Waetjen Auditorium

In collaboration with the CSU School of Music and the Cleveland Youth Wind Symphonies, the Cleveland Winds is honored to be part of a four-day residency by composer Katahj Copley.

Georgia native Katahj Copley (he/him/his) premiered his first work, Spectra, in 2017 and hasn’t stopped composing since. As of now, Katahj has written over 100 works, including pieces for chamber ensembles, wind ensembles, and orchestra. His compositions have been performed and commissioned by universities, organizations, and professional ensembles, including the Cavaliers Brass, California Band Director Association, Admiral Launch Duo, and “The President’s Own” Marine Band. Katahj has also received critical acclaim internationally with pieces being performed in Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, China, and Australia. 

Katahj received two Bachelor of Music degrees from the University of West Georgia in Music Education and Composition in 2021. In 2023, he received his Masters in Music Composition from the University of Texas at Austin - studying with Omar Thomas and Yevgeniy Sharlat. He is currently studying music composition at Michigan State University. 

Aside from composing, Katahj is an excited educator who teaches young musicians the joy of discovering music and why music is a phenomenal language.

“Music for me has always been this impactful thing in my life. It can soothe, it can enrage, it can quiet, and it can evoke emotions that are beyond me and this world we live in. I believe that music is the ultimate source of freedom and imagination. The most freedom I have had as a musician was through composing. Composition is like me opening my heart and showing the world my drive, my passion, and my soul.”

The two ensembles on this afternoon's performance have each had two rehearsals with Mr. Copley, and we're honored to perform his compositions for you this afternoon.

CLEVELAND YOUTH WIND SYMPHONY (CYWS) GROUP II

MARK AWAD and MICHAEL KOMPERDA, DIRECTORS

CYWS was founded in 1989 by Dr. Gary M. Ciepluch and Robert McAllister and is now in its 36th season. 1995-96 marked the initial season for the CYWS Group II under the direction of Melissa Lichtler. Originally brought about by a partnership between Case Western Reserve University School of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music, the program was established to provide a musical venue for the most outstanding high school woodwind, brass, and percussion musicians throughout Northeast Ohio. 

Selection in the Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony is determined through auditions held each May for the following fall. In partnership with Cleveland State University, CYWS holds weekly rehearsals at CSU’s School of Music in downtown Cleveland. In addition to the concerts they perform each season in Severance Music Center, the home of the world renowned Cleveland Orchestra, the groups have performed numerous times at conventions and festivals, and in concert halls throughout the United States and abroad. CYWS Group I has performed 10 times at the Ohio Music Education Association state convention, most recently in Columbus in February 2023. In 1992, the Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony was invited to perform at the Music Educators National Conference held in New Orleans, Louisiana. 

In June 1994, the group began a series of international concert tours. They have performed in countries including Germany, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, England, Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Hungary, Luxembourg, Austria, and the Netherlands. In 2018 CYWS was invited to perform as a headline group for the Florence, Italy, Festival of Youth Orchestras. CYWS’s 2023 tour of the United Kingdom included a performance with the Band of His Majesty’s Royal Marines—Scotland. In Summer 2025, CYWS toured Spain and reconnected with composer Luis Alarcón.

PROGRAM

CONDUCTOR BIOGRAPHIES

Mark Awad (he/him) Mark Awad is currently in his 20th year as director of bands at Bay Middle School. At the middle school, he teaches band in grades five through eight, in addition to the middle school jazz band. Mr. Awad is also the assistant director of the Bay High Rocket Marching Band. Additionally, he is the director of the pit orchestra for the musicals at Bay High School. Some of the musicals that he has conducted include: 42nd Street, Beauty and the Beast, The Addams Family, Chicago: High School Edition, Newsies, Something Rotten!, and The Music Man. Mr. Awad has also served as the chairperson for the Ohio Music Education Association, District 4 Middle School Honors Festival. Mr. Awad is also a member of the American School Band Directors Association. Mr. Awad earned his master’s degree in music education from Case Western Reserve University. He earned his bachelor’s degree in music education from Youngstown State University. His primary instrument is the trombone, on which he continues to perform. 

Michael Komperda (he/him) is an alumnus of CYWS and a graduate of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music where he earned his Bachelor of Music Education degree. Currently in his 17th year teaching, Mr. Komperda teaches in Rocky River, where he directs the Marching Band, Wind Ensemble, two high school Jazz Bands, the Pit Orchestra and the Pep Band, and teaches Music Technology and AP Music Theory courses at Rocky River High School. He also teaches beginning Brass & Percussion and third grade music at Kensington Intermediate School. Outside of his teaching duties, Mr. Komperda plays clarinet in the Cleveland Winds, and directs and plays in pit orchestras around the Cleveland area. Recently, he has performed in productions of 9 to 5, Matilda the Musical, Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, Beauty and the Beast, and Young Frankenstein. Professionally, Mr. Komperda is a member of the American School Band Directors Association (ASBDA), the Ohio Music Education Association, and the Greater Cleveland Solo & Ensemble Association.

INSTRUMENTAL COACHES
Hailey Bryson
Tim Carlson
Robert Davis
Tess Hosler
Andrew Pongracz
Nicholas Strawn

STUDENT INSTRUMENT COACHES
Miya DeBolt
Kira Marjanovic

PERCUSSION EQUIPMENT ASSISTANT
Gabe Scott

STUDENT VOLUNTEER COACH
Regan Pontius

SYMPHONY MANAGER
Alice Moore Allen

CO-MUSIC DIRECTORS
Darren Allen
Mark Awad
Daniel Crain
Michael Komperda

THE CLEVELAND WINDS

Dr. Birch Browning, Music Director

The mission of Cleveland Winds is to perform diverse and challenging wind band repertoire, from masterworks to innovative contemporary compositions, providing a unique and inspiring musical outlet for professional, student, and advanced non-professional musicians. We are committed to fostering a collaborative and growth-oriented environment for our members, enabling them to achieve musical excellence and share their passion. We serve the community by presenting accessible, high-caliber concerts that challenge perceptions of wind music, educate audiences, and inspire future musicians through the transformative power of live performance.

The Cleveland Winds is supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts and Culture. Please consider making a tax-deductable donation to support the mission of the Cleveland Winds at https://www.clevelandwinds.org/support/.

AMERYKAHN GRAFFITI

Graffiti can be war paint

It is a serenade of spray paint and brush strokes.

It is survival written in hue.

It is history in technicolor. 

Graffiti has long stood at the crossroads of controversy and creativity. For some it is a sign of failure. A forecast of urban decay. But for others it is  the truth—unfiltered, unapproved, and unbought. What others feared was the brilliance in the chaos, the power in color that never asked for permission to exist. Graffiti is not vandalism. It’s a conversation. It's an expression. It’s a voice that refuses to be silent.

For the artists, instead of being in society’s frame by being held within museums, they built their own—on trains, on walls, on canvases people tried to forget.

Amerykahn Graffiti   is an homage to that gallery. It is the canvas. It is a sonic offering.

A reimagining of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, painted in sound and soul, it is a journey through the Black experience—our joy, our wounds, our beauty, our rage. Each movement is a mural. Each sound, a heartbeat. Each note, a stitch in a story quilt.

 It moves through the sounds once called “noise”—hip-hop, gospel, funk, jazz and other black music—sounds born in basements, communities and backstreets, now cornerstones in music creation. Like graffiti, these sounds were ridiculed, erased, feared. But they endured. They transformed. They became the soundtrack of the human soul.

 This isn’t background music.

It’s a living, breathing, unapologetic portrait of a people who refuse to be silenced.

This is a tribute.

This is a love letter.

This is a cry.

This is a testimony

This is Amerykahn Graffiti.

PROMENADE

"Imagine you want to walk in the exhibition but they won't let you in"

The opening of this project. Similar to Mussorgsky's Pictures (Maurice Ravel's transcription) the work starts with an opening solo and from there the colors begin to blend into one another ultimately creating the framework of this project.

A feeling of oppression breaking with the hope of expression.

I. GOTHIKA

The Gnome by Mussorgsky illustrated a disgruntled figure not fitting of society's image. The original is fast, aggressive and intense. For me I wanted to highlight a group of individuals that were and to a certain extent like gnomes, African Americans in the blue collar work force. This movement is built as an intense hymn- based on "Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair". The movement is relentless and harsh with only a brief moment of relief. Dedicated to my father and to all the countless African Americans who worked their entire lives to make their dreams and others dreams happen.

II. LOVE IS AN OFFERING

While working on this piece, my initial goal was to align each movement closely—minute by minute—with Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. In this movement, however, I allowed myself to move away from that structure. Black love and unity hold profound power within the Black community, and with Kerry James Marshall’s Slow Dance as my visual inspiration, I wanted to give this idea space to breathe.

Like the painting, the music unfolds as a slow dance between two souls. The music builds off this riff, The Hope Theme, that is a prayer given to the two souls. As the world turns and its pressures accumulate, the couple continues to move together—remaining present, connected, and rooted in love through hardship and uncertainty. The title of the work comes from James Baldwin’s words: “If I love you, I have to make you conscious of the things that you do not see.” This movement reflects love as awareness, care, and shared growth. Dedicated to my partner and to all who feel this sentiment of love being a dance that isn’t bound to the rhythm of the world but to the rhythms of their hearts.

