For my students! In 2013, Dr. Brian Lamb, conductor of the UCO Wind Symphony, and I were part of a commissioning consortium for a new cello concerto by David Maslanka. The beauty of the completed score was overwhelming. Only later did I learn about the horrific scene described in Maslanka’s program notes. While struggling with this contrast I understood the music’s healing effects on the human soul, in Maslanka’s words: “Musical Vibration heals”. Shortly after the premiere I felt the mission to bring this concerto to more people, young students in particular, and my “Music for Peace” public schools concert Initiative was born. I selected additional works for “Music for Peace”; all have a strong message: expressing peace, tolerance and believing in the good of human beings. In addition I commissioned a piece based on and inspired by a graduation speech of Maya Angelou for use in this project “Forgive”. With the reported increase of violence and bullying in our public schools “Music for Peace” seeks to lead students to better choices and a life of tolerance, love and forgiveness. As a public school initiative, made possible in part by a research grant from UCO, this project offers a solution through music and lyrics, live performances, discussions, active student involvement and feedback surveys. This album “Music for Peace” is the result of this initiative and a thank you to all students and teachers who opened their heart through listening, discussions and written comments. I wish that this initiative will gain momentum in many places for the shared experience that “Musical Vibration heals”. Tess Remy Recording sessions: March 6-8, 2015, Radke Fine Arts Theatre, UCO, Jim Jackson, Recording Engineer, Dr. Dawn Lindblade and Mathew Evans, Producers for all tracts except: “Forgive” by Kangwa Mundende , January 24, 25, 26 and February 26, 2015, Jazz Lab, Aaron Tomasko, Recording Engineer and Producer. Cover Photo: Shane Dolan Booklet Design and CD Production Spectrum Oklahoma City ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thank you: David and “Ma’chen” David Maslanka Jim Jackson UCO School of Music and Dr. Dawn Lindblade and Mathew Evans Dr. Sandra Thompson, David Forbat and David Hardman UCO Office for Research and Grants: Dr. Gregory Wilson, Mary Huffman, Liliana Renteria, Rachel Waldrop UCO Jazz Lab and Aaron Tomasko Buyun, Xiang, Yihui, Kangwa, Ann, Xinje. You all are our future! Dr. Brian Lamb for making “Remember Me” possible. Information about the Composers and Compositions: David Maslanka was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts in 1943. He attended the Oberlin College Conservatory where he studied composition with Joseph Wood. He spent a year at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, and did masters and doctoral study in composition at Michigan State University where his principal teacher was H. Owen Reed. Maslanka’s music for winds has become especially well known. Among his more than 130 works are forty pieces for wind ensemble, including seven symphonies, fifteen concertos, a Mass, and many concert pieces. His chamber music includes four wind quintets, five saxophone quartets, and many works for solo instrument and piano. In addition, he has written a variety of orchestral and choral pieces. David Maslanka’s compositions are published by Maslanka Press, Carl Fischer, Kjos Music, Marimba Productions, and OU Percussion Press. They have been recorded on Albany, Reference Recordings, BIS (Sweden), Naxos, Cambria, CRI, Mark, Novisse, AUR, Cafua (Japan), Brain Music (Japan), Barking Dog, and Klavier labels. He has served on the faculties of the State University of New York at Geneseo, Sarah Lawrence College, New York University, and Kingsborough Community College of the City University of New York, and since 1990 has been a freelance composer. He now lives in Missoula, Montana. David Maslanka is a member of ASCAP. David Maslanka: Remember Me Remember Me is not a concerto in the traditional sense, but a single-movement, free-flowing fantasia. This composition was inspired by my reading of a “relatively minor” Holocaust event – the extermination of 5,000 Jews in a small town – in William L. Shirer’s Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. An eye-witness description of a Jewish family about to be slaughtered – mother, father, 10-year-old son, grandmother gently bouncing a year-old baby and making it smile – forcefully riveted my mind and heart. This music is for the baby – a single death, through which it is possible to begin to experience the massive horror of the totality. Catalan Cellist Pablo Casals belongs to one of the greatest cellists of all times. Rejecting Franco’s dictatorial regime, he had a life-long dedication to fight for freedom and a passion for bringing music to all human beings. He