Westchester Symphonic Winds Concludes 36th Season Tarrytown Series with “Titans”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 15, 2024
MEDIA CONTACT:
Curt Ebersole – Conductor/Music Director, Westchester Symphonic Winds
Phone: (914) 281-1976 · E-Mail: info@westchestersymphonicwinds.org
Website: www.westchestersymphonicwinds.org
Westchester Symphonic Winds Concludes 36th Season Tarrytown Series with “Titans”
TARRYTOWN, NY – Westchester Symphonic Winds (WSW) presents the third and final Tarrytown series concert of their 36th season on Saturday, May 11, 2024 at 8:00 pm at Tarrytown Music Hall. The concert title, “Titans,” represents the selection of eclectic, iconic, and titanic works for wind band featured on the program.
The concert brings two guest artists to the stage – Dr. Timothy Roblee and Staff Sergeant Christopher Leslie. Dr. Robble, Director of Bands at Shenandoah Conservatory, conducts two works by local legend Percy Grainger, and Staff Sergeant Christopher Leslie, principal euphonium of the West Point Band, performs the new Concerto for Euphonium by Thomas Davoren. The cornerstone of this program is the famous and titanic Symphony in Bb, by Paul Hindemith. The program also features these larger-than-life works: Arabesque, by Samuel R. Hazo; Early One Morning and Handel in the Strand by Percy Grainger; and Riften Wed, by Julie Giroux.
Commenting on the program, Maestro Ebersole shared, “Our season finale combines the lyricism of Percy Grainger, the emotional depth of Julie Giroux, the technical brilliance of euphonium soloist Chris Leslie, and the titanic genius of Paul Hindemith. The Symphony in Bb is a cornerstone work of the 20th century, and you do not want to miss this performance.”
The full program includes:
HAZO – Arabesque
GRAINGER – Early One Morning (Arr, Joseph Kreines)
GRAINGER – Handel in the Strand
DAVOREN – Concerto for Euphonium
GIROUX – Riften Wed
HINDEMITH – Symphony in Bb
To Purchase Tickets: Tickets for this performance are priced at $20 for adults, $15 for students and seniors, and free of charge for children under 10. Tickets may be purchased in person at the Tarrytown Music Hall box office, by calling 877-840-0457, or online at https://tickets.tarrytownmusichall.org/eventperformances.asp?evt=2860.
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About the Guest Artists:
Staff Sgt. Christopher Leslie has been a member of the West Point Band since 2016 where he currently serves as Principal Euphonium. A burgeoning musical career has led to performances with some of America’s finest professional ensembles such as the New York Philharmonic and the U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own”. Staff Sgt. Leslie has garnered numerous accolades, winning the Leonard Falcone International Euphonium Competition and the International Tuba Euphonium Conference Solo Competition. His 2017 debut solo album, “To The Point”, received critical acclaim, winning the Roger Bobo Award for Excellence in Recording and two silver medals from the Global Music Awards. Outside of his duties at West Point, Leslie teaches at Montclair State University as Adjunct Professor of Euphonium. He earned his D.M.A. from the University of Georgia, an M.M. from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and a B.M. from St. Olaf College. He has had the privilege to study with David Zerkel, Daniel Perantoni, David Werden, and Hiram Diaz.
Timothy J. Robblee is the Director of Bands and Associate Professor of Conducting at Shenandoah Conservatory where he where he guides all aspects of the wind band program, teaches conducting, conducts the Wind Ensemble and EDGE Ensemble, and serves as host of the annual Shenandoah Instrumental Conducting Symposium. Prior to his current appointment, he served as the Associate Director of Bands at Northwestern University, and Director of Bands at Washington State University in Pullman, WA and Willamette University in Salem, OR. In addition to his collegiate positions, Robblee spent eight years as an instrumental music educator in the Palo Alto, CA public schools. His recent guest conducting engagements include the Korean International Music Educator’s Association National Honor Band, the British Columbia (Canada) All-Province Band, the U.S. Army “Pershing’s Own” and other honor bands across North America. Robblee maintains active memberships in the College Band Directors National Association, Music Educators National Conference, Virginia Music Educators Association, National Band Association, and World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles. Dr. Robblee pursued graduate studies in clarinet at the Munich Hochschule für Musik and holds a Ph.D. in wind band conducting and music education from the University of Minnesota, an MM in conducting from Northwestern University, and a BA in music education from Whitworth College in Spokane, WA.