III. PLAYAS GARDEN

“The Tulleries” movement

With a Afro-Latin & Gospel blend, Playas Garden- based on Tony WHLGN's "Untitled"- is a response to children playing-imagining themselves as different things. Featuring only woodwinds and percussion, Playas Garden grows with intensity, colors, and technique. Similar to The Tulleries it is playful and lively. 

IV. SARAH SEPHONIA, SWEET THING, & PEACHES

“The Bydlo” movement

The Bydlo movement depicts cattle moving a cart in a slow persistent way- its constant and unnerving. With my movement I was inspired by Tatyana Fazlalizadeh’s street art series Stop Telling Women to Smile, a powerful set of women murals about street harassment. I saw a version of this outside of the Hilton Hotel, a line of women with their natural emotion all the way down the street, constant and unnerving. The words “stop telling women to smile” being painted on the side of the long mural symbolized a persistent and powerful shout for change. This movement is based on the four women mentioned in Nina Simone’s Four Women and is dedicated to my mother, sisters, nieces, and all black women who have impacted me.

V. BALLET OF THE CROWNS

“The Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks” movement

This movement parallels Mussorgsky’s Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks. While studying the original costume sketches, I knew I wanted to draw inspiration from designs rooted in Black life and visual culture. I initially explored architecture and building forms, but the most immediate source revealed itself in a familiar ritual: getting a haircut.

In many Black barbershops, there hangs a worn, slightly blurry poster of hairstyles—Black men and boys serving as the models for these designs. Most are variations on a close cut or bald head, yet their presence carries weight. The Black barbershop and salon function as cornerstones of community development, especially for youth. They are loud, crowded, and chaotic spaces, but they are also sites of storytelling, debate, mentorship, and collective reflection.

This movement is an ode to that environment, translated through the language of bebop and Afro-Latin jazz—music that mirrors the energy, rhythm, and layered conversations of the shop itself.

VI. THE SILENCED COLORS

A silent movement, a memory of art erased by prejudice, classism, and the oppression of Black people across time. Imagine the melodies never sung, the chorales that might have risen, voices stilled before they could soar. What might have been, if only these sounds had lived?

VII. LADEE LIBATEE

“ Limoges. The Market” movement

Since its unveiling, Lady Liberty has stood as a beacon of hope, welcoming immigrants with the promise of new beginnings. Inspired by Sydney James’s The Girl with the D Earring, I imagined a city alive with color, movement, and voices—immigrants telling their stories on every corner, in every street.

This movement moves like the city itself: vibrant, layered, and full of conversation. Drawing from Tito Fuentes, Stevie Wonder, D’Angelo, and other global sounds, the music fuses styles and rhythms into a tapestry where everyone can find a place, a story, a heartbeat.

VIII. BREONNA

“ Catacombs” movement

​This movement lives in a place that does not exist. Through this project, countless ideas and symbols emerged, one of the most persistent being the desire to turn back time—to offer someone a happy ending. A question came to mind when dealing with catacombs movement. How do you honor those that we’ve lost? Grief is an interesting concept in the culture; we celebrate those we’ve lost- we ask questions about what we could have done to help. IDuring this project, a thought resurfaced—one that had lingered with me for years but only fully took shape here: What if Breonna Taylor could sleep? 

​Breonna, based on the work by Amy Sherald is a lullaby dedicated to Breonna Taylor, a soul that lost her life to police brutality after officers forced entry into her home in Louisville, KY. The piece never reaches volume above a forte, to symbolize staying in this dreamworld, a world of peace and freedom. Constantly there's a feeling of uncertainty, knowing that the dream may come to an end at any moment. Eventually, we awaken, but traces of the dream linger, leaving behind a quiet, unresolved echo of what could have been. 

IX. BOOGIEMAN

“ The Hut on Baba Yaga” movement

Mussorgsky’s Baba Yaga depicts a witch’s clock through fast, relentless motion, much like Gnomus. In Russian folklore, Baba Yaga exists between good and evil, though she is most often portrayed as monstrous—flying in a wooden mortar, wielding a pestle, and dwelling deep in the forest in a hut balanced on chicken legs.

This movement led me to consider how this figure appears across cultures. Within Black culture, Baba Yaga transforms into the boogeyman—a dark, ancestral presence used to warn, discipline, and protect, carrying fear as a form of survival. This reimagining is passed down through storytelling, sound, and memory.

My Boogieman- which is based off of two works by Jean-Michel Basquiat- draws from both Mussorgsky’s original work and this Black cultural lineage. He is a creature of dark soul, spiritually and musically rooted in the grittiest edges of funk—where groove, swagger, and danger coexist. This monster moves with charisma, a fear-eating, boogie-walking gangster shaped by rhythm and ancestral weight. The movement closes with a return of the promenade, as the darkest musical colors become saturated with sound, energy, and embodied power.

X. Soulstice

“ The Great Gates of Kiev” movement

​This groundwork of this piece began with Alma Thomas’s work The Eclipse, a depiction of said event with every color working in harmony to bring the phenomenon to life so it was fitting that the work would be the ending of this project. When I saw the work in the Smithsonian I was amazed at the sheer beauty of the work.

For Mussorgsky’s Pictures, The Great Gate of Kiev rang the sounds of hope, community, and freedom. That is what I felt with Thomas’s work. Soulstice is the feeling of hope and promise within the black community. Using the opening of America the Beautiful as the groundwork of the piece, I wanted to capture a feeling of what hope could feel like- as if it was the sun peering from the horizon. The music builds and builds using the colors and themes of different movements to pay homage to every facet of black life I wanted to illustrate. There’s an understanding of struggle and hardship yet the music continues to build until the return of America the Beautiful. The piece ends with a prayer, similar to Love is an Offering, a prayer of peace and unity. Throughout this work I wanted to highlight black life and this last movement represented one thing that we all have in this community: resilience. As the prayer continues, the sound becomes stronger, the colors become bolder and the soul begins to rise. The prayer turns into a testimony.

Dr. Birch Browning is Professor of Music and Director of Bands at Cleveland State University (CSU) and Music Director of the Cleveland Winds, a professional wind band based at CSU. He taught high school band and orchestra in Florida prior to earning a Ph.D. in Music Education at Florida State University (FSU). Dr. Browning joined the faculty at CSU in 2002, and he previously taught music education courses at Stetson University and FSU.

Dr. Browning is a member of the College Band Director’s National Association Research Committee and has presented his research findings at numerous state and national conferences. His book, Becoming a Musician-Educator: An Orientation to Musical Pedagogy, was published by Oxford University Press in April 2017. Dr. Browning served on the editorial board of Contributions, a research journal sponsored by the Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA), from 2008 to 2020, including four years as Editor and six years as Associate Editor of the journal, and he is a current member of the College Band Director's National Association (CBDNA) Research Committee.

Along with his research work, Dr. Browning is in demand as a conductor and clinician. The Cleveland Winds, which Dr. Browning founded in 2009, is the winner of The American Prize in the Band/Wind Ensemble Performance—community & school division and performed at the Ohio Music Education Association Professional Development Conference in Cleveland, Ohio in 2017 and again in 2025. The CSU Chamber Winds performed at the same conference in 2005 and 2015. Dr. Browning’s ensembles have given live performances on WCLV, Cleveland’s Classical Music Station, on six occasions. The CSU Wind Ensemble, CSU Chamber Winds, and the Cleveland Winds appear on the Timothy Reynish International Repertoire Series, Vols. 12, 13, and 14 recordings, which are available on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, and other online sources. 

Donors and Sponsors

The board, music director, and the performers of the Cleveland Winds extend our thanks to the organizations, families, and individuals who have joined us in our mission.

Impresario ($1000 and above)

Cuyahoga Arts and Culture

Soloists ($500 and up)

Royalton Music Service, Scott A Soeder Counseling SVS, LLC

Principal Chair ($250 and up)

Roland 'RJ' Rovito, Mark Souther

Section Players ($100 and up)

Tom Deep, John, Holcomb, John Komperda, Andrew Smith, Maryann Veyon, Ohad Ziv

VIPs (Up to $99)

Erin Horan, David Johnson, Nada Montgomery,

Leigh Palomeque, June-Ann Seech

The Impresario. Like the conductor, these donors set vision for the entire season. Without them, we’re just a room full of people holding cold metal and wood or hitting things.

The Soloist. These donors stand out from the crowd. Like a guest soloist, their contribution is flashy, impressive, and elevates the performance to a professional standard.

Principal Chair. The "first chair" of donors. These donors ensure we start the season on the right note and help keep the standards high.

Section Player. These donors provide the reliable strength and leadership necessary to carry the melody and support the harmony.

The VIP. A wind ensemble is nothing without the roar of the crowd. These donors are the essential voices that help turn a collection of players into an ensemble.

