Austin Symphonic Band
“Little Gems for Concert Band”
April 19, 2026
PROGRAM NOTES
Little Gems is a selection of mostly smaller but significant contributions to the wind band literature. The concert includes the world premiere of “Splash” by Viskamol Chaiwanichsiri, winner of the Austin Symphonic Band Young Composers’ Contest.
Symphonic Concert March
Giouse Bonelli, arr. Nicholas Falcone
There’s a bit of a mystery around Bonelli’s “Symphonic Concert March.” This piece doesn’t seem to have an original manuscript of the score or much information on who G. Bonelli was. It was recreated from memory by Nicholas Falcone after he emigrated to the U.S. in 1912. Nicholas and his brother Leonard remembered playing the piece as teenagers in the town band of Roseto Valfortore, Italy, where they grew up.
Nicholas eventually became director of bands at the University of Michigan from 1923-1935. Sometime in the 1950’s, Nicholas gave a copy of his transcription of the march to his successor at Michigan, the legendary William Revelli. Revelli performed it numerous times, ensuring the work’s success.
The march is rather polyphonic and intricate, not intended for parade marching. It is clearly the work of a composer trained in theory and counterpoint. The thematic ideas are reminiscent of romantic Italian composers such as Verdi or Donizetti. Bonelli’s one known contribution to the symphonic band literature is indeed a little gem.
Autumn Leaves
Joseph Kosma, arr. Alfred Reed, ed. Mark Rogers
“Autumn Leaves” is a popular song and jazz standard that originated in post-war France. Joseph Kosma, a native of Hungary, wrote the tune originally for a ballet called Le Rendez-vous, which premiered in Paris after WW2. Kosma collaborated with lyricist Jacques Prevert to create the 1945 popular song version of the tune under the title “Les Feuilles mortes” (The Dead Leaves). This version became a commercial success when it was recorded by Yves Montand in 1949. American songwriter Johnny Mercer wrote English lyrics for it in 1950; he was a founder and partner in Capitol Records, and had vocalist Jo Stafford make the first English language recording. It quickly became a standard and was covered by singers including Nat Cole, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and Sarah Vaughn. Instrumental versions of “Autumn Leaves” include recordings by Artie Shaw, Stan Getz, Roger Williams, Duke Ellington and Miles Davis.
Alfred Reed wrote this arrangement for band in 1955, and later wrote a full orchestra version that was performed by the Boston Pops.
Ratatouille Satirique
Erik Satie (1866-1925), arr. Johan de Meij
Ratatouille Satirique is a setting for band of three short pieces by French composer Erik Satie. The title of this work essentially translates to “satirical stew.” The first movement, “Prélude,” from Jack in the Box, is a piece for piano Satie wrote in 1899. He intended to score it for orchestra about 1905, but lost the manuscript in his apartment. (He thought he had left it on a bus.) It was rediscovered after his death in 1925.
The second movement, “Rêverie,” is an extract from his Trois petites pieces montees, or ‘three stuffed pieces.’ It was originally written for small orchestra and later arranged for solo piano. The third movement, “Le Piccadilly,” is a 1904 composition for both solo piano and string orchestra. It is one of Satie’s early experiments with ragtime music. It is written in a ternary ragtime form, similar to Scott Joplin’s rags, with each strain being 16 measures long, preceded by a four-measure ‘vamp’. Both the solo piano version and the string version were published in 1907.
Erik Satie was a French composer and pianist who lived and worked most of his life in Paris. He studied at the Paris Conservatory but did not obtain a diploma. He worked as a pianist in café-cabarets in Montmartre, Paris, in the 1880’s, and began to compose solo piano works such as the Gymnopedies and the Gnossiennes. He later entered the Schola Cantorum, the second Paris music academy, and was much more successful. His unconventional and original compositions began to attract attention from younger composers and artists. His spare, terse style influenced composers such as Debussy, Poulenc, Ravel and members of “Les Six.”
Themes from “Green Bushes”
Percy Aldridge Grainger, arr. Larry D. Daehn
“Green Bushes” is a popular English folksong that has been arranged for wind band in numerous settings. The song first appeared in print in the early 1800’s. It was popularized in an 1845 English melodrama, “The Green Bushes, or A Hundred Years Ago,” by J.B. Buckstone. The melody has many variants to different texts such as “The Lost Lady Found” and “Cutty Wren.” Ralph Vaughn Williams included it in his English Folksong Suite.
