Rice Stadium Concert

Shepherd School composition students collaborated with the percussion and brass departments for a socially-distanced performance held in (the historic) Rice Stadium of works written during the pandemic.

Waves

Nicky Sohn

Ocean Planet

Grace Ann Lee

Shadow Fanfare

Alex Moreno

Alba

Jake Sandridge

The Citizens’ Remarks at Rice Stadium:

A game piece for conductor, insurrectionists, and improvising musicians
Daniel Leibovic

Conductor

Jerry Hou

*All performances tonight are world premieres of pieces composed specifically for Rice Stadium*

Waves, Sohn; Waves was written for Rice Stadium in the winter of 2020. The initial idea of the work came from the special distribution of the ensemble. The work explores different shapes and configurations that form wave-like sounds. The piece contains ten different sections and each section experiments with various patterns, speeds, and dynamic levels.

Ocean Planet, Lee; Oceans define our Earth, covering the majority of the surface and driving the water cycle that became the source of life. Oceans envelops our home in a far larger context that reaches deep into the universe and places us in a rich family of ocean worlds that span our solar system and beyond. Our own Ocean Planet, Earth, is a planet full of wonders.

Shadow Fanfare, Moreno; Envisioning what “stadium music” sounds like, Shadow Fanfare is a dialog piece between two brass choirs on opposite sides of the field and percussion acting as the arbitrator. There is commentary and response from both choirs until they ultimately join together for a grand finale.

Alba, Sandridge; A site-specific work for the Rice University Football Stadium, Alba is an allusion to the medieval genre of troubadour song of the same name, which announces the coming of dawn.

The Citizens’ Remarks at Rice Stadium, Leibovic; Rice stadium becomes a kind of nation, where musical players are separated by distance, timbre, and ideas.

A conductor attempts to mold the players’ improvisatory remarks towards musical cohesion. But certain players have the will and power to subvert that cohesion, leading an insurrection.

In the spacious stadium, musical information is distorted: each player acts upon a slightly varied version of the truth. The soundscape arises from individual players’ choices, but those choices are influenced by powerful leaders. Conflicting commands from those opposing leaders disorient the People.

When at the verge of losing all control over the body politic, the conductor summons the voice of John F. Kennedy, who on September 12, 1962, addressed a large crowd in Rice Stadium. That address persuaded Americans to support a national effort to land a person on the moon.

Upon this appearance of a different era’s unifier, the citizens acquire the freedom to act on their own. How do they choose to proceed?

Jerry Hou, Karim Al-Zand, Barbara Butler, Charlie Geyer, Matthew Strauss, Bill VerMeulen, Allen Barnhill, Dave Kirk, Brandon Martin, Amy McCaig, Pippa Jarvis, Andrew Alba, Ari Bard, Dan McGarry, Brian Gibson, Hollie Fulsom, Chuck Throckmorton and the Rice Band, Kurt Stallmann, Chapman Welch, Jennifer Rimmer, Fran Schmidt, Brady Spitz, Brass Department, Percussion Department, and the Composition Department