This week, Cleveland State University welcomes composer Katahj Copley for a residency that brings a vital new perspective to the wind band stage.

The focal point of this residency is Copley’s latest major work, Amerykahn Graffiti. Having just received its premiere ten days ago, the piece is already being recognized as a groundbreaking addition to the repertoire. While it draws structural inspiration from Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, Copley shifts the lens from a traditional art gallery to the vibrant world of street art. In doing so, he has created a powerful sonic canvas that centers the Black experience, using the wind ensemble to explore culture, identity, and urban expression in a way that is both modern and deeply necessary.

Throughout this residency, the Cleveland Winds, the CSU Wind Ensemble, and the Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony are collaborating closely with the composer to bring this and other pieces to life. This partnership between professional-level musicians and talented young artists highlights the importance of new music as a living, evolving dialogue.

While the residency includes several milestone performances, it all builds toward our final spotlight concert.

The Main Event: Amerykahn Graffiti

• When: Sunday, March 1, 2026, at 3 PM
• Where: Waetjen Auditorium, CSU
• Featuring: The Cleveland Winds and Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony Group 2

If you are joining us for the full weekend, don't miss the opening events:

• Friday, Feb. 27 (7 PM): The CSU Wind Ensemble hosts CYWS Group 1 at Waetjen Auditorium.
• Saturday, Feb. 28 (1 PM): Chamber Music Recital at Drinko Recital Hall featuring performers from Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony, Cleveland State University, and the Cleveland Winds.

We invite you to join us for the March 1st performance to witness the arrival of a significant new work. There is a unique energy in hearing a piece this fresh and culturally relevant—we hope to see you in the audience to experience it live.

We are excited to share this performance with the Willoughby Fine Arts Association Wind Ensemble. The concert will be streamed on the CSU School of Music Facebook Page: https://facebook.com/ClevelandStateMusic.

Biographies

Biographies

The conductor of the Fine Arts Association Community Wind Ensemble, Tom Deep, is originally from New Castle, Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of Kent Roosevelt High School. He received his bachelor's degree in Music Education from Kent State University. His first teaching job was at Riverside High School where he taught for nine years. During that time he completed his Masters Degree in Music Education at Vandercook College of Music in Chicago, Illinois. He taught for 24 years as Director of Bands with the Shaker Heights City Schools. Tom has worked as a part-time graduate assistant in the Case Western Reserve University Ph.D. in Music Education program. Now retired, he is a frequent Guest Conductor and Clinician for school bands throughout Northeast Ohio, works with Kent State University as a supervisor of student teachers, and conducts The Fine Arts Association Community Wind Ensemble and TubaChristmas. His hobbies include composing, arranging, and golf. 

David Malinowski (Narrator) has been The Roger and Anne Clapp Chair of Performing Arts for the past 10 years. David grew up at Fine Arts, studying violin beginning at the age of 4 and then into theatre at 13. David studied Theatre and Philosophy at Ashland University and has been teaching/directing at Fine Arts for 19 years. FAA directing credits include: Jimmy Buffett’s Escape To Margaritaville, Young Frankenstein, Footloose, Cats, The Addams Family, Doctor Dolittle; The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (twice); Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka (twice); Kiss Me, Kate; Alice in Wonderland; Disney’s The Little Mermaid Jr.; My Way: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra; Xanadu; Honk!; Miracle on 34th Street The Musical; Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella; and Alice in Danceland (which he also created with his creative partner, Kyle Lorek.) Directing credits outside of The Fine Arts Association include: Almost, Maine; The Maltese Bodkin, Lonely Planet, and God of Carnage (Chagrin Valley Little Theatre), Of Mice and Men (Geauga Lyric Theatre Guild), Reverse Transcription, …Terminating, and Woo & Woe (Ashland University). He would like to thank you for your continued support of the performing arts and The Fine Arts Association.

Dr. Birch Browning is Professor of Music and Director of Bands at Cleveland State University (CSU) and Music Director of the Cleveland Winds, a professional wind band based at CSU. He taught high school band and orchestra in Florida prior to earning a Ph.D. in Music Education at Florida State University (FSU). Dr. Browning joined the faculty at CSU in 2002, and he previously taught music education courses at Stetson University and FSU. 

Along with his research work, Dr. Browning is in demand as a conductor and clinician. Dr. Browning founded the Cleveland Winds in 2009. The Cleveland Winds is the winner of The American Prize in the Band/Wind Ensemble Performance—community & school division and performed at the Ohio Music Education Association Professional Development Conference in Cleveland, Ohio in 2017 and again in 2025. The CSU Symphonic Band, CSU Chamber Winds, and the Cleveland Winds appear on the Timothy Reynish International Repertoire Series, Vols. 12, 13 and 14 recordings, which are available on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, and other online sources.

Program Notes for Cleveland Winds

This afternoon’s program centers on music that reflects compassion, humanity, and the enduring power of music in various communities and settings. Although several of the works draw on tunes often associated with the Christmas season, this is not a traditional holiday concert. Instead, the program takes Wondrous Love—a hymn of awe, grace, and human connection—as its touchstone.

while millions join the theme, I will sing.

from Wondrous Love, verse 3

Each selection is built upon pre-existing melodies that have long carried meaning for their communities. Through these re-imaginings, the composers invite us to consider the ways music preserves shared memory, lifts the spirit, and brings people together.

The opening movement of Glorioso, titled Oratio, sets the tone for reflection and reverence. Built on a chaconne with arching lines and luminous harmonies, the movement unfolds like a prayer—quiet in its beginnings, gradually expanding to moments of rich and sometimes dissonant intensity. Ito uses the wind ensemble’s sonorous palette to create a sense of suspended time, allowing listeners to dwell in a space that feels both contemplative and hopeful. Subtle shifts in color and texture give the impression of a meditation that constantly breathes and renews itself.

Although the broader work explores themes of faith and devotion, Oratio stands on its own as a musical invocation. Its expressive pacing and expansive lyricism invite the listener inward, encouraging stillness and deep listening. In many ways, it offers an ideal beginning to a program grounded in compassion and collective meaning.

Japanese composer Yasuhide Ito (b. 1960) is internationally celebrated for his contributions to the wind ensemble repertoire. Trained as both a pianist and composer, Ito writes with a distinctive blend of lyricism, dramatic flair, and cultural awareness. His works, including Asuka, Festal Scenes, and Glorioso, are performed throughout the world and are known for their spiritual depth and vibrant orchestration. Ito has also served in academic and administrative leadership roles within Japan’s musical community, further shaping the next generation of wind conductors and composers.

Dwayne Milburn’s American Hymnsong Suite offers four musical reflections on beloved hymn tunes, each transformed through his characteristic clarity, rhythmic vitality, and expressive warmth. The opening Prelude on “Wondrous Love” treats the folk hymn with deep respect, weaving its stark, modal melody into gentle suspensions that highlight themes of awe, sacrifice, and grace. Ballad on “Balm in Gilead” follows with an intimate and soulful setting, evoking the hymn’s promise of healing and comfort. Its warm harmonies and tender solo lines create a sense of quiet resilience.

The suite then pivots to brightness and buoyancy: Scherzo on “Nettleton” (the tune of Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing) introduces spirited rhythms and playful exchanges that reimagine the familiar melody with exuberance. The final movement, March on “Wilson,” pays homage to the African American composer and educator John W. Work Jr., reframing his lesser-known hymn tune in the style of a traditional American march. Together, the four movements form a tapestry of reflection, celebration, and gratitude—an exploration of how hymns carry both personal and communal meaning.

Composer, conductor, and military musician Dwayne Milburn (b. 1963) brings a wide array of musical influences to his work, ranging from American folk and hymn traditions to classical forms and popular idioms. A graduate of UCLA, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and the University of California, Davis, Milburn has enjoyed a distinguished career with U.S. military bands and as a leader in music education. His compositions are admired for their craftsmanship, rhythmic vitality, and deep-rooted sense of community and cultural history.

Though frequently performed during the holiday season, Percy Grainger’s Sussex Mummers’ Christmas Carol is, at its core, a tender arrangement of a traditional English folk song recorded from the singing of Christmas mummers in Sussex. Grainger’s setting captures the simplicity and sincerity of the original tune, allowing its gentle rise and fall to speak without embellishment. Warm, pastoral textures and carefully shaped phrases give the music an air of humility and quiet affection.

Joseph Kreines’s wind-band arrangement preserves Grainger’s characteristic clarity while enriching the work with the ensemble’s broader palette. The result is a serene, heartfelt moment within the program—music that honors tradition while offering a space for reflection on themes of community, charity, and togetherness.

Australian-born composer and pianist Percy Grainger (1882–1961) devoted much of his life to collecting, preserving, and reimagining folk music. His art is defined by a unique blend of imagination, craftsmanship, and affection for vernacular traditions. Grainger’s wind band works—Lincolnshire Posy, Irish Tune from County Derry, and many others—remain foundational to the repertoire.American arranger, conductor, and educator Joseph Kreines (1931 - 2025) is widely respected for his sensitive and practical arrangements for wind band and brass ensembles. His settings of Grainger’s music, in particular, have become staples for ensembles seeking clarity, balance, and fidelity to the composer’s style.