was the first performer to play and create music ensembles in factories. In 1971, he performed Song of the Birds in front of the United Nations preceded by the following words: The birds In the sky In the space, sing “peace, peace, peace” The music is a music That Bach and Beethoven And all the greats Would have loved and admired. It is so beautiful And it is also the Soul of my country Catalonia. =============================================================== In 1840, Robert Schumann, was finally able to marry his beloved Clara after a long period of legal battles with her father. The fulfilled love resulted in an outpouring of numerous highly romantic song compositions. Widmung from his song cycle Myrten (poetry by Friedrich Rückert) was one of the homages to Clara: You my soul, you my heart, You my bliss, o you my pain, You the world in which I live; You my heaven, in which I float, O you my grave, into which I eternally cast my grief. You are rest, you are peace, You are bestowed upon me from heaven. That you love me makes me worthy of you; Your gaze transfigures me; You raise me lovingly above myself, My good spirit, my better self! Osvaldo Golijov composed “Mariel” as a source of comfort after his friend’s death: "I wrote this piece in memory of my friend Mariel Stubrin. I attempted to capture that short instant before grief, in which one learns of the sudden death of a friend who was full of life: a single moment frozen forever in one's memory, and which reverberates through the piece, among the waves and echoes of the Brazilian music that Mariel loved. The work was written for and premiered by Maya Beiser and Steve Schick." Sarah Hopkins (b. 1958) is a unique Australian composer-performer, internationally acclaimed for her visionary music & inspiring performances for cello, overtone singing, choir, orchestra & the celestial sounding Harmonic Whirlies of her own creation. Since 1981 she has represented Australia at many prestigious events in America, Europe & South East Asia & has toured extensively as a cultural ambassador for the Australian Government. Sarah's composition 'Past Life Melodies' is the most performed Australian choral work in the world & is a standard repertoire song for many Choirs. Her CD recordings include 'Honour the Earth', 'Reclaiming the Spirit', 'Shining', 'Sky Song' & 'Sounds of Global Harmony' (in collaboration with the Gyuto Monks of Tibet). For more info www.sarahhopkins.com & www.harmonicwhirlies.com Sarah Hopkins introduces her composition: Journey to the East: Compositionally, I trust the power of the simple, direct and heartfelt, And I am guided by my intuition. Often melodies literally “sing through me” which was the case in composing “Yalla” (Journey to the East). I call them “Soul songs”, they come spontaneously and embrace many cultural and world music influences including Celtic, African, Aboriginal & Polynesian, Middle eastern and Caribbean. Life is full of situations that may or may not be fair. Fate can be made or lost in a moment, like a shapeless body of water. The morning and the afternoon are both desolate. Enlightenment has no heart but endless wisdom. While many things on earth can be easily broken, only time never dies. You can be gallant, but still end up lonely at the end. Everything on earth has its place, but obstacles can cause that order to be destroyed. We can be a witness to life and death all throughout our lives, but we can't see our own beginning and ending --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Born in Argentina, Astor Piazzolla grew up in New York and became acquainted at a very early age with New York Street life. Listening to and composing music became his answer for a better world. The title Libertango combines the words "Libertad" (freedom) and "Tango", an important genre in Piazzolla’s life. Yihui Zhang (Chinese: 张伊卉, 1984.8--) is a Chinese composer and choral conductor. She holds a Bachelor of composition from Shanghai Conservatory and two masters’ degrees of composition from the University of Central Oklahoma and Xinghai Conservatory in China. Yihui’s compositions have been performed throughout China in Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Zhejiang and Sichuan as well as in the United States and Germany. Her chamber work “Bird in the dream” received the first prize at the International Composition Competition in New York and was performed in the Manhattan Broadway Theatre in Oct. 2007. Her piano solo work “Exploration in the Mountains” won the highest music prize in China: the Chinese Music Bronze Golden Bell Award, and was published as part of the national musical works in 2012. Yihui Zhang was invited to conduct her own choral compositions with the Guangdong Zhongyuan High School Choirat during the Europe Choir Festival in Stuttgart, Germany