October 2023 Concert Program

Arabesque: Hazo American composer Samuel Hazo began his compositional career at age 30 and wrote many works for concert bands. “Arabesque” was commissioned by the Indiana Bandmasters Association for the 2008 All-State High School Honor Band. It is a tour de force of Middle Eastern sounds for the contemporary wind band, filled with delicate and sensual soloistic writing, full-blown ensemble passages, rapid-fire tutti rhythms, and frenzied percussion. Our arrangement is courtesy of South Valley Symphony’s frequent collaborator, Chris Niemann. “Pictures at an Exhibition”: Mussorgsky Written in 1874 by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky, “Pictures at an Exhibition” is a musical depiction of a tour of an exhibition of works by architect and painter Viktor Hartmann at the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg. Written as a piano suite in 10 movements plus a recurring and varied Promenade theme, the composition was adapted for orchestra by several composers. French composer Maurice Ravel’s 1922 orchestration is the most recorded and performed.