OCTUBAFEST

David Saltzman, tuba

Amy Ige, piano

and

Michael Robinson, Jr., trombone

Wednesday, October 18, 2023

8 P.M. Bryan Recital Hall
Moore Musical Arts Center

Program

Michael Robinson, trombone; Amy Ige, piano

Sonata for Trombone and Piano | Eric Ewazen (b. 1954)
          I. Allegro Maestoso
         II. Adagio
        III. Allegro Giocoso

~~Brief Pause~~

David Saltzman, tuba; Amy Ige, piano

Concert Piece | Libby Larsen (b. 1950)

Tuba Sonata | Kjell Roikjer (1901-1999)
          I. Allegro moderato ed energico
         II. Molto lento e pesante
        III. Allegro energico e con agevolezza

Snapshots | Barbara York (1949-2020)
          I. Beyond
         II. Autumn
        III. Hello
         IV. Reflections
          V. Sail Away
         VI. The End

Snapshots by Barbara York 
Poetry by Steven A. Ridpath

I. Beyond

There is a place of light and promise
Beyond the corridor that separates;
A rising wall of insidious beauty intimidates,
Steals a dream, and tells the heart to turn back.
There is a heart that overcomes, that makes the trek;
One that laughs at daunting, steep behemoths ahead.
The journey, though filled with peril and danger abounding
Rewards the brave one, reveals the prize to the unrelenting

II. Autumn

Twirling, whirling, floating to rest on green blades;
Steered and powered by the freshness of breezes.
A remarkable testimony of mission, of work complete.
Countryside brushed by a tapestry of colors bright;
The scent of cold smoke and pomp amid blazing blue above
Brings me home as my heart smiles, content in my Autumn.

III. Hello

Hello old friend I knew well long ago …
Seeing you from afar brings a tear.
Your longing arms, those hues of pink
Kissed by the sun and loved by my eyes.
Yes, the innocence of tranquil water;
Moving to places afar, yet loving me.
The giant mountains, they protect me,
Yet let me dream beyond this universe.
My Eyes have never deserved such a feast;
Yet, my heart knows this truth:
Rest and grace are ours to keep;
A treasure longing to find a home.

IV. Reflections

Who is that soul staring back
Through green eyes?
This face that God hath chiseled
By pain and pleasure?
The glass reveals the work of life
Upon a tender heart; searching soul.
Do I see greed or envy or darkness?
Do I see light and truth?
The mirror hangs there inviting us
To search for answers to ourselves.
Do we have the courage
To love the soul behind it?

V. Sail Away

Countless queries never asked;
Many more ignored.
The haunted soul lingers on
To find happiness in accord.
Was it love that set him free
Or the chords of such that abound?
Did the Mystery delight his soul;
Or once deceased, can it be found?
Oh set the sail and climb aboard
Ore the deep blue sea of love.
Together we’ll sail the seven seas
Guided by the stars above.

VI. The End

It is nestled in the wind and shouted by the breeze;
Sunsets and falling leaves and long shadows:
The constant advance of pointing hands
Announce the processional arrival.
The colors fade and the brightness dims;
The masquerade of youth begins to end:
And all we’re left with are ourselves and deeds,
We look without, but are forced to look within.

David Saltzman

David Saltzman is the Tuba and Euphonium Instructor at Bowling Green State University and has been the Principal Tuba player of the Toledo Symphony and the Toledo Symphony Brass Quintet since 2007. In 2011, David joined the Glimmerglass Opera Festival based in Cooperstown, NY as their Principal Tuba player for their summer Opera series. Prior to these appointments, he was the Principal Tuba player for the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra and the Honolulu Brass Quintet (1997-2007). He was also the Tuba/Euphonium instructor at the University of Hawaii and the founder and director of the University of Hawaii’s Tuba/Euphonium Ensemble.

David has performed with many orchestras throughout the United States and Canada, including the Cleveland Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony, the Alabama Symphony and the Windsor Symphony. Most recently, David spent four months of the summer of 2018 playing with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and guest teaching at the Melbourne Conservatory of Music, as well as joining them for their tour of China.

