Featuring Janelle Monáe, Deep Cotton, St. Beauty, Jidenna, Roman GianArthur, and George 2.0.

Hell You Talmbout

Special Thanks to:
Engineer - David Korn
Piano - Daniel Peart 

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LOVE (Cover) - Musiq Soulchild

“Shenandoah” is one of the most well-known and beloved Americana folk songs. Originally a river song detailing the lives and journeys of fur traders canoeing down the Missouri River, the symbolism of this culturally-significant melody has been expanded to include its geographic namesake – an area of the eastern United States that encompasses West Virginia and a good portion of the western part of Virginia – and various parks, rivers, counties, and academic institutions found within. 

Back in May of 2018, after hearing a really lovely duo arrangement of “Shenandoah” while adjudicating a music competition in Minneapolis, I asked myself, after hearing so many versions of this iconic and historic song, how would I set it differently? I thought about it and thought about it and thought about it, and before I realized it, I had composed and assembled just about all of this arrangement in my head by assigning bass notes to the melody and filling in the harmony in my head afterwards. I would intermittently check myself on the piano to make sure what I was imagining worked, and ended up changing almost nothing at all from what I’d heard in my mind’s ear.

This arrangement recalls the beauty of Shenandoah Valley, not bathed in golden sunlight, but blanketed by low-hanging clouds and experiencing intermittent periods of heavy rainfall (created with a combination of percussion textures, generated both on instruments and from the body). There are a few musical moments where the sun attempts to pierce through the clouds, but ultimately the rains win out. This arrangement of “Shenandoah” is at times mysterious, somewhat ominous, constantly introspective, and deeply soulful.

This work was commissioned by a consortium led by the University of Maryland Wind Ensemble and their conductor Andrea Brown in commemoration of the 110th year of bands at the University of Maryland – celebrating the joys of art and friendship – connecting musicians of the past, present, and future.

The members of the consortium are as follows:

University of Maryland Wind Ensemble – Andrea Brown
Albert Einstein High School Bands – Brendan W. Kelly
Anne Arundel Community College Concert Band – Paul Dembowski
Bishop McNamara High School, Forestville, Maryland – Anthony Conto
Center for Visual & Performing Arts at Suitland High School – Cullen Waller
Kell High School Bands – David Roth
Lassiter High School Band – James Thompson
Michigan State University Concert Band – Arris Golden
Princess Anne High School Bands – John Boyd
Randolph-Macon Ensemble – Brian Coffill
Randolph School Concert Band – Sue Samuels
University of Missouri Symphonic Band – Amy Knopps
Warhill High School Wind Ensemble – David Enloe
In memory of William and Janice Lake, Sr. – Dr. William L. Lake, Jr.

Shenandoah - The UMD Wind Ensemble, conducted by Dr. Andrea Brown

Come Sunday is a two-movement tribute to the Hammond organ’s central role in black worship services. The first movement, Testimony, follows the Hammond organ as it readies the congregation’s hearts, minds, and spirits to receive The Word via a magical union of Bach, blues, jazz, and R&B. The second movement, Shout!, is a virtuosic celebration - the frenzied and joyous climactic moments when The Spirit has taken over the service. 

The title is a direct nod to Duke Ellington, who held an inspired love for classical music and allowed it to influence his own work in a multitude of ways. To all the black musicians in wind ensemble who were given opportunity after opportunity to celebrate everyone else’s music but our own - I see you and I am you. This one’s for the culture!

This work was commissioned by a consortium led by The Illinois State University Wind Symphony, Dr. Anthony Marinello, conductor.

The members of the consortium are as follows:

Ball State University – Tom Caneva, Director of Bands
Baylor University – Eric Wilson, Director of Bands
Clemson University – Mark Spede, Director of Bands
Columbus State University – Jamie Nix, Director of Bands
The Dallas Winds – Jerry Junkin, Music Director
James Madison University – Anthony Marinello, Director of Bands
Loyola University New Orleans – Serena Weren, Director of Bands
Michigan State University – Kevin Sedatole, Director of Bands
University of Florida – Jay Watkins, Associate Director of Bands
University of Illinois – Steve Peterson, Director of Bands
University of Miami – Robert Carnochan, Director of Wind Ensemble Activities
University of Michigan – Courtney Snyder, Associate Director of Bands
University of South Carolina – Cormac Cannon, Associate Director of Bands
University of Texas at Austin – Jerry Junkin, Director of Bands
Western Kentucky University – Gary Schallert, Director of Bands
Western Michigan University – Scott Boerma, Director of Bands

2020 TMEA

Come Sunday - Baylor University Wind Ensemble (TMEA 2020), Dr. Eric Wilson

Composer/Arranger/Educator. Assistant Professor of Composition at The University of Texas at Austin.

Shenandoah - The UMD Wind Ensemble, conducted by Dr. Andrea Brown

Omar Thomas

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