) Nokuri, a jazz performance major at the Peabody Conservatory. His music reflects this dual influence: while drawing from the bold orchestral voices of Mahler, Bernstein, and Hazo, his work also carries the improvisatory spirit of jazz greats such as Robert Glasper, Herbie Hancock, and Chick Corea, layered with the colors of contemporary artists like Thundercat, Tyler, the Creator, and Hiatus Kaiyote. Constantly searching for new textures and grooves, Bakhari infuses his music with an energy that is both fresh and deeply engaging.

Bakhari’s journey began in 2015 with nothing more than a music app on a tablet, which he treated as a “creative sandbox game.” Through middle and high school, he composed small arrangements for marching, symphonic, and jazz bands, often experimenting on MuseScore. As he grew more serious, his inspiration expanded—shaped by performances with ensembles such as HCYO, Maryland All-State, and GT Band, as well as live jazz at Baltimore’s Keystone Korner and An Die Musik. He sought feedback tirelessly, submitting regularly to the Maryland Music Educators Association’s Young Composers Project, where he earned five Superior ratings for works including Triumph (2019), Ode to Fanfare (2022), Final Thoughts, Ring of Fire, and Prayers and Tribulation (2023). His first live premiere came in 2023, when Glenelg High School debuted his piece Prayers and Tribulation.

In 2024, Bakhari gave back to his communities by revitalizing his family’s benefit concert series, the Nokuri Foundation’s Night of Hope. Leading his own big band, he wove stories of his Cameroonian and African-American heritage into the music, with proceeds supporting Ray-Est Primary School in Limbe, Cameroon. Now a third-year undergraduate composition major at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, Bakhari studies with Camae Ayewa (Moor Mother). Primarily self-taught until 2023, he has also studied with Adrian B. Sims, Andrew Norman, Ted Hearne, and Will Kennedy. He is deeply grateful to his family, friends, and his middle and high school band directors, Andrew Spang and Chris Winters, for nurturing his artistry and encouraging his best qualities.

Concerning Afrospire, the composer write:

In the process of creating this work, I found it hard to place a label on it. This composition is a swelling-dance inspired by afro-cuban rhythms and grooves, most notably from Chick Corea’s “La Fiesta” and Stan Kenton’s “Malagueña”. While the harmonic language in the piece shifted over time from when the piece was first created in April 2022, the meaning and feeling of the piece never changed. When I started the work, I was going through a particularly challenging time in school, lacking motivation and drive. I had to dig deep inside myself to find a sense of motion and reason to go on. I turned to music, finding songs that instilled a fire in me. I found that the sounds of African drums resonated within my soul the most, making me feel connected to my African roots, and pushing me to go on. Afrospire encapsulates this feeling of being transcended from reality and being left in a trance or dream that tells you to keep going. The word itself is a combination of two words: Afro-, meaning relating to african diaspora, and Spir-, deriving from spirit.

2026-2027

• Searching for Nostalgia

2025-2026

• Love and Nature
• Words to Live By
• Through Each Other's Eyes
• Visions on Past