Alfred Reed’s Russian Christmas Music is built on melodies and liturgical chants from the Russian Orthodox tradition, though it is not a celebratory work in the Western holiday sense. Composed in 1944, the piece projects a sense of solemnity and expansive spirituality. Reed employs modal harmonies, chant-like themes, and broad, arching phrases to evoke the sound world of sacred ritual. The music unfolds in long stretches—alternating between hushed reverence and powerful, full-ensemble climaxes—creating a soundscape of deep resonance and mystery.

The work’s emotional weight reflects Reed’s intention to capture both the ancient roots and the enduring spirit of the Russian musical tradition. The result is a profoundly expressive piece that invites listeners into a space of reflection and quiet awe—echoing the larger program’s themes of humanity, compassion, and collective hope.

American composer Alfred Reed (1921–2005) ranks among the most performed and influential writers for wind band. A prolific composer, conductor, and educator, Reed wrote more than 200 works, many of which—Armenian Dances, A Festival Prelude, El Camino Real—are pillars of the repertoire. His music is marked by its rich orchestrations, expressive breadth, and accessibility, making him a foundational voice in the development of the modern wind ensemble.

Julie Giroux’s Christmas and Sousa Forever is an affectionate and whimsical tribute to John Philip Sousa’s enduring march tradition. While its foundation is unmistakably The Stars and Stripes Forever, Giroux seamlessly interlaces a wide array of beloved Christmas carols and hymns, creating a humorous and celebratory collage. Melodies weave in and out of Sousa’s iconic strains—sometimes clearly stated, sometimes cleverly disguised—resulting in a piece that is as entertaining as it is musically inventive.

Rather than presenting a traditional holiday medley, Giroux plays with audience expectations, inviting listeners to hear familiar tunes in unexpected contexts. The work is lighthearted in spirit but also crafted with impressive skill, offering the ensemble a chance to display both finesse and good fun at the close of the program.

Emmy-winning composer Julie Giroux (b. 1961) has written extensively for film, television, and the concert stage. A leading voice in contemporary wind literature, her music ranges from deeply expressive works such as One Life Beautiful to virtuosic showpieces and imaginative concert finales. Giroux’s writing is known for its emotional sincerity, structural clarity, and ability to connect with performers and audiences alike.

We hope you enjoy the performances, and we thank you for being a part of our music community this afternoon.

Donors and Sponsors

The board, music director, and the performers of the Cleveland Winds extend our thanks to the organizations, families, and individuals who have joined us in our mission.

Impresario ($1000 and above)

Cuyahoga Arts and Culture

Soloists ($500 and up)

Royalton Music Service, Scott A Soeder Counseling SVS, LLC

Principal Chair ($250 and up)

Roland 'RJ' Rovito, Mark Souther

Section Players ($100 and up)

John Komperda, Maryann Veyon, Ohad Ziv

VIPs (Up to $99)

Erin Horan, David Johnson, Nada Montgomery,

Leigh Palomeque, June-Ann Seech

The Impresario. Like the conductor, these donors set vision for the entire season. Without them, we’re just a room full of people holding cold metal and wood or hitting things.

The Soloist. These donors stand out from the crowd. Like a guest soloist, their contribution is flashy, impressive, and elevates the performance to a professional standard.

Principal Chair. The "first chair" of donors. These donors ensure we start the season on the right note and help keep the standards high.

Section Player. These donors provide the reliable strength and leadership necessary to carry the melody and support the harmony.

The VIP. A wind ensemble is nothing without the roar of the crowd. These donors are the essential voices that help turn a collection of players into an ensemble.

Upcoming Performances in Spring 2026

The Cleveland Winds, in partnership with the CSU School of Music and the Cleveland Youth Winds Symphony, is excited to co-host a thrilling three-day festival showcasing the dynamic compositions of acclaimed composer Katahj Copley!

Friday, February 27, 2026: An Evening of Wind Ensemble Excellence

• The CSU Wind Ensemble hosts Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony Group 1 (Music Directors Darren Allen and Dan Crain).
• When: Friday, February 27, 2026, at 7 PM
• Where: Waetjen Auditorium, CSU

Saturday, February 28, 2026: Inaugural Chamber Music Recital

• Experience the intimacy and artistry of our first-ever Chamber Ensemble Recital, featuring performers from the Cleveland Winds, the CSU Wind Ensemble, and the Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony.
• When: Saturday, February 28, 2026, at 1 PM
• Where: Drinko Recital Hall, CSU

Sunday, March 1, 2026: Youth Wind Symphony Spotlight

• The Cleveland Winds hosts Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony Group 2 (Music Directors Michael Komperda and Mark Awad).
• When: Sunday, March 1, 2026, at 3 PM
• Where: Waetjen Auditorium, CSU

Grand Finale: Amerykahn Graffiti

The culmination of this series will feature a performance of Katahj Copley’s latest major work, Amerykahn Graffiti. This piece is a modern take on Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, but instead of gallery paintings, Copley’s composition is inspired by the vibrant world of street art.

You can explore the inspiration behind this groundbreaking piece on Mr. Copley’s website: https://www.katahjcopleymusic.com/amerykahngraffiti.

Support Local Music

All our concerts are free and open to the public, thanks in part to the support of the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts and Culture.

While admission is free, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help us continue bringing world-class wind music to our community! Visit ClevelandWinds.org/support.

We can't wait to see you at a performance!

We are absolutely delighted to share some significant news for the Cleveland Winds!

Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC) has reaffirmed its commitment to our mission by renewing and substantially increasing our project support grant. This year, the grant has been boosted from $3,700 to a robust $5,000!

This renewed and expanded investment is a powerful affirmation of the Cleveland Winds’ financial health, artistic impact, and accelerating organizational growth.

This critical funding immediately enables us to:

• Design and deliver an even more ambitious and exhilarating 2026–27 performance series.
• Significantly strengthen and expand our vital educational outreach initiatives throughout the community.

The future is incredibly bright for the Cleveland Winds, and we are poised for great things. Stay tuned for updates as we prepare to launch a truly exciting new chapter!

Get ready for an extraordinary musical journey! The Cleveland Winds is thrilled to announce its 2025-2026 performance series, featuring exciting guest ensembles, celebrated guest composers, and our inaugural chamber music recital. Even better—all concerts are free and open to the public!

December 7, 2025: Wondrous Love

Kick off your holiday season with a magnificent afternoon of music!

Join us on Sunday, December 7, 2025, at 3 PM in Waetjen Auditorium at Cleveland State University (CSU).

• Guest Ensemble: We are proud to host the Willoughby Fine Arts Association Wind Ensemble, conducted by Mr. Tom Deep, performing seasonal favorites.
• The Cleveland Winds Performance, "Wondrous Love," will feature inspiring selections including two settings of the traditional hymn Wondrous Love, a movement from Dwayne S. Milburn's American Hymnsong Suite, and David Liptak's The Sacred Harp. The program will also include the powerful first movement of Yasuhide Ito's Gloriosa, Oratorio, Percy Grainger's festive setting of The Sussex Mummer’s Christmas Carol, and Alfred Reed’s monumental classic, Russian Christmas Music, all culminating in a surprise closing selection!

A Special Collaboration: The Music of Katahj Copley

The Cleveland Winds, in partnership with the CSU School of Music and the Cleveland Youth Winds Symphony, is excited to co-host a thrilling three-day festival showcasing the dynamic compositions of acclaimed composer Katahj Copley!

Friday, February 27, 2026: An Evening of Wind Ensemble Excellence

• The CSU Wind Ensemble hosts Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony Group 1 (Music Directors Darren Allen and Dan Crain).
• When: Friday, February 27, 2026, at 7 PM
• Where: Waetjen Auditorium, CSU

Saturday, February 28, 2026: Inaugural Chamber Music Recital

• Experience the intimacy and artistry of our first-ever Chamber Ensemble Recital, featuring performers from the Cleveland Winds, the CSU Wind Ensemble, and the Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony.
• When: Saturday, February 28, 2026, at 1 PM
• Where: Drinko Recital Hall, CSU

Sunday, March 1, 2026: Youth Wind Symphony Spotlight

• The Cleveland Winds hosts Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony Group 2 (Music Directors Michael Komperda and Mark Awad).
• When: Sunday, March 1, 2026, at 3 PM
• Where: Waetjen Auditorium, CSU

Grand Finale: Amerykahn Graffiti

The culmination of this series will feature a performance of Katahj Copley’s latest major work, Amerykahn Graffiti. This piece is a modern take on Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, but instead of gallery paintings, Copley’s composition is inspired by the vibrant world of street art.

You can explore the inspiration behind this groundbreaking piece on Mr. Copley’s website: https://www.katahjcopleymusic.com/amerykahngraffiti.

Support Local Music

All our concerts are free and open to the public, thanks in part to the support of the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts and Culture.

While admission is free, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help us continue bringing world-class wind music to our community! Visit ClevelandWinds.org/support.

We can't wait to see you at a performance!

