A Tale of Three Cities: UCLA Wind Ensemble Invitational Concert

To conclude the two-day UCLA Wind Ensemble Invitational, which brings outstanding high school bands from across Southern California to play on the stage of Royce Hall and receive feedback from a panel of expert artist-teachers, the UCLA Wind Ensemble performs music celebrating some of the great cities of the world. The concert opens with a transcription of Puiltzer Prize-winner Kevin Puts’s celebratory Millennium Canons, first performed by the Boston Pops in 2001. Professor of Saxophone Jan Berry Baker solos on Roshanne Etezady’s Negative Split, commissioned by the Committee on the Status of Women of the North American Saxophone Alliance and inspired by the achievements of female swimmers in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Paul Mac and Matthew Hindson’s three-movement Requiem for a City pays homage to the techno culture of Sydney, Australia. The concert ends with a transcription of Ottorino Respighi’s 1924 tone poem, Pines of Rome.