Percy Grainger wrote several settings of the melody for band and various ensembles. The first version for wind band was written in 1906 and revised in 1921; Larry Daehn uses the later version for his arrangement of Grainger’s work.
Grainger said of the melody to “Green Bushes”:
Among country-side folksongs in England, “Green Bushes” was one of the best known of folksongs — and well it deserved to be, with its raciness, its fresh grace…. Green Bushes strikes me as being a typical dance-folksong — a type of song come down to us from the time when sung melodies, rather than instrumental music, held countryside dancers together. It seems to breathe that lovely passion for the dance that swept like a fire over Europe in the middle ages — seems brimful of all the youthful joy and tender romance that so naturally seek an outlet in dancing.
Splash (Op. 89)
Viskamol Chaiwanichsiri (1995-)
Program notes by the composer:
“Splash,” for wind ensemble, is inspired by the Thai Songkran Festival — also known as the Thai New Year or Water Festival. It is celebrated in mid-April, one of the hottest times of the year. Songkran is marked by joyful water splashing, yet it also holds deep cultural meaning as a time for family gatherings, temple visits, and paying respect to elders.
When I learned that I was awarded the Austin Symphonic Band Young Composer Contest [for] 2024 and was commissioned to compose a piece for them, I looked for a common thread between Austin (TX, United States) and Thailand — both places share one thing in common: the heat!
“Splash” was written to cool things down and to share in the spirit of this festival together.
Viskamol Chaiwanichsiri is a Thai composer, conductor, and music educator known internationally for blending traditional Thai soundscapes with contemporary styles, establishing him as a leading figure among emerging Asian composers. His works have been performed internationally, including by ensembles in Asia, Europe and the US. He is the founder of thaiwindcomposers.com, a resource and community dedicated to promoting wind music in Thailand.
Website: viskamol.com
Second Suite for Band (1980)
Alfred Reed (1921-2005)
The Second Suite for Band is based on Latin American styles and forms. It is in four movements: 1. Son Montuno; 2. Tango; 3. Guaracha; 4. Paso Doble “A la corrida.” The first movement uses rhythms closely related to calypso, a style that originated in the Caribbean. The tango movement is a Brazilian-style tango: slower and more flowing than the Argentinian version we usually hear. The ‘Guaracha’ is a type of lively Argentinian drinking song. The final movement, “Paso Doble,” translates to ‘two-step;’ it is usually a march style, popular in Spain and Mexico, but Reed sets this version in 5/4 meter.
Alfred Reed was one of the most popular and prolific composers of wind band literature in the 20th century. He was born in New York City to Austrian immigrant parents. He began cornet lessons at age 10, and played professionally in bands in the Catskills resort hotels as a teenager. In 1938 he began work as an arranger and conductor in the Radio Workshop in New York City, and at about this time he changed his last name from Friedman to Reed.
When World War 2 broke out, he enlisted in the 529th US Army Air Force Band, based in Atlantic City, New Jersey. During this time he produced over 150 radio broadcasts of band performances, and wrote over 100 original works and arrangements for band. After the war, he briefly attended Juilliard in Manhattan. While there, he studied with Vittorio Giannini. Reed left without completing his degree in 1948 to work as a film and television composer with NBC and later ABC.
Reed moved to Texas in 1953, and for two years he was the conductor of the Baylor University Symphony Orchestra in Waco. He completed a Bachelors in Music from Baylor in 1955, and a Masters degree in 1956. His Masters thesis was a work for viola solo and orchestra, which won a major prize for music composition.
Reed moved back to New York in 1955 to become editor at Hansen Publishing, where he stayed until 1966. While there, he specialized in works for band and began promoting educational band music. He left New York in 1966 to join the faculty at the University of Miami. He taught composition and theory, and helped to develop the Music Industry degree program there. Reed remained in Miami until his death.
Reed has over 250 published original works and arrangements for band, orchestra and various ensembles. He was a frequent guest conductor of band ensembles and orchestras in virtually every continent. He also left several hundred unpublished works, which hopefully might receive performances some day.
Program notes by Clifton Jones