Luis Serrano Alarcón - Angelita

The composer has written that he composed this pasodoble (Spanish march) "in memory of my grandmother Ángeles, on the centenary of her birth (1912-2012). With all my love."

Yasuhide Ito - Arietta

Premiered on 3rd December 2024 by Senzoku Gakuen College of Music Green-Tie Wind Ensemble, conducted by Luis Serrano Alarcon, Arietta for Wind Ensemble was designed as a five-minute intermezzo in a slow tempo to be performed between Alarc6n's dramatic and passionate works. Arietta is of moderate difficulty, written with educational purposes in mind by fostering expressive playing in wind ensembles.

The composition emphasizes awareness of harmony and non-harmonic notes, phrasing which incorporates anacruses, natural agogics derived from these elements, beautiful soft playing, delicate dynamic shifts, percussion that enhances tonal colour, musical structure, and attentive listening to other voices.

In contrast to increasingly technique-focused pieces that dominate today's wind ensemble repertoire, Arietta invites listeners to enjoy a gentler, more introspective kind of music. As the introductory motif unfolds, one may catch glimpses of familiar melodies. I hope it conveys both my affection for and a homage to wind music.

The instrumentation follows the formation recommended by the All Japan Band Association for wind band competition test pieces, allowing for performances by both smaller ensembles and full-sized wind bands.

Luis Serrano Alarcón - Third Symphony “Jalupe” for Wind Orchestra

I.    From a place too far away

II.    Crazy nights collage

III.   “The only immortality you and I may share”

It is impossible to represent, in just 25 minutes of music, all the feelings, love and admiration I felt for my brother Fernando. But, after his death in February 2022 and several months of painful mourning, I felt the need to do something in his honor and in his memory. Thus the idea of ​​writing my third symphony was born. This is not intended to be a funeral work, rather, it wants to be the opposite: a song to life and to the greatness of the human being represented in the figure of my brother.

The work is written in three movements. The place too far away to which the first of them alludes is, evidently, childhood. A childhood so far away that it is lost in memory and that I have been able to recover from old photos in which I appear with my brother: It is our shared childhood, in which that powerful bond of brotherhood was forged that accompanied us throughout our lives.

The crazy nights of the second movement are those of our youth: Nights of festivals, of parties, of an overflowing joy that seemed to have no end. The remembrances crowd into my memory in torrents like a disordered collage. The soundscape that accompanies these images mixes, without apparent control, rhythms that go from swing to flamenco, in a varied amalgam that represents the multiple faces of happiness.

The quote that gives title to the third movement is the last sentence of the novel Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. This movement, a tribute to man in all his plenitude, is basically a theme with four variations of very different character. After the fourth, the organ's appearance gives way to the sung exposition of the theme, an allegorical construction that gives voice to those who have left.

A final presentation of the theme in a powerful tutti constitutes, together with the previously sung part, the absolute climax of the composition. The work closes with a grand coda on the F pedal of exactly 47 bars. The last of a long list of symbolic details hidden throughout the composition.

Click to download the printed program.

Program Notes

Viet Cuong is a contemporary American composer known for his innovative and engaging works for wind ensembles, orchestras, and chamber groups. Born in 1990, Cuong has quickly gained recognition for his unique voice and vibrant compositions. He holds degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music, Princeton University, and the Peabody Conservatory. Cuong's music often explores themes of nature and movement, characterized by its rhythmic vitality and colorful textures.

The “moth to the flame” narrative is a familiar one. We have all seen moths in the glow of flames or stadium lights. Scientists call this phenomenon “phototaxis,” but I prefer to think of this attraction in much more romantic terms. The dusty moth, though destined to live in shadow, has an insatiable craving for the brightness of day. Drab, but elegant, nervous, but swift, his taste for the glow of the flame or the filament is dire. Perhaps he dances in the light because it holds the promise that he might be as beautiful as his favored kin, the butterfly. For only there, in its ecstatic warmth, may he spend the last of his fleeting life, and believe himself to be.

Moth seeks inspiration from the dualities between light and dark, beautiful and grotesque, reality and fantasy, and the ultimate decision to sacrifice sensibility for grace.

The composer has a number of works that are accessible by middle school and high school bands, ranging from Inland Ocean (grade 2.5) to Diamond Tide (grade 3.5). Viet Cuong’s Deciduous (grade 4.5), commissioned by the Florida Bandmasters Association, was the winner of the 2023 NBA William D. Revelli Memorial Composition Contest.
 
Carter Pann is an acclaimed American composer and pianist known for his diverse body of work, which includes compositions for orchestra, wind ensemble, chamber groups, and solo instruments. He has collaborated with renowned ensembles such as the London Symphony Orchestra and the Seattle Symphony. Pann's music is characterized by its lyrical melodies and vibrant harmonies. He has received numerous accolades, including a Charles Ives Fellowship and multiple ASCAP awards, and he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Music in 2016.

The Three Embraces (2013) was commissioned by current and former students and dear friends in celebration of Allan McMurray’s final concert after 35 years as Director of Bands at the University of Colorado.

In three movements, these pieces are songs for band. Within The Three Embraces I strived to explore completely new musical territory — different from that of my previous works for winds.

The first and second movements are titled “Antique, Calming” and “With Quiet Longing,” respectively, and are to sound like aural aromas. The players are given a long trail of the softest dynamics — full fortes are rare events in these pieces. Requesting the utmost dynamic restraint from wind and brass players is a risk I have learned to relish taking. The musical reward is so great and the timbral beauty so rich and ever so right to my ears. These first two movements also feature harp as a prevailing color suffusing the music, giving them what I hope to be an aura of ancient, inward elegance (Maurice Ravel lurks in the shadows of these two model Renaissance compositions).

The final movement is a celebration, beginning with three bold proclamations for saxophones and high brass. As the movement unfolds there are pastoral melodies juxtaposed over more modern, angular harmonies. In describing the last movement to Allan at the beginning of rehearsals I made a quip that I now find quite apt: It represents a chance encounter between Schubert and Stravinsky on the Appalachian Trail. This is not the first work I have had the fortune to dedicate to him, but it has become the dearest to me — a final expression for a colleague, mentor, and friend. Over the years I have come to learn of Allan’s path through music over time, the key mentors of his past, and his performing experiences around the world. I have even had the pleasure of meeting him in faraway places to share a gig. It is through this kind of time with him (and some very special time on his back deck overlooking much of the Boulder/Denver area) that I have learned this gentleman’s values, both in music and in life. His humor is magnetic and ever-present, his magnanimity so humble. I count myself a lucky one to have had a window of time on faculty with such an extraordinary musician and giving person as Allan McMurray.

Carter Pann has two pieces that high school bands should perform. At her Ladyship’s Request was an idea born out of admiration for the wind works of Percy Aldridge Grainger – most notably his Lincolnshire Posy. Hold This Boy and Listen is a lyrical work where the melodies and harmonies return, creating a structure not unlike standard song structure. The sentiment is at times innocent or wistful and at other times haunted and serene.

Katahj Copley (b. 1998) is a dynamic American composer, saxophonist, and educator whose music has rapidly gained recognition in the wind band and chamber music world. Born in Carrollton, Georgia, Copley's musical journey began at the University of West Georgia, where he earned his bachelor's degree in music education and composition.
Copley's music is characterized by its vibrant energy, emotional depth, and innovative use of sound. His compositions often explore the realms of imagination and freedom, which invites listeners to experience a mesmerizing tapestry of shifting rhythms and blending colors.

About DOPE, Katahj Copley wrote:

The first semester of my masters- I was in a different headspace. I had finished writing Where the Sky Has No Stars and at the moment I felt renewed. I didn’t know what else to write, so I began to write music that felt disingenuous to my spirit (music that will never see the light of day)- I was going on autopilot and I had lost my voice. During one of my lessons at UT Austin, my professor Omar Thomas and I began listening to a piece I had mocked up a couple of days before. We both weren’t feeling it, and finally I asked him to turn off the piece and I told him it didn’t sound like me. I felt lost creatively. He then asked me what music I listen to. I began to name only band music composers. He asked me again, and I told him outside of wind band music I’m in love with Rap, R & B, Jazz and Soul.

Then he asked an important question- “Why do you make a barrier between those ideals?”

I didn’t have an answer. It was a wake-up call for me. Why was I compartmentalizing my musical inspirations?

He continued, “If you create something that is a celebration of who you are, the music you grew up with, and the music that inspires you now… then that would be dope…”

And with that this piece was born. With that realization, I began to create a piece that celebrated all the music that had inspired me throughout my life. From Thundercat to Kendrick Lamar, Miles Davis to Hiatus Kaiyote, I wanted to bring all of these influences together into one cohesive work...one dope work. DOPE is a gumbo of all the music that inspires and influences me from Thundercat to Kendrick Lamar to Miles Davis to Hiatus Kaiyote and more, this piece is in essence a deep look into my musical world.
The piece can be broken up into three parts. Since this work is dedicated to the trail black music has created, inspired and the new horizons it’s reaching, each part is named after a part of the black identity.

