NEC Symphonic Winds: Zhang, Firsova, Spittal, Hindemith, & Plater

Wen Zhang '21 MM | Fanfare for the Symphonic Winds (2021)

Elena Firsova | The Birth of a Smile

I. (Andantino)
II. (Con moto)
III. (Andante)

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Allyson Bennett

Allyson Bennett is an American soprano studying under Jane Eaglen at the New England Conservatory pursuing a Master of Music degree in Opera Performance. Originally from small town Pennsylvania, she is a Boston-based classical vocalist with a passion for operatic and song repertoire.
        Upcoming performances feature Allyson in the role of Eva in Jack Perla’s An American Dream with NEC’s opera department, and as the soprano soloist in Stravinsky’s Les Noces as part of NEC’s First Monday concert series.
        In 2021 Allyson was named a Boston District Winner for the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition.Additional awards include the 1st place prize for Rising Talents of Americas with the Greater Composers Competition International and 1st place Classical Vocal Performance in the Pottstown Rotary Performing Arts Scholarship Competition.
        An avid lover of the many genres of classical vocal music, her repertoire expands from the Baroque to present day compositions. She is always excited to explore new works and collaborate with composers. For more information, please see allysonbennett.com.

Robert Spittal | Blue allusions: a divertimento for trombone and winds

Biographies

Robert Spittal is an award-winning composer, conductor, flutist and saxophonist whose music has been described as "inventive", "clever" and "full of musicality" by critics and musicians alike. He is Professor of Music at Gonzaga University where he served as Director of Bands and led the Wind Ensemble and Chamber Winds from 1992-2018. He now leads the Creative Music Lab Ensemble and teaches conducting and music theory, and mentors students in the undergraduate conducting minor. Spittal received a Doctor of Musical Arts in conducting from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Eugene Corporon. Prior to CCM, he studied with Michael Haithcock (Baylor University) and Craig Kirchhoff (Ohio State University, 1985). He has also studied conducting with Frank Battisti and H. Robert Reynolds. Robert is the conductor of the professional brass ensemble Clarion, and he has led performances by the Spokane Symphony, Spokane British Brass Band, Mosaic Chamber Ensemble, and numerous collegiate and high school bands and orchestras in the US and Canada.
        His compositions have been commissioned and performed by some of the finest professional and academic musicians in North America, Europe, South America and Asia, including The Bay Brass, Borealis Wind Quintet, Atlanta Chamber Winds, Monmouth Winds, New England Conservatory, National Chamber Winds and North Texas Wind Symphony. His works have been performed in concert halls in New York, Bangkok, Vienna, Cologne, Milan, as well as Interlochen, the "Music for All" Honor Band of America, the WASBE international conference, the American Bandmasters Association conference, the National Flute Association conference, the Midwest Clinic, ASBDA, numerous All-State bands, and the CBDNA Western/Northwestern Conference. Three of his works are included in GIA's "Teaching Music" series, two of which were recorded by the North Texas Wind Symphony for the series. In 2020, Robert’s Diversions for Clarinet and Wind Ensemble received 1st Prize at the World Associations of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles Competition.
        Robert's work combines sophisticated art music forms and techniques with an appealing musical vernacular that reaches across boundaries of genre and style. This concern for aesthetic sophistication and artistic integrity in combination with a satisfying and often intentionally enjoyable appeal to the listener's ear, has been developing since his adolescent years, when he was both a serious flute student in the Cleveland Institute of Music's Prep program and a free-lance saxophonist in horn sections of jazz, r&b and other dance bands.

Ross Holcombe is the Assistant Principal Trombonist of The Florida Orchestra, a position he has held since 2018. Previously, Ross was the Principal Trombonist of the Spokane Symphony Orchestra for seven seasons, and Associate Principal Trombonist of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra for nine seasons. During the summer Ross performs with the Bellingham Festival Orchestra.
        Additional orchestral engagements include performances as guest Principal Trombonist with the Seattle Symphony, Sarasota, and Boston Philharmonic Orchestras. Ross has also performed with the Utah, Vancouver, Oregon, and Albany Symphonies, as well as the Naples Philharmonic, Rhode Island Philharmonic, United States Coast Guard Band, and Academy of St Martin in the Fields.
        Ross has appeared as a soloist with The Florida Orchestra, Spokane Symphony, and Gonzaga Wind Symphony, as well as at the Eastern Trombone Workshop with the Frequency Band. An avid chamber musician, Ross is a founding member of the Spokane Brass Quintet and performs regularly on recital series across Tampa Bay. As a composer and arranger for brass, Ross’s music has been commissioned and performed by brass quintets, brass ensembles, and trombone choirs throughout the United States. His music is published by Cherry Classics.
        Ross is currently on the faculty of Hillsborough Community College. Previously, he served on the faculties of Whitworth, Gonzaga, and Eastern Washington Universities. Ross also maintains a private studio in the Tampa Bay area; his students are regularly accepted to top university and conservatory music programs. In addition, Ross has been invited to give guest masterclasses and recitals at schools across the country, including Duquesne University, the University of Southern Mississippi, Boise State University, University of South Florida, Central Washington University, University of Montana, Washington State University, University of Tennessee at Martin, and others.
        As a recording artist, Ross can be heard on commercially available releases from the Seattle Symphony, Vermont Symphony, Jordan Winds, and the Frequency Band. Additionally, he can be heard on the soundtracks to numerous video games, motion pictures, and theme park attractions from producers such as Sony Pictures, Blizzard Entertainment, Warner Brothers, Electronic Arts, and the Walt Disney Company.  Ross received his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the New England Conservatory, where his primary teacher was Norman Bolter. His other teachers include John Drew, Grady McGrannahan, Joseph Frye, and Dale Moore. Ross has also received fellowships to attend the Pacific Music Festival, National Orchestral Institute, National Repertory Orchestra, and the Tanglewood Music Center.
        Outside of his musical career, Ross is an avid cyclist, disc golfer, and backpacker. He lives in Tampa with his wife, Emily, and their two dogs, Sydney and Billie.

Paul Hindemith (arr. Keith Wilson) | March from Symphonic Metamorphosis

D. J. Plater | Light Infantry March

Personnel