CCM Wind Symphony and Milford High School present "War and Peace" concert

Join the UC College-Conservatory of Music Wind Symphony and the Milford High School Wind Ensemble for a night of stirring music in "War and Peace" at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 10 at Corbett Auditorium. Get your tickets now in-person or over the phone through the CCM Box Office!

In a heart wrenching discussion of conflict, life, pain and loss, "War and Peace" programs epic works from yesterday and today to explore how humanity can move forward in dark times. 

It is rare to find ourselves in a moment such as this,” says CCM Director of Wind Studies Kevin Michael Holzman, “in which music can speak so powerfully, directly, and in many ways literally to our current state.” Referencing author Mark Twain’s adage that ‘History never repeats itself, but it does often rhyme,’ Holzman suggests that "War and Peace" serves as a medium to describe the powerful feelings surrounding current conflict, and provides a space to contemplate and deconstruct the consequences of violence.

Opening the concert with Leonard Bernstein’s ever-popular Overture to Candide, the CCM Wind Symphony will first introduce audiences to the evening’s weighty undertones. Outlining the journey of the satirical opera’s hero (and mirroring the trajectory of the evenings program), Overture to Candide shows how Candide’s blind optimism and simple honesty are shattered by a reality of crime, atrocity and suffering. Stripped of his idealism, we watch as Candide reconciles his grief with a quiet motivation to progress.

Jodie Blackshaw’s Peace Dancer furthers the discussion by introducing the ultimate question: "why?" Inspired by a First Nations text by Roy Henry Vickers of the Squamish Nation, Blackshaw focuses her music on one line: “We have really lost our way, we have not taught our children love and respect.” The work’s four ‘moments’ — meditation, awakening, realization and humility — take listeners on an emotional journey as remorse turns to humility and grace.

Audiences are then faced with acts of war in March!, which was composed by CCM alumna Jennifer Jolley (Composition, MM ’09; DMA ’12) in 2021, and was a finalist in the National Bandmaster’s Association William D. Revelli Composition Contest. Based on the energizing and bright aesthetics of the march, this work explores the genre's darker side as it historically accompanied and inspired violence. Recounting the Korean War, to which Jolley has a personal connection, March! parodies the traditional form, exposing the unsubstantial bravado of war by interjecting North Korean patriotic melodies with sputtering tempos and irreverent percussion.  

Next on the program is an abrupt change in tone — Carlos Simon’s Sweet Chariot explores more wistful emotions. As a GRAMMY-nominated artist, composer-in-residence at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, and recipient of the 2021 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, it is no surprise that Simon’s treatment of this African American spiritual explores new and powerful connotations. By combining the traditional melody with fragments of the gregorian chant In Paradisum from the Latin mass for the dead, he creates a rapturing sound-world, where ethereal strains breathe simultaneously of life and death, hope and loss.  

Ending in a final cry of grief and bitter pain, Karel Husa’s Music for Prague, 1968 offers one last plea for peace. Watching the invasion of his homeland from afar, all Husa could do was fill his composition with all his agony and anger. Based on a 15th-century Hussite war song which had long been a symbol of hope and resistance for the Czech nation, Husa further accentuates his music with incessant bells, for the "city of 100 spires," and birdsong, representing liberty. The raw emotion felt throughout this work has long resonated with audiences, elevating it to its current recognition as one of the most famed in the wind band repertoire.

War and Peace will also feature guest artists from the Milford High School Wind Ensemble, who will open the concert with Johann Halvorsen’s Entry March of the Boyars, John Mackey’s This Cruel Moon, and David Maslanka’s Traveler.

“Audiences will be treated to an evening of powerful and moving music to which they can instantly relate,” says Holzman. The emotional experiences and cathartic releases provided throughout this program are sure to resonate long after the final note, inspiring us all to move forward seeking a common goal: Peace.

• 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 10, 2023

Corbett Auditorium, CCM Village 
University of Cincinnati

Tickets are $19.50; student discounts and group rates are available. Tickets can be purchased in-person at the CCM Box Office or over the phone at 513-556-4183. Online reservations are not currently available.

CCM Box Office Operating Hours:

• Monday-Friday: 1-5 p.m.
• One hour prior to the start of ticketed performances.

CCM Box Office Contact Information:

• Location: CCM Atrium Lobby next to Corbett Auditorium in the Corbett Center for the Performing Arts on UC’s Uptown West Campus
• Telephone: 513-556-4183
• Email: boxoff@uc.edu

CCM is located on the campus of the University of Cincinnati. For detailed driving directions, visit ccm.uc.edu/directions.

Parking is available in UC's CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. 

CCM OnStage patrons can add pre-paid parking when purchasing tickets. Pre-paid parking is date/performance specific. CCM Garage parking rates for a performance or special event is usually available for $10-15. Learn more about parking at UC's CCM Garage.

For additional information on parking at UC, please visit uc.edu/about/parking.