UNDENIABLY (which is the partial score) is the opening of the piece. It's gritty, intense with moments of color and undeniable energy. It is carried by a bass line heavily influenced by Thundercat's playing on Kendrick Lamar's Untitled 05 along with Miles Davis's Nardis.

UNAPOLOGETICALLY (the middle section) is a world building vibe and examines just how beautiful the music can be. I explore the colors and stretch them to their limits, but in doing so found new hues within myself and my writings. With this act, I gained heavy inspiration from John Coltrane, Robert Glasper, Kamasi Washington and Hiatus Kaiyote (to name a few)

UNDISPUTEDLY (the finale) is an intense, groove filled statement. Every color explored is here and is in its full potential. It's bold and- like undeniably and unapologetically- is undisputedly black. Guided by my love for Tyler, the Creator's Hot Wind Blows, Marvin Gaye's I Want You ( due to Kendrick's The Heart series), and Kamasi Washington's Street Fighter Mas along with Askem.

I hope that "DOPE" will serve as a tribute to the black musicians who have paved the way and inspired me to create music that is authentic to who I am. I also hope that this piece will inspire others to break down the barriers between their musical influences and create something truly unique and personal.

Katahj Copley has numerous grade 3 to grade 6 works that are accessible by advanced middle school and high school ensembles. One of Dr. Browning’s favorites is Halcyon Hearts.

Support the Cleveland Winds and help us continue our mission of musical excellence! Click to make a tax-deductible donation today or scan the QR code. Your generosity helps bring world-class performances, new commissions, and inspiring collaborations to life.

The Cleveland Winds have been invited to perform at the Ohio Music Education Association Professional Development Conference at the Huntington Convention Center. The Winds will perform on Saturday, February 8th at 9:30 AM.

The Winds will recap two selections from their Fall 2024 concert, Viet Cuong's Moth and Carter Pann's The Three Embraces. We will close our performance with a third and final performance of Katahj Copley's hip-hop inspired DOPE!

We are excited to announce that we were awarded second place of The American Prize in Band/Wind Ensemble Performance—community division, 2024!

The Cleveland Winds is proud to host Trumpet performer Ashley Hall-Tighe in a performance that features music by Viet Cuong, Nicole Piunno, Carter Pann, and Martin Ellerby. The CSU Wind Ensemble will perform on the first half of the concert in Waetjen Auditorium on Sunday, November 17, 2023.

Moth Viet Cuong (b. 1990)

Trumpet Concertino Nicole Piunno (b. 1985)

The Three Embraces Carter Pann (b. 1972)

Cane River Murals Martin Ellerby (b. 1957)

I. Spring Planting (Spiritual)

II. Wash Day (Scherzo)

III. Baptism, Wedding & Funeral (Triptych)

IV. Honky Tonk (Blues)

V. Pecan Harvest (Celebration)

Viet Cuong is a contemporary American composer known for his innovative and engaging works for wind ensembles, orchestras, and chamber groups. Born in 1990, Cuong has quickly gained recognition for his unique voice and vibrant compositions. He holds degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music, Princeton University, and the Peabody Conservatory. Cuong's music often explores themes of nature and movement, characterized by its rhythmic vitality and colorful textures.

Moth is a captivating piece that explores the delicate and elusive nature of its namesake insect. The composition is noted for its intricate interplay of textures and dynamic contrasts, capturing the fluttering and unpredictable flight of a moth. The music weaves through shimmering harmonies and sudden bursts of energy, reflecting both the fragility and resilience found in nature. Moth invites listeners to experience a vivid auditory journey, embodying Cuong's signature blend of innovation and emotional depth.

 Ashley Hall-Tighe Ashley Hall-Tighe is an internationally acclaimed trumpet soloist, educator, and certified life coach, celebrated for her exceptional talent and versatility. With nearly two decades of experience, she has performed across four continents and in renowned venues such as the Sydney Opera House and the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing. In 2019, she made history as the first trumpeter to perform for the Matinee Musicale concert series in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Since 2008, Ashley has served as the principal trumpet of the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and, in August 2023, became the second female member of the esteemed Canadian Brass. Her performances are noted for their energetic joy, stunning technique, and expressive artistry.

As an educator, Ashley combines her passion for whole-person development with a comprehensive approach to trumpet instruction. She has taught at prestigious institutions like the University of Dayton and St. Olaf College and was the founding director of Longy School of Music's Career Coaching Program from 2019 to 2022.

In addition to her musical endeavors, Ashley is an Associate Certified Coach through the International Coaching Federation, empowering artists to align their values with their creative lives. She is set to release her debut solo album, "Upcycle," in fall 2024.

Residing in Cincinnati with her husband Dr. Nathaniel Tighe and their two children, Ashley starts each day with coffee and journaling, striving to live with intention, joy, and authenticity.

Nicole Piunno is an American composer known for her expressive and emotive works, particularly for wind ensembles and brass. She holds degrees in both music education and composition, having studied at the University of Michigan and Michigan State University. Piunno's compositions often explore themes of resilience and beauty, drawing from her personal experiences and insights. Her music is widely performed across the United States, appreciated for its lyrical melodies and rich harmonic language.

Composed in 2018, Nicole Piunno's Trumpet Concertino is a vibrant work that showcases the trumpet's versatility and expressive range. The piece is approximately 10 minutes long and is designed for advanced performers, rated at a difficulty level of 4.5 to 5. It features a blend of lyrical passages and technical brilliance, allowing the soloist to explore both the melodic and virtuosic capabilities of the instrument. The "Trumpet Concertino" reflects Piunno's signature style, combining emotional depth with engaging musical narratives.

Carter Pann is an acclaimed American composer and pianist known for his diverse body of work, which includes compositions for orchestra, wind ensemble, chamber groups, and solo instruments. He has collaborated with renowned ensembles such as the London Symphony Orchestra and the Seattle Symphony. Pann's music is characterized by its lyrical melodies and vibrant harmonies. He has received numerous accolades, including a Charles Ives Fellowship and multiple ASCAP awards, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Music in 2016.

The Three Embraces by Carter Pann is a suite for wind ensemble that explores themes of connection and emotion through its three movements. Each movement captures a different aspect of human interaction, ranging from tender intimacy to exuberant joy. The work is noted for its lush orchestration and expressive melodic lines, inviting listeners to experience a journey through various emotional landscapes. The piece exemplifies Pann's ability to blend traditional musical forms with contemporary sensibilities, creating a piece that resonates deeply with audiences.

Martin Ellerby, born in 1957 in Worksop, England, is a distinguished composer known for his extensive contributions to wind band, brass band, and orchestral music. He studied composition at the Royal College of Music under Joseph Horovitz and later with Wilfred Josephs. Ellerby's works have been performed globally in prestigious venues such as the Royal Albert Hall and Carnegie Hall. He has composed numerous symphonies, concertos, and test pieces for major brass band contests, earning several awards and honors throughout his career.

Cane River Murals is a vivid musical depiction inspired by the rich cultural history and landscapes of the Cane River region in Louisiana. The piece captures the vibrant spirit and diverse heritage of the area through its dynamic orchestration and evocative themes. Ellerby's composition weaves together elements of traditional melodies and contemporary harmonies, creating a tapestry of sound that reflects the region's unique blend of influences. The piece invites listeners to explore the historical and cultural narratives embedded within its musical landscape.

PROGRAM

The Cleveland Winds

Fantasia on Aura Lee - Ira Hearshen

Perpetua - Peter Meechan

DOPE! - Katahj Copley

The Cleveland Winds is a 503(c) non-profit tax-deductible organization, supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to support the mission of the Cleveland Winds via PayPal.

PROGRAM NOTES

Aura Lee is a folksong with deep roots in American life. First becoming popular in the mid-nineteenth century, the song has been sung at the West Point Military Academy since before the Civil War. At this venerable academy, it became known as The Army Blue. The music is attributed ot George R. Poulton and appears ot have existed at least as early as 1846. The song is usually reserved for sentimental occasions such as the last dance at West Point events or "Front and Center" at Graduation Parade.

With new lyrics by Vera Matson and Elvis Presley, the song was used in the 1956 film Love Me Tender, Presley's first movie, which was immensely popular. The "new" title song was to obscure the origins and traditions of Aura Lee for years to come.

This spectacular treatment by Ira Hearshen gives the simple and beautiful melody an astounding transformation. Brilliant scoring, intense emotional content and fantastical thematic development lend the tune a personality few would expect to hear. It is joyous, celebratory and triumphant, trumpeting in glorious fashion the heritage of American folksong and the pride of the United States Army cadets. It remains fresh and listenable, while demonstrating the contemporary harmonic, rhythmic and timbral command of the arranger.

