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THIS COMPOSITION IS CAST IN A SINGLE UNINTERRUPTED MOVEMENT, BEGINNING WITH A HEAVY DRAMATIC OPENING. PERFORMED BY (1979) AND WRITTEN FOR THE BAYLOR UNIV. BAND BY DR. RICHARD WILLIS (1971) PROFESSOR & COMPOSER-IN-RESIDENCE AT BAYLOR FOR OVER 20 YRS.
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Contemporary band compositions, classical music arrangements, marches, jazz, symphonies, overtures. A collection from bands that I have played in throughout hi
Hello and welcome! "Symphonic Band Performances" is a compilation of recordings from several high school and college bands that I played in including the TMEA (Texas) All State Band, the TMEA Region X All Region Band, the Interlochen Arts Academy National Music Camp, the Cal Poly Tech Band, San Luis Obispo, the USAF Golden West Band, and recordings from my h.s. band, Beaumont H.S. and a few band recordings that were passed down to me. Also included are various All State groups and college and university bands. I participated and played in the large majority of these recordings. There are no professional recordings here and every recording is Public Domain. Most are available for free download. Each song has been converted from the original analog or digital source and edited with Audacity or Dak software. In the majority of these recordings, I play the tenor sax or alto sax, b flat or e flat clarinet, or directing. I was drum major for 2 years in high school, I have a BA from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, where I studied music ed, composition and theory. I had about 500 more recordings I was planning to digitize and upload, but this past Nov. 20th, my home was completely destroyed by fire, and all the contents, including all my music and instruments. So, this is it. Please feel free to post a comment here or on my member page. If you like, please become a fan by clicking "I'm a fan" below.
Song Info
Genre
Classical • Symphonic
Charts
Peak #75
Peak in subgenre #14
Author
Richard Willis - 1971
Rights
public domain
Uploaded
October 28, 2009
Track Files
MP3
MP3 9.9 MB • 192 kbps • 7:14
Story behind the song
This is performed by the 1979 Baylor University Symphonic Band. The conductor was Michael L. Haithcock. Richard Willis (1929-1997) was born in Mobile, Alabama. He received his B.M. degree from the University of Alabama, and both his M.M. and Ph.D. degrees from the Eastman School of Music. His music career began with his appointment to the music faculty of Shorter College in Georgia in 1953. He later became a Professor of Composition and Composer-in-Residence at Baylor University. Willis was a prolific composer whose works were performed throughout the United States and around the world. In 1956 he received the Prix de Rome which took him to Italy for a year of residence at the American Academy in Rome. Among his may awards for orchestral composition were the Joseph Bearns Prize (for Symphony No. 1) and the Howard Hanson Prize (for Symphony No. 2). Richard Willis wrote in virtually every medium of twentieth-century composition, and his chamber and wind pieces have been played worldwide to great acclaim. His orchestral works have been performed by such groups as the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra, and the Orchestra Sinfonica dell'RAI in Rome. His various works for chamber ensembles have been presented by, among others, the Alard Quartet, the Atlanta Symphony Quartet, the Woodwind Arts Quartet, the Clarion Quintet, the Ames Quartet and the Amherst Saxophone Quartet. On November 15, 1992, the Choral Society of Southern California presented "A Tribute to Richard Willis," an entire concert devoted to his compositions and the works of two of his former students, Nick Strimple and Steven Stucky. This event, which took place in the Beverly Hills Presbyterian Church, also featured organist Joyce Jones. In reviewing the concert for the Los Angeles Times, John Henken called Dr. Willis's compositions "eclectically inspired but stylistically consistent music, well-crafted in a conservative, tonally centered idiom." Henken also noted the composer's "idiomatic skills with instruments." Richard Willis was Baylor University's "Outstanding Creative Professor" in 1976, and he was named a Distinguished Professor in 1995. He retired from the Baylor University music faculty following the 1995/96 academic year and was appointed Emeritus Professor. In addition to his composition career and his teaching responsibilities at Baylor, Dr. Willis was music director of Waco's Cotton Palace Pageant from its inception in 1971 until his death.
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