An active soloist and chamber musician and a Buffet-Crampon Artist, David was the winner of the Colonial Tuba Euphonium Quartet’s Tuba Solo Competition held in Albany, New York back in 1996. Since then, David has performed and given Master classes as a featured soloist and educator throughout the United States, Australia and Europe. In 2014, David performed Eugene Bozza’s Concertino with the United States Army Orchestra. He has also performed John Williams’ Tuba Concerto and Arild Plau’s Concerto for tuba and strings with the Toledo Symphony in 2010 and 2014 respectively. In October of 2018, David was privileged to give the world premiere of Samuel Adler’s Concerto for Tuba in Toledo.

David is proud to have studied with Harvey Phillips, Daniel Perantoni, Fritz Kaenzig, Toby Hanks and David Fedderly. He lives in Sylvania, Ohio with his amazing wife, three beautiful children, two happy and energetic standard poodles, and two much quieter and less energetic cats.

Michael-Robinson

Dr. Michael Robinson, Jr. is originally from Charleston, SC where he attended Burke High School under the direction of Linard McCloud. He has been an active freelance trombonist in Michigan and South Carolina as well as a private low brass instructor in Dorchester District 2, Berkeley, and Charleston Counties.

From 2007-09, he was awarded a 2-year contract as the Detroit Symphony Orchestra Fellow where his duties included playing principal and second trombone, along with community outreach services in the Detroit Metro Area. He has held positions such as acting 2 nd trombone with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Saginaw Bay Symphony, Canton Symphony, and Principal with the West Michigan Symphony. Also, he has subbed with the Grand Rapids Symphony, Toledo Symphony, Lansing Symphony, Charleston Symphony, and the Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings. Aside from classical music, he has been in several Broadway pit orchestras at the Fisher Theater in Detroit, the Wharton Center in East Lansing, the Strahan Theatre in Toledo, and the Devos Performance Hall in Grand Rapids. He is also a member of the Variance Brass Quintet with members from his undergraduate studies. As an avid chamber music performer, he is a member of the Variance Brass Quintet, which started a summer brass camp in 2015 in Tucson, AZ. Most recently, he is a founding member of an African-American brass quartet named Pitch. Before joining the College of Musical Arts, he was the Lecturer of Trombone at Mahidol University College of Music, as well as Principal Trombone with the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra.

His summer festivals include the Aspen Music Festival, Bay View Music Festival, National Repertory Orchestra, and the Spoleto Festival USA. In the summers of 2005 and 2006, he toured Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina, Margarita Island, England, France, Italy, Belgium, and Germany with the Youth Orchestra of the Americas under the baton of Carlos Prieto, the music director of the Louisiana Philharmonic, and Gustavo Dudamel, music director for the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He is the two-time winner of the Tuesday Musical Solo Competition in Akron, Ohio, and he won the concerto competition as a student at Shenandoah University and Michigan State University. In 1998, he was a member of the National Wind Ensemble at Carnegie Hall under the direction of H. Robert Reynolds, Former Music Director at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

Dr. Robinson received his Bachelor of Music Degree from Shenandoah University, Master of Music along with an Artist Diploma from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Michigan State University where was he was a University Distinguished Fellow. His teachers include Ken Thompkins, Randy Hawes, Steve Witser, Rick Stout, Per Brevig, Chris Matten, and Ava Ordman.

Thanks for attending this performance. If you have enjoyed your experience, please consider donating to the College of Musical Arts in support of our students and programming. Donate online at bgsu.edu/givecma, or call Sara Zulch- Smith at 419-372-7309.

To our guests with disabilities, please indicate if you need special services, assistance or appropriate modifications to fully participate in our events by contacting Accessibility Services, access@bgsu.edu, 419-372-8495. Please notify us prior to the event.

Audience members are reminded to silence alarm watches, pagers and cellular phones before the performance. As a matter of courtesy and copyright law, no recording or unauthorized photographing is allowed. BGSU is a nonsmoking campus.

Updated: 09/18/2024 03:22PM