in 2013. Yihui Zhang “You once said” is based on a Chinese poem: Life is full of situations that may or may not be fair. Fate can be made or lost in a moment, like a shapeless body of water. The morning and the afternoon are both desolate. Enlightenment has no heart but endless wisdom. While many things on earth can be easily broken, only time never dies. You can be gallant, but still end up lonely at the end. Everything on earth has its place, but obstacles can cause that order to be destroyed. We can be a witness to life and death all throughout our lives, but we can't see our own beginning and ending Kangwa Mundende With interests in film, classical, jazz, commercial and various types of indigenous music from around the world, Kangwa Mundende has found a new sound that is both nostalgic and new. He has composed for full and string orchestra, and various types of chamber and jazz ensembles. His compositions have been performed or recorded by Dr. Tess Remy-Schumacher, Dr. Dawn Lindblade, the Sugar Fish Trio, the Otis Trio, the University of Central Oklahoma Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, and the Edmond North Orchestra. Kangwa was born and raised in Edmond, OK and studies double bass with Dr. Michael Geib and Composition with Dr. Samuel Magrill. ============================================================== Performers’ Biographies Dr. Tess Remy-Schumacher was born in Cologne, Germany, and has studied with Boris Pergamenschikow, Maria Kliegel, Siegfried Palm, Jacqueline du Pre and William Pleeth. As a Fulbright Scholar, she studied with Lynn Harrell in his Piatigorsky class at the University of Southern California and was awarded her MM. As "most outstanding graduate of the year for performance, academic excellence and leadership," she received her DMA under the supervision of Eleonore Schoenfeld. Dr. Remy-Schumacher has won many international prizes including the first prize at Rome's Carlo-Zecchi Competition with pianist Dr. Michael Staudt. She has been a concert soloist for many years performing and recording in Asia, Australia, Europe and the U.S., including the Wigmore Hall in London, Jubilee Hall in Singapore and the Carnegie Recital Hall in New York and Bradley Hall in Chicago. the Brisbane Biennial Festival, the Australian Festival of Chamber Music and the Contempofest (Australia), the Weatherfield Music Festival (U.S.) and the Internationaler Klaviersommer (Germany). Amongst her 12 CD publications, she most recently recorded Cello Concertos by David Maslanka and Carter Pann with the UCO Symphony under Dr. Brian Lamb. Following her appointment at James Cook University from 1992-1998, she is now a professor for cello, chamber music and historical performance practice at UCO. She was a Visiting Fellow Performance at Harvard University 2010-2011 and a Visiting Scholar from 2011-2012. She is cofounder with Dr. Ted Honea, and General Program Coordinator of the recently approved Brisch Center for Historical Performance Practice at UCO. For more information, visit: www.tessremy.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A member of the UCO piano faculty since 2005, David Forbat is currently professor of piano and teaches applied piano, chamber music, piano ensemble, and keyboard functional skills. He holds a DMA from the Peabody Conservatory of Music, an MM from the University of Cincinnati, and a BM from the University of Southern California. His teachers have included John Perry, Frank Weinstock, Claude Frank, and Ann Schein. In recent years, he has performed recitals at numerous universities in the U.S. and China and has been featured on public radio stations in Ohio, Mississippi, and Oklahoma. The scope of his activity ranges from chamber collaborations with colleagues, large ensembles, and guest artists to dance collaborations, recording projects, and informative "lecture" programs. David Hardman is the Director of Percussion Studies at UCO and previously taught at the University of Miami, the University of South Florida and St. Petersburg College. He is in demand as a percussion and drumset artist throughout the Southeast. He has performed and/or recorded with numerous world-class musicians including jazz players Joe Lovano, Wynton Marsalis, John Abercrombie, Dave Liebman and Nat Adderly. He has also performed with "Yes," Ray Charles and Barry Gib among other pop acts. He plays frequently with the Woody Herman, Larry Elgart and Jazz Surge big bands as well as The Brass Band of Battle Creek. On the orchestral side, Mr. Hardman has performed with the Florida Philharmonic, Florida Orchestra, New World Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony and the Oklahoma City Philharmonic. With degrees from the University of Cincinnati and Ball State University, Mr. Hardman is currently as candidate for a PhD in