Ricardo Brown and the UConn symphonic band praise modern composers  

On Tuesday, April 23, von der Mehden Recital Hall hosted a concert by the University of Connecticut’s symphonic band, directed and conducted by Ricardo Brown. 

The concert was titled “Something New.” “We are focusing on composers who are still alive and are minorities,” Brown said in his introductory speech. He then introduced how he went to a historically Black institution, or HBCU, for both his undergraduate and Master’s degrees. 

At his HBCU, Brown remarked that the music program was incredibly fortunate to have Dr. O’Neill Sanford, the composer of “The President’s March” — the first composition performed by the symphonic band. 

Brown gave a short history of the composition, saying: “Composed in 1983, it was commissioned by the first Black conductor.” He talked about how the composition was hurriedly given to the conductor the day before a performance after a frantic car ride. Brown ended his introduction by saying “Dr. Sanford is a legend and we need to give people their flowers while they’re still alive instead of waiting and saying how good they were when they’re gone.” 

“The President’s March” was terrifying at the beginning due to its loud, abrupt start, but then it sounded like a peppy march. The flutes and a trumpet carried the melody playfully, and then the role of the main melody was given to flutes and clarinets. The bass section got some love too, as they had a short phrase to balance out the light melody. The trumpets and the trombones then stood up for a portion of the song to visually emphasize their role in the composition. After the song was over, Brown raised his hand to a trumpeter and then to Sanford, both of whom stood up. Sanford responded by giving Brown a thumbs-up from the audience. 

It’s common for a musical ensemble to harmonize together, but it was surprising for the band to continue the harmonization in a progression before the next composition, “A Child is Born,” by Thad Jones and arranged by Charles Booker. 

The song started off mellow with a soft hitting of the snare drum that kept tempo. That snare along with the trumpet seemed like it had jazz influence while not entirely being jazz. When a cymbal was used in the percussionist’s drum kit, the band got louder and emphasized powerful emotion in the back end of the song. After the song ended, a clarinetist and a trumpeter stood up before the entire band followed. 

The next song at the concert was “Fantasy on American Folk Songs” by Dwayne Milburn. A surprise in the composition was the utilization of tubular bells. They added a whimsical, magnificent feel to the song. The sound fluctuated between the peaks and valleys of heightened emotion and relative calmness — so much that it would be redundant to explain when the composition changes from soft to loud to soft again. There was an instrument that sounded like a horse’s clopping on wooden blocks. There was also a triangle that provided a high-pitched metallic ring to break up the sounds. There was also a part where it sounded like an unconventional march through a fantasy land with an emphasis on percussion. The song ended triumphantly despite the tumultuous fluctuation of emotion earlier on. 

Brown took a moment to honor the seniors graduating this semester. He then said: “For the last song for the year, we wanted to end it with a party,” inviting the audience to clap their hands to the beat on-tempo.  

The final song of the night was the Soca and calypso-inspired piece “Caribana Afterparty” by Omar Thomas. Bright and cheerful, the snare pattern was infectious. There was a melody halfway through the composition that sounded strikingly similar to the “Mii Channel” theme from the Nintendo Wii console. Brown subtly tricked the audience into thinking the composition was over, but then ensemble members who weren’t on percussion started stomping and clapping to the beat. The audience joined them and gave the performers a standing ovation.