Ira Hearshen (born 30 November 1948) received his B.M. degree from Wayne State University. Studio and other professional work as a trumpet player led to an opportunity in 1983 to work with Hollywood composer Joe Harnell on his two series (running concurrently) Cliffhangers and The Incredible Hulk. Since then, he has worked steadily as an arranger/orchestrator for motion pictures, television and recording, including assignments with such composers as Randy Newman, Lalo Schifrin, Lee Holdrige and others. His many film credits include scoring sequences from The Scorpion King, A Bug's Life and Toy Story 2, which include the Sinatra-style arrangement of the movie's theme "You've Got A Friend In Me," written by Randy Newman and sung by Robert Goulet. Hearshen was also co-orchestrator for Monsters, Inc., including the Randy Newman song "If I Didn't Have You," for which Newman won the Oscar for best song in 2001. Hearshen's work for the concert stage include his Symphony on Themes of John Philip Sousa, a forty-five-minute, four-movement symphony nominated for the 1997 Pulitzer Prize in music, Divertimento for Band, a Patriotic Overture and the present Fantasia on Aura Lee (Army Blue) to commemorate the two hundredth anniversary of the founding of the West Point Military Academy.

Hearshen believes that not only is the art of music arranging not dead as some would have us believe, but that it is in fact more alive than ever, as it is changing with the times in the new worlds of electronics, world music, computers, the internet and multi- media entertainment.

Perpetua was written in between two other works that deal with dark subject matters, Close to the Sun (written for a friend whose brother's life was lost tragically early) and let this place (a work that bridges the Holocaust, the current rise in anti-Semitism, and the current lack of humanity in society), I wanted -- and personally needed -- Perpetua to be something that was joyful, hopeful, energetic, exciting, and fun. In that Close to the Sun and let this place were reflections of what I saw around me in my community, Perpetua is the world I want to live in.

In writing Perpetua I wanted to compose a piece of perpetual motion, that is challenging, exciting, and fun -- all brought together through a sense of joy.

Perpetua was commissioned by Foothills Concert Band (Calgary, AB, Canada) and their conductor, Anthony Reimer.

• Program Note by Peter Meechan

The first semester of my masters- I was in a different headspace. I had finished writing Where the Sky Has No Stars and at the moment I felt renewed. I didn’t know what else to write, so I began to write music that felt disingenuous to my spirit (music that will never see the light of day)- I was going on autopilot and I had lost my voice. During one of my lessons at UT Austin, my professor Omar Thomas and I began listening to a piece I had mocked up a couple of days before. We both weren’t feeling it, and finally I asked him to turn off the piece and I told him it didn’t sound like me. I felt lost creatively. He then asked me what music I listen to. I began to name only band music composers. He asked me again, and I told him outside of wind band music I’m in love with Rap, R & B, Jazz and Soul. 

Then he asked an important question- “Why do you make a barrier between those ideals?” 

I didn’t have an answer. It was a wake-up call for me. Why was I compartmentalizing my musical inspirations?

He continued, “If you create something that is a celebration of who you are, the music you grew up with, and the music that inspires you now… then that would be dope…” 

And with that this piece was born. With that realization, I began to create a piece that celebrated all the music that had inspired me throughout my life. From Thundercat to Kendrick Lamar, Miles Davis to Hiatus Kaiyote, I wanted to bring all of these influences together into one cohesive work...one dope work. DOPE is a gumbo of all the music that inspires and influences me from Thundercat to Kendrick Lamar to Miles Davis to Hiatus Kaiyote and more, this piece is in essence a deep look into my musical world. 

The piece can be broken up into three parts. Since this work is dedicated to the trail black music has created, inspired and the new horizons it’s reaching, each part is named after a part of the black identity.

UNDENIABLY (which is the partial score) is the opening of the piece. It's gritty, intense with moments of color and undeniable energy. It is carried by a bass line heavily influenced by Thundercat's playing on Kendrick Lamar's Untitled 05 along with Miles Davis's Nardis. 

UNAPOLOGETICALLY (the middle section) is a world building vibe and examines just how beautiful the music can be. I explore the colors and stretch them to their limits, but in doing so found new hues within myself and my writings. With this act, I gained heavy inspiration from John Coltrane, Robert Glasper, Kamasi Washington and Hiatus Kaiyote (to name a few)

UNDISPUTEDLY (the finale) is an intense, groove filled statement. Every color explored is here and is in its full potential. It's bold and- like undeniably and unapologetically- is undisputedly black. Guided by my love for Tyler, the Creator's Hot Wind Blows, Marvin Gaye's I Want You ( due to Kendrick's The Heart series), and Kamasi Washington's Street Fighter Mas along with Askem. 

I hope that "DOPE" will serve as a tribute to the black musicians who have paved the way and inspired me to create music that is authentic to who I am. I also hope that this piece will inspire others to break down the barriers between their musical influences and create something truly unique and personal.

PREMIERE: October 9, 2022 
University of South Carolina Symphonic Winds (DR. JAY JACOBS, CONDUCTOR)

• Program note by Katahj Copley

Music Director

Dr. Birch Browning is Professor of Music and Director of Bands at Cleveland State University (CSU) and Music Director of the Cleveland Winds, a professional wind band based at CSU. He taught high school band and orchestra in Florida prior to earning a Ph.D. in Music Education at Florida State University (FSU). Dr. Browning joined the faculty at CSU in 2002, and he previously taught music education courses at Stetson University and FSU.

Along with his research work, Dr. Browning is in demand as a conductor and clinician. Dr. Browning founded the Cleveland Winds in 2009. The Cleveland Winds is the winner of The American Prize in the Band/Wind Ensemble Performance—community & school division and performed at the Ohio Music Education Association Professional Development Conference in Cleveland, Ohio in 2017. The CSU Chamber Winds performed at the same conference in 2005 and 2015. Dr. Browning’s ensembles have given live performances on WCLV, Cleveland’s Classical Music Station, on six occasions. The CSU Symphonic Band, CSU Chamber Winds, and the Cleveland Winds appear on the Timothy Reynish International Repertoire Series, Vol. 12 recording, which is available on iTunes and Spotify. Selections from the Cleveland Winds March 2022 concert, including the US premiere of Luis Alarcón's Cello Concerto with winds, percussion, and piano, will appear in volume 13 in the series.

PROGRAM

Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony Group 2

American Heritage - Ryan Nowlin

Infinity - Katahj Copley

Wind of Change - Peter Meechan

Blue and Green Music - Samuel Hazo

Blue Radiance - Nicole Piunno

Russian Sailor’s Dance (from The Red Poppy) - Reinhold Glière arr. Robert Longfieldt

~ INTERMISSION ~

The Cleveland Winds

Fantasia on Aura Lee - Ira Hearshen

Perpetua - Peter Meechan

DOPE! - Katahj Copley

The Cleveland Winds is a 503(c) non-profit tax-deductable organization, supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to support the mission of the Cleveland Winds via PayPal.

PROGRAM NOTES

Aura Lee is a folksong with deep roots in American life. First becoming popular in the mid-nineteenth century, the song has been sung at the West Point Military Academy since before the Civil War. At this venerable academy, it became known as The Army Blue. The music is attributed ot George R. Poulton and appears ot have existed at least as early as 1846. The song is usually reserved for sentimental occasions such as the last dance at West Point events or "Front and Center" at Graduation Parade.

With new lyrics by Vera Matson and Elvis Presley, the song was used in the 1956 film Love Me Tender, Presley's first movie, which was immensely popular. The "new" title song was to obscure the origins and traditions of Aura Lee for years to come.

This spectacular treatment by Ira Hearshen gives the simple and beautiful melody an astounding transformation. Brilliant scoring, intense emotional content and fantastical thematic development lend the tune a personality few would expect to hear. It is joyous, celebratory and triumphant, trumpeting in glorious fashion the heritage of American folksong and the pride of the United States Army cadets. It remains fresh and listenable, while demonstrating the contemporary harmonic, rhythmic and timbral command of the arranger.

Ira Hearshen (born 30 November 1948) received his B.M. degree from Wayne State University. Studio and other professional work as a trumpet player led to an opportunity in 1983 to work with Hollywood composer Joe Harnell on his two series (running concurrently) Cliffhangers and The Incredible Hulk. Since then, he has worked steadily as an arranger/orchestrator for motion pictures, television and recording, including assignments with such composers as Randy Newman, Lalo Schifrin, Lee Holdrige and others. His many film credits include scoring sequences from The Scorpion King, A Bug's Life and Toy Story 2, which include the Sinatra-style arrangement of the movie's theme "You've Got A Friend In Me," written by Randy Newman and sung by Robert Goulet. Hearshen was also co-orchestrator for Monsters, Inc., including the Randy Newman song "If I Didn't Have You," for which Newman won the Oscar for best song in 2001. Hearshen's work for the concert stage include his Symphony on Themes of John Philip Sousa, a forty-five-minute, four-movement symphony nominated for the 1997 Pulitzer Prize in music, Divertimento for Band, a Patriotic Overture and the present Fantasia on Aura Lee (Army Blue) to commemorate the two hundredth anniversary of the founding of the West Point Military Academy.

Hearshen believes that not only is the art of music arranging not dead as some would have us believe, but that it is in fact more alive than ever, as it is changing with the times in the new worlds of electronics, world music, computers, the internet and multi- media entertainment.