About the Conductor:
Curt Ebersole has served as the Conductor/Music Director (John P. Paynter Memorial Chair) of the Westchester Symphonic Winds since 2008, fostering its exponential growth over the past sixteen years, culminating in The American Prize for 2018-2019. He retired from Northern Valley Regional High School (Old Tappan, New Jersey) in 2013 after serving as Director of Instrumental Music for 31 years, and now teaches at The Masters School, in Dobbs Ferry, New York. He earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree and a Master of Music in Conducting degree from Northwestern University, where he studied conducting with John P. Paynter and clarinet with Larry Combs, and earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Clarinet Performance from SUNY-Purchase, studying with Ben Armato. He has served as guest conductor/clinician for many county, regional, and all-state student ensembles, and adult community ensembles across the nation, including performances at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, and Symphony Space, and in Las Vegas, South Korea and Australia. His achievements include multiple teaching awards, ensemble performances as a clarinetist and basset hornist, and speaking/clinic engagements with the Midwest Clinic, TEDxOneonta, and numerous state music education conventions and conducting symposia.
About the Westchester Symphonic Winds:
Membership in the Westchester Symphonic Winds is available to all qualified musicians. Membership information can be obtained by contacting us via email at personnel@westchestersymphonicwinds.org or by U.S. mail (Westchester Symphonic Winds, Box 485, 333 Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains, NY 10605). You can also visit us online at: www.westchestersymphonicwinds.org and through any of our social media platforms.
Westchester Symphonic Winds, Inc. is a Section 501(c)(3) Not-for-Profit organization. Corporate and personal contributions, financial assistance, and volunteers are essential and always welcomed!
For additional concert and ticket information, advertising, donations, and updates, visit us at: www.westchestersymphonicwinds.org.
About Westchester Symphonic Winds
The Westchester Symphonic Winds is an adult community-based wind and percussion ensemble, proud to celebrate our 33rd season. We exist to promote music in our area, instill pride in our nation and heritage, provide opportunities for personal expression and growth within our membership, and nurture the love of music by offering an exceptional musical experience for people of all ages. We perform the finest of wind band literature ranging from the classics to the latest 21st century wind band composers. The Westchester Symphonic Winds is ensemble-in-residence at Tarrytown Music Hall and performs annually at Carammor. Auditions are heard annually in September, and our concert season runs from September through July.
Almost thirty years ago, two New Rochelle High School graduates, Rachel Eckhaus and Robert LaPorta, realized how much they missed the musical and social experience of playing in a concert band. They also discovered that there were virtually no local community bands, so they persuaded their former band director, James D. Wayne, to work with them to form a new organization in Westchester, which they named the Hudson Valley Wind Symphony. From its humble beginning of 30 members, the group has grown to 65 wind and percussion players, has found a permanent home at the Tarrytown Music Hall, and has changed its name to the Westchester Symphonic Winds, to better reflect that its members are drawn from all over Westchester and the tri-state metropolitan area. WSW has profited from the leadership of its conductors. James D. Wayne conducted the band from 1988-2004. Dr. Luis Fernando Jimenez was conductor from 2005-2008. Curt Ebersole was invited to conduct the 20th Anniversary Gala Concert in 2008, and was subsequently invited to stay on permanently as Conductor/Music Director. Since 2008, guest conductors and clinicians have included the finest wind band conductors from Westchester and across the nation. Like many avocational groups, WSW members represent many backgrounds and vocations, but the common thread is the love of the concert band experience. Since many people have never heard a serious concert band, one of the aims of the group is to expose music lovers to this wonderful, vast repertoire. The Westchester Symphonic Winds is an adult community-based wind and percussion ensemble, and proud to celebrate its 29th season. We exist to promote music in our area, instill pride in our nation and heritage, provide opportunities for personal expression and growth within our membership, and nurture the love of music by offering an exceptional musical experience for people of all ages. Over the years, we have given concerts on behalf of many service and benefit organizations. Our educational outreach program has included a Side-by-Side Concert with the Mahopac Central School District. Our Exchange Program with the Northshore Concert Band of Evanston, Illinois, provided opportuities to perform at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall at Northwestern University and the Palace Theatre in Stamford, Connecticut. We made our Lincoln Center debut at Avery Fisher Hall in 2010, performed at the Association of Concert Bands National Convention in 2012, the New York State Band Directors Winter Symposium in 2017, and have performed to sold-out crowds at the Caramoor Festival annually since 2014. The ensemble has been the subject of articles in The New York Times and Teaching Music, the magazine of the National Association for Music Education. The organization is an Ensemble-in-Residence at the historic Tarrytown Music Hall in Tarrytown, New York, and rehearses there on Monday evenings from September through May. Visit us at www.westchestersymphonicwinds.org for more information and personnel opportunities. We also maintain a presence on Facebook and Twitter (@WSWinds). Westchester Symphonic Winds, Inc. is a Section 501(c)(3) Not-for-Profit organization. Contributions, financial assistance, principal chair underwriting, and volunteers are essential to our success, and always welcomed.