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Sep. 14, 2026: Electroacoustic Music Macomb 2026 - curated by Dr. Hong-Da Chin

Mon, 14 Sep 2026 19:30:00 -0500

This performance is free and open to the public.

PROGRAM

Driftless (2025) - James Romig

nor the moon by night (2026) - James Caldwell
Craig Hultgren, Cello

Striving for Air (2026) - Hong-Da Chin

Sin-eater for trombone and electronics (2018) - Aaron Hynds
Aaron Hynds, trombone

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

Driftless, for solo cello, was written for Craig Hultgren and New Music Festival 2022 at Western Illinois University. The piece articulates a very slow 7:8:9 polyrhythm over the course of approximately ten minutes, radually revealing a collection of six pitch classes. Amplification and long reverb allow the cello to perform in counterpoint with itself, creating a halo of overlapping harmonies and timbres. The work's title refers to the Driftless Area, a region comprising parts of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin that was bypassed during the last ice age and is therefore topographically distinct from the flat landscape usually associated with the midwestern United States. Craig Hultgren, to whom the work is dedicated, makes his home on a farm in this beautiful land of steep hills, forested ridges, and sculpted river valleys.

nor the moon by night is from Psalm 121, the second item in a list of what shall not smite thee. The piece, while rhetorical-with statements, counter statements, repetitions, asides, shifts of mood, parallelisms, and so forth-is not narrative. Some passages may, however, have the character of a nocturne, and others may suggest resistance to smiting. The piece was written for Craig Hultgren.

Striving for Air explores the intangible nature of sound as it travels through space-carried, shaped, and ultimately dissolved by air itself. The work draws inspiration from the idea that air, though invisible, is essential to both life and music: it is the medium through which vibration becomes audible expression. The very few notes in Striving for Air signify the struggle to breathe within an increasingly fragile sonic space which is represented by the space between the sparse notes. The electronically processed sounds produced by the bass trombone extend its natural breath into an expanded sonic field, where acoustic and electronic elements merge to explore the fragile boundary between sound and air.

Sin-eating is a ritual that has its roots in the common practice of taking on the sins of a deceased or nearly deceased person through ritualized consumption. It was most commonly associated with Welsh funerary cultures, and although it is uncertain how common the ritual was, it was described numerous times throughout Welsh history and the broader history of the English isles. The dynamic of ritualized consumption is present in the conflict between the electronics and the trombone in this work--the composition starts with the trombone mimicking the electronics (a program written in Pure Data), which is then turned on its head as the electronics then mimic the trombone. The electronics "consume" the voice of the trombone and transform it into something very different by the end of the work.

Sep. 21, 2026: Jett Walker Faculty Trombone Recital: Trombone and Piano, Sans Piano

Mon, 21 Sep 2026 19:30:00 -0500

This performance is dedicated to the life and legacy of Drs. Hugo and Maurine Magliocco

PROGRAM

Soundtrack - Brian Sadler (b. 1982)

Luna - Aliyah Danielle (b. 1997)
with James Land, tuba

Fantasy for Trombone - Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006)

Variations on Palestrina's "Dona Nobis Pacem" - David Fetter (b. 1938)

Sonata for Trombone and Brass Quartet - Jack Wilds (b. 1986)
I. Vivace
II. Andante
III. Allegro Animato
with
Nicole Gillotti and Ryan Ford, trumpets
Evan Goodson, horn
James Land, tuba

Nessun Dorma from Turandot - Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)
with the WIU Trombone Choir - Kayelee Stockdale, Conductor
WIU Trombone Choir: Jem Frost, Colby Monarch, Kaylei Littig, Ethan LaBau, Cole Dowdal, Shiloh Watts, Madison Smith

Sep. 23, 2026: Jazz Studio Orchestra (JSO) Concert - Dr. Whitney Ashe, director

Wed, 23 Sep 2026 19:30:00 -0500

This performance is free and will be live-streamed on the School of Music's YouTube channel.

Oct. 02, 2026: WIU Symphony Orchestra Concert "Shades of Holst" - Dr. ...

Fri, 02 Oct 2026 19:30:00 -0500

This performance is free and open to the public.

"Music is a part of life that can't be done without" - Holst's daughter

Gustav Holst (1874-1934)

A Somerset Rhapsody, Op. 21

A Fugal Overture, Op. 40/1, H 151

Japanese Suite, Op. 33

INTERMISSION

The Planets, Op. 32
I. Mars, the Bringer of War
II. Venus, the Bringer of Peace
III. Mercury, the Winged Messenger
IV. Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity

Oct. 10, 2026: Wind Ensemble Concert - Dr. Mike Fansler, conductor

Sat, 10 Oct 2026 19:30:00 -0500

This performance is free and open to the public and will be live-streamed on the School of Music's YouTube channel.

PROGRAM

Toccata and Fugue in D Minor - Johann Sebastian Bach/arr. Donald Hunsberger

O Magnum Mysterium - Morten Lauridsen/arr. H. Robert Reynolds

Australian Fantasia - David Stanhope
I. Sydney Harbor
II. The Road to Gundagai
III. Southern Cross
IV. Advance Australia Fair

The Alcotts from Piano Sonata No. 2 - Charles Ives/trans. Richard Thurston

Ad Futurum - Larry Clark

Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral - Richard Wagner/arr. Lucien Cailliet