Perpetua was written in between two other works that deal with dark subject matters, Close to the Sun (written for a friend whose brother's life was lost tragically early) and let this place (a work that bridges the Holocaust, the current rise in anti-Semitism, and the current lack of humanity in society), I wanted -- and personally needed -- Perpetua to be something that was joyful, hopeful, energetic, exciting, and fun. In that Close to the Sun and let this place were reflections of what I saw around me in my community, Perpetua is the world I want to live in.

In writing Perpetua I wanted to compose a piece of perpetual motion, that is challenging, exciting, and fun -- all brought together through a sense of joy.

Perpetua was commissioned by Foothills Concert Band (Calgary, AB, Canada) and their conductor, Anthony Reimer.

• Program Note by Peter Meechan

The first semester of my masters- I was in a different headspace. I had finished writing Where the Sky Has No Stars and at the moment I felt renewed. I didn’t know what else to write, so I began to write music that felt disingenuous to my spirit (music that will never see the light of day)- I was going on autopilot and I had lost my voice. During one of my lessons at UT Austin, my professor Omar Thomas and I began listening to a piece I had mocked up a couple of days before. We both weren’t feeling it, and finally I asked him to turn off the piece and I told him it didn’t sound like me. I felt lost creatively. He then asked me what music I listen to. I began to name only band music composers. He asked me again, and I told him outside of wind band music I’m in love with Rap, R & B, Jazz and Soul. 

Then he asked an important question- “Why do you make a barrier between those ideals?” 

I didn’t have an answer. It was a wake-up call for me. Why was I compartmentalizing my musical inspirations?

He continued, “If you create something that is a celebration of who you are, the music you grew up with, and the music that inspires you now… then that would be dope…” 

And with that this piece was born. With that realization, I began to create a piece that celebrated all the music that had inspired me throughout my life. From Thundercat to Kendrick Lamar, Miles Davis to Hiatus Kaiyote, I wanted to bring all of these influences together into one cohesive work...one dope work. DOPE is a gumbo of all the music that inspires and influences me from Thundercat to Kendrick Lamar to Miles Davis to Hiatus Kaiyote and more, this piece is in essence a deep look into my musical world. 

The piece can be broken up into three parts. Since this work is dedicated to the trail black music has created, inspired and the new horizons it’s reaching, each part is named after a part of the black identity.

UNDENIABLY (which is the partial score) is the opening of the piece. It's gritty, intense with moments of color and undeniable energy. It is carried by a bass line heavily influenced by Thundercat's playing on Kendrick Lamar's Untitled 05 along with Miles Davis's Nardis. 

UNAPOLOGETICALLY (the middle section) is a world building vibe and examines just how beautiful the music can be. I explore the colors and stretch them to their limits, but in doing so found new hues within myself and my writings. With this act, I gained heavy inspiration from John Coltrane, Robert Glasper, Kamasi Washington and Hiatus Kaiyote (to name a few)

UNDISPUTEDLY (the finale) is an intense, groove filled statement. Every color explored is here and is in its full potential. It's bold and- like undeniably and unapologetically- is undisputedly black. Guided by my love for Tyler, the Creator's Hot Wind Blows, Marvin Gaye's I Want You ( due to Kendrick's The Heart series), and Kamasi Washington's Street Fighter Mas along with Askem. 

I hope that "DOPE" will serve as a tribute to the black musicians who have paved the way and inspired me to create music that is authentic to who I am. I also hope that this piece will inspire others to break down the barriers between their musical influences and create something truly unique and personal.

PREMIERE: October 9, 2022 
University of South Carolina Symphonic Winds (DR. JAY JACOBS, CONDUCTOR)

• Program note by Katahj Copley

BIOGRAPHIES

The music of Canadian-British composer Peter Meechan (b. 1980, Nuneaton, UK) is extensively performed throughout the world. His music has been commissioned, recorded, broadcast and performed by some of the world’s leading symphony orchestras, wind ensembles, brass bands, conductors and soloists, including: “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, The United States Air Force Band, The United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own”, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra brass, The Dallas WindsBlack Dyke Brass Band, The Band of the Coldstream Guards, RNCM Wind Orchestra, Bramwell Tovey, Jens Lindemann, Ryan Anthony, David Childs, Steven Mead, Patrick Sheridan, Les Neish, Peter Moore, Linda Merrick, and many more.

Meechan’s music is featured on over 130 commercial recordings and has been featured at festivals and clinics globally, including the Midwest Clinic, The American Bandmasters Association (ABA) Conference, CBDNA, the International Trumpet Guild, the International Tuba and Euphonium Association, BASBWE conferences, and in 2014 his work “The Legend of King Arthur” was used as the set test piece at the British National Brass Band Championships, held in the Royal Albert Hall, London. His works for brass band have been used as compulsory and own choice selections at music contests across the world.

Peter was the first ever “Young Composer in Association” with the prestigious Black Dyke Brass band from 2003 – 2006, where he also went on to serve as their “Composer in Residence” for a further season. Meechan also held the position of “Composer in Residence” with The Band of the Coldstream Guards between 2012 – 2015.

His work Perpetua won the 2021 Sousa-ABA-Ostwald Composition Contest, and Meechan has also been a finalist in the National Band Association William D. Revelli Memorial Composition Contest (Waves Towards the Pebbled Shore). His first concerto for tuba, Episodes and Echoes, won the ITEA Harvey G. Phillips Award for Excellence in Composition.

In October 2020, Meechan was awarded the CBA (Canadian Band Association) ‘Canadian Composers’ Award’ – only the 9th recipient since the award’s inception in 1991, and in 2022 he was elected into the membership of the prestigious American Bandmasters Association.

He holds an undergraduate degree (BMus Hons) from the Royal Northern College of Music (Manchester, UK), where he studied with Dr. Anthony Gilbert, Dr. David Horne and Adam Gorb, a Master of Arts (MA) degree and a PhD (composition), both from the University of Salford (Manchester, UK), where he studied with Prof. Peter Graham.

Peter resides in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, with his wife Michelle (a band teacher) and their miniature dachshund dogs: Stevie and Jurgen (not band teachers), and when not writing music can usually be found watching his beloved Liverpool Football Club.

Mark Awad (he/him) is currently in his eighteenth year as director of bands at Bay Middle School. At the middle school, he teaches band in grades five through eight, in addition to the middle school jazz band. Mr. Awad is also the assistant director of the Bay High Rocket Marching Band. Additionally, he is the director of the pit orchestra for the musicals at Bay High School. Some of the musicals that he has conducted include: 42nd Street, Grease, Beauty and the Beast, The Wizard of Oz, The Addams Family, Shrek the Musical, Chicago: High School Edition, Bye Bye Birdie, and Newsies. Mr. Awad has also served as the chairperson for the Ohio Music Education Association, District 4 Middle School Honors Festival. Mr. Awad is also a member of the American School Band Directors Association. Mr. Awad earned his master’s degree in music education from Case Western Reserve University. He earned his bachelor’s degree in music education from Youngstown State University. His primary instrument is the trombone, on which he continues to perform. 

Michael Komperda (he/him) is an alumnus of CYWS and a graduate of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music where he earned his Bachelor of Music Education degree. Currently in his fifteenth year teaching, Mr. Komperda teaches in Rocky River, where he directs the Marching Band, Wind Ensemble, two high school Jazz Bands, the Pit Orchestra and the Pep Band, and teaches Music Technology and AP Music Theory courses at Rocky River High School. He also teaches beginning Brass & Percussion and third grade music at Kensington Intermediate School. Outside of his teaching duties, Mr. Komperda plays clarinet in the Cleveland Winds, and directs and plays in pit orchestras around the Cleveland area. Recently, he has performed in productions of Seussical the Musical, Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, Beauty and the Beast, and Young Frankenstein. Professionally, Mr. Komperda is a member of the Ohio Music Education Association, and the Greater Cleveland Solo & Ensemble Association.

Dr. Birch Browning is Professor of Music and Director of Bands at Cleveland State University (CSU) and Music Director of the Cleveland Winds, a professional wind band based at CSU. He taught high school band and orchestra in Florida prior to earning a Ph.D. in Music Education at Florida State University (FSU). Dr. Browning joined the faculty at CSU in 2002, and he previously taught music education courses at Stetson University and FSU.

Along with his research work, Dr. Browning is in demand as a conductor and clinician. Dr. Browning founded the Cleveland Winds in 2009. The Cleveland Winds is the winner of The American Prize in the Band/Wind Ensemble Performance—community & school division and performed at the Ohio Music Education Association Professional Development Conference in Cleveland, Ohio in 2017. The CSU Chamber Winds performed at the same conference in 2005 and 2015. Dr. Browning’s ensembles have given live performances on WCLV, Cleveland’s Classical Music Station, on six occasions. The CSU Symphonic Band, CSU Chamber Winds, and the Cleveland Winds appear on the Timothy Reynish International Repertoire Series, Vol. 12 recording, which is available on iTunes and Spotify. Selections from the Cleveland Winds March 2022 concert, including the US premiere of Luis Alarcón's Cello Concerto with winds, percussion, and piano, will appear in volume 13 in the series.