Musical Arts degree at the University of Miami. During the summer, he is on the percussion faculty at the Interlochen Arts Camp in MI. Dr. Sandra Thompson is a professor of music, Undergraduate Coordinator of the School of Music, chair of the student retention committee, and has been a member of the UCO faculty since 1989. Dr. Thompson completed the Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting at the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Thompson is currently the Artistic Director of the Ambassadors’ Concert Choir, a community choir of 80+ voices in the Greater Oklahoma City area. Dr. Thompson was the music director for the world premiere of “Flipside: the Patti Page Story” conceived, written and directed by Dr. Greg White. She and Dr. White joined forces in May 2014 to premiere “Rising Starr: Kay Starr, a life in Song. Dr. Thompson is pianist and assistant director of music at the Evangelistic Baptist Church; a member of the Board of Directors of both the Ambassador's Concert Choir and Allied Arts organization; Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.; and the American Choral Director's Association. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ann Schrock fell in love with the oboe when she was a clarinet music education major at Central State University in 1978. She continued to play the clarinet and other instruments, but her husband knew of her passion for the oboe and surprised her with one in 2011. Ann Schrock is now a senior oboe performance major studying with KaDee Bramlett at the University of Central Oklahoma. She is the principal oboist for the Oklahoma Baptist Symphony, the University of Central Oklahoma's Orchestra and Wind Symphony. She has recorded, as a part of the Wind Symphony, works by Stravinsky, Della Joio and Kris Maloy. She also maintains an active private oboe studio. Pianist Buyun Li was born in China, and is currently a graduate student at the University of Central Oklahoma. She studies with Artist in Residence Valery Kuleshov. Li won the first prize in the “two pianos” category in the Guangdong province in 2012. Li gave a successful solo recital at the XingHai Conservatory of Music in China on December 19, 2012. In 2013, she won the Third Prize in the top division of the Third Hong Kong International Piano Invitation Competition; she was the Winner in the OMTA (Oklahoma Music Teachers Association) competition in 2013 and was invited to perform in Tulsa in May, 2014. Li participated in master classes as a pianist and harpsichordist of many renowned musicians such as Andrew von Oeyen at Oklahoma City University and Dr. Brad Bennight at UCO. Buyun Li has been featured in several publications such as “Sunday Life”, “Vista”, and “Edmond Life”. Li is a research assistant for Dr. Tess Remy-Schumacher and a teaching assistant for the Piano Division at UCO. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Xiang Chen started to study piano when he was five years old. He began to study piano with Junbao Li when he was nine. In those years, Xiang studied system learning piano performance with Junbao Li. In 2007, Xiang began to pursue music education at the Nanjing Arts Institute majoring in piano performance under keyboard department head, Jun Xu. His minor areas of study were voice, conducting and accompaniment. In 2010 Xiang Chen won the first prize in the Jiangsu Province Music Education College Student’s Basic Skills competition. Xiang graduated from Nanjing Arts Institute with a Bachelor of Music Education degree in 2010. Xiang has worked in the Yue Bo Music School as an instructor. He also had his own piano studio in Nanjing. In 2013, Xiang came to the United States for graduate studies at the University of Central Oklahoma with Dr. David Forbat. At UCO, he has performed and participated on concerts with Dr. Tess Remy-Schumacher as part of her "Music for Peace" project. He graduated with a Masters of Music in piano performance from the University of Central Oklahoma in the spring of 2015. Xinye Niu was born in China into a musical family. Currently she is pursuing a Master of Violin Performance degree at the University of Central Oklahoma with Dr. Hong Zhu. She has been selected for the positions of concertmaster of the UCO Symphony Orchestra and UCO Chamber Orchestra, and performs as the first violin of the UCO Beethoven Quartet. In 2011, she has also served as the assistant principal and concertmaster of the Guiyang Symphony Orchestra of China. She has performed as a soloist with the Guiyang Symphony Orchestra and UCO Symphony Orchestra. Xinye enjoys playing chamber music. Her orchestral collaborations included notable artists such as Gary Graffman, Ilya Kaler, Olaf Ott, Jian Wang, and Jeffrey Solow, and conductors such as Charles Dutoit, Yan Pascal Tortelier, and Carl St. Clair.