Just in time for Halloween, the dramatic cinematic scope of Randall Standridge’s A Ghost Story complements the exquisite craft of Julia Perry’s Symphony No. 6 as we celebrate the centennial of this pioneering Black woman composer. Nick Omiccioli plays double duty as both composer and soloist in his new work for electric guitar and band that is inspired by 70s funk and disco!
Season and individual tickets go on sale August 1, 2024, at www.freedomband.com. Individual Tickets are $20; season tickets are $50. Discounts are available on individual tickets for students with ID, educators, seniors, and first responders. Children under 12 are admitted free. Season ticket holders will have reserved seats for “Variations on Democracy.”
Our Program
Night on Bald Mountain by Modest Mussorgsky, arr. Willliam A. Schaefer
Sponsored by the Flute Section
The Haunted Carousel by Erika Svanoe
Symphonic Band Symphony by Jullia Perry
I. Moderately Fast
IV. Fast
Tin Glizzy by Nick Omiccioli
Featuring Nick Omiccioli on electric guitar
World premiere, MAFB commission
Beetlejuice by Danny Elfman, arr. Karel Chudy
Sponsored by the Clarinet Section
Intermission
Symphony No. 1 “A Ghost Story” by Randall Standridge
I. Unquiet
II. Loss
III. Midnight
IV. Ascent
MAFB co-commissioin
Movement IV sponsored by Nicholas McWilliams
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
Modest Mussorgsky: Night on Bald Mountain
Night on Bald Mountain was one of the first tone poems written by a Russian composer. Tone poems are typically single-movement works that are meant to evoke the content of a piece of literature or art, a landscape, or some other non-musical source. In this instance, Mussorgsky captures the Witches’ Sabbath on St. John’s Eve. Despite the popularity of the work today, this piece was never performed in Mussorgksy’s lifetime and, in fact, its original form was only made available in 1968 with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s reimagining of the piece still being the most well known.
Erika Svanoe: The Haunted Carousel
The Haunted Carousel takes the listener on a spooky journey. As a demented waltz, the piece alludes to the sounds of film scores of which Svanoe is well versed. With fun rhythmic interplay and detailed orchestration, this piece captures the creep factor of disembodied children’s voices and ominous whispering.
Julia Perry: Symphonic Band Symphony
Having many names including Symphony No. 6, Symphonic Band Symphony, and Symphony for Band, Perry’s foray into symphonies for the concert band remains largely unknown in spite of the historic importance of the work as the first symphony for band written by a Black woman composer. This is a delicate work of a composer straddling many musical worlds but exists firmly within her own style. For the entirety of the full work’s 22 minutes, the ensemble only ever plays collectively as a whole group during the very last moments. Before this grand, earth-shattering climax, Perry tosses fragmented ideas to various instrumental families around an unyielding harmonic progression and strictly repeated rhythmic passages.
Nick Omiccioli: Tin Glizzy
Tin Glizzy was originally written for my band and is a direct reference to Steely Dan. It was given a tongue-in-cheek title as a placeholder, however, it kind of grew on me. Many of my recent compositions have originated from short exercises I’ve created for students to learn songs. At the time, one of my students was working on “Kid Charlemagne” by Steely Dan — which has an iconic guitar solo by Larry Carlton — and another student was learning “Someday” by Tatsuro Yamashita - a staple of 1980s Japanese City Pop. After working on these songs with my students, I was inspired to write my own City Pop-style song reimagined as if Larry Carlton was playing on it.
- Program note by the composer
Danny Elfman: Beetlejuice
Elfman’s iconic score to Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice contains many of the composer’s hallmarks: reliance on low instruments, demented circus-like vibes, and delightfully twisty melodies. These traits, coupled with Harry Belafonte’s “Day-O” and “Jump in the Line,” made for an instant classic. The soundtrack remained in the Billboard 200 long after the film had dropped out of theaters and earned Elfman a Saturn Award nomination in 1988.
Randall Standridge: Symphony No. 1 “A Ghost Story”
We are all just ghosts waiting to happen.
This is something that, as I grow older, weighs on my mind more and more.
We are all just ghosts waiting to happen.
As I sit here writing this, I am 46 years old. I have lost all of my grandparents. I have lost over half of my aunts and uncles. Cousins, friends, teachers, co-workers, pets…I have lost many over the years. Up until the moment I leave this world, I will continue to lose those around me. This is a unifying fact of human existence. Death stands tall in our future and beckons to us our entire lives. Some of us dig our heels in and fight against that bony, outstretched hand with all of our might. Some of us turn a blind eye, refusing to acknowledge the dark shadow on the horizon, and are surprised when he finally comes calling. Some of us run towards him fearlessly, laughing all the way until we disappear into his dark robes. But hesitant, indifferent, or enthusiastic, we will all meet him eventually.
We are all just ghosts waiting to happen.
But what is a ghost?
A spirit, a wonderful or terrible phantasm that haunts the lonely and forgotten places of the world?
A memory, a moment in time, the past impressing itself ineffably upon the present?
A story?
Yes…a story. A ghost story.
Ghost stories have been part of human culture since time out of mind. Stories of shadows that still walk the places of their mortal lives. Stories of mysterious hitchhikers who disappear, only to leave evidence of their existence on their graves. Stories of dark hallways, where the cries of unseen children echo each night. Stories of lovers who return for one last glimpse of those they left behind.
Every ghost has a story.
I am haunted by the memory of all of those that I have lost. I yearn for their presence and grieve for them day after day. I tell people about the times we laughed, the times we cried, the times we fought. I tell them about the impact they had on my life. And every time I do, I am telling a ghost story.
When I was asked to write this symphony, I wanted to write something that would speak to a universal experience. I have chosen the idea of ghost stories, as I feel a really good ghost story works on a lot of levels. Ghost stories are about the past, life, loss, love, fear, and hope. Fear and hope most of all, I think. Fear of our own mortality and the hope that we will survive the experience and be reunited with those we have loved.
And also the hope that one day, someone will tell our story.
Our ghost story.
Because, after all…
We are all just ghosts waiting to happen.
Peace Love and Music,
Randall Standridge, December 2022
Mid America Freedom Band Personnel
The Mid America Freedom Band provides a safe space for instrumental performance opportunities, outreach, and social advocacy for music enthusiasts within the LGBTQ+ and ally spectrum of the Kansas City area to create an inclusive community that fosters and celebrates diversity.
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Jenniffer Aleshire
Christina Carroll
Debbie Farrell
Kat Hoffpauer
Helena Howell
Margo Moore
Lisa Phillips
Erin Rand
Bea Reiter
Brenda Schlenk
Alyssa Ulrich
Ashley White -
Trevor Asher
John Bennett
Kevon Hall
Jon Kuder
Tiffany Nesbihal -
Mattie Basham
Geoff Brown
David Coy
Sara Geringer
Dana Goodwin
Christina Graber
Timmy Hewitt
Adrienne Hixson
Cory Hogan
Joy Hope
Sean P. Jones
Sylas Liperuote
Emily McVicker
Christian Montes
Kelsi Myers
Maryn Neighbors
Emma Nelson
Elizabeth Reid
Olivia Requist
Michael Salzman
Kathryn Smith -
Jeanine Asay
Jessie Davis
David Deatherage
Donny Gross
Sam Holmes
Tyler Huntington
Steven Irving
Rameka Jennings
Kyle Key
Kelly Pangburn
Giggi Pearson
Rose Rodriguez
Andrea Sexton
Chase Tagle
Gerald Turner -
Hannah Brayfield
Hunter Chamberlain
Chris Eckert
Avigail Gomez
Sarah Harmon
Nick Kashka
Matthew Kelso
Debra Leiter
Ryan Mayberry
Avery Remboldt
Dwayne Smith -
Hollie Blakeney
Mark Brannon
Addy Gabriel
Jenna Hamilton
Katherine Kashka
Nathan Lübeck
Jen Spaeth
Lucas Testin -
Barb Aker
Brian Alexander
April Booth
Nathan Brown
David Burre
Rachel Elting
Jacob Harmon
Aaron Jones
Lisa Klockenga
David Machado
Nick McWilliams
Daniel Moraine
Ben Robinson -
Shelly Alexander
Alyssa Dowdy
Mark Hash -
James Arcano
Elizabeth Brent
Yeyoung Kim
Kevin Overton -
Gage Brown
Joe Cameron
Ashton Duplechain
Brehan Guinn
J.J. Pearse
Mallory Pearson
Sam Ribaudo
Lamar Sims
Taylor Starks -
Christian Montes, Board Chair
Steven Irving Board Secretary
Lisa Klockenga, Board Treasurer
J.J. Pearse
Shelly Alexander
Debbie Farrell
Joy Hope, Marketing Chair
Rameka Jennings, Fundraising Chair
Nick McWilliams, Membership Chair -
Ian Bradt, Executive Director
Lee Hartman, Artistic Director
Jessie Davis, Assistant Artistic Director
Steven Irving, Color Guard Director
Bailee Young, Production Coordinator
Jeanine Asay, Librarian
Bea Reiter, Asst. Librarian
Tyler Huntington, Asst. Librarian
Erin Trampel, Webmaster
The Mid America Freedom Band acknowledges that the majority of our members reside on the ancestral territory of several nations, including the Kaw/Kansa, Kickapoo, Osage, and Shawnee peoples. This land acknowledgment recognizes that Native Americans are the guardians of the land and that there is an enduring relationship between the land’s peoples and these traditional territories. We recognize, advocate, and support the sovereignty of these nations.