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Time:

Saturday
December, 21, 2019
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Location:

Ballroom W183

Category

CHAMBER ENSEMBLES

Conductor

Jerry F. Junkin

Performer Details

Performer Bio Synopsis

Conducted by Jerry Junkin, The University of Texas Wind Ensemble has firmly established itself as one of America’s elite wind bands. Active in the area of commissioning new music since 1988, the group has offered world premiere performances of works by composers such as John Corigliano, Michael Daugherty, Donald Grantham, David Maslanka, and Adam Schoenberg. One of the guiding principles of the ensemble is contact with the leading musical minds of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, resulting in residencies by such notable musicians as Samuel Alder, Robert Beaser, Daniel Godfrey, William Kraft, David Maslanka, Thea Musgrave, Stephen Stucky, Joan Tower, and Pulitzer Prize winners John Adams, William Bolcom, Michael Colgrass, John Corigliano, David Del Tredici, Jacob Druckman, John Harbison, Karel Husa, Gunther Schuller, and Joseph Schwantner. The Wind Ensemble made its international debut at the Fifth Conference of the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles in Manchester, England in 1991, and its New York debut at Carnegie Hall in February 1998. Internationally, the Wind Ensemble has embarked on summer tours in 2008 and 2014 with performances in Hawaii, England, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and China. National appearances include the 1995, 1999, 2005 (Carnegie Hall), 2009 and 2017 conferences of the College Band Directors National Association and the 1996, 2000 and 2009 American Bandmasters Association. Regional appearances include the 1989 conference of the College Band Directors National Association in Waco, Texas, and eight appearances at the Clinic-Convention of the Texas Music Educators Association (1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018). The ensemble was also featured at the Napa Valley Festival del Sole in 2007, and maintains a relationship with IMG Artists. In addition, commercial recordings released by The University of Texas Wind Ensemble on the Reference, Klavier, and Naxos labels have garnered many accolades. The New York Times enthusiastically praised their release Bells for Stokowski on the Reference label writing, “the skilled and enthusiastic playing of the young performers leaps off the disc…they make a glorious noise.” The same publication also listed Bells for Stokowski as one of the best Classical CD’s of the year, and Absolute Sound Magazine awarded it a prestigious “Golden Ear” award. Their release on the Naxos label, Circus Maximus, was featured in Diapason d’Or, France’s largest classical music publication and received its coveted “Golden Tuning Fork,” the most prestigious award in French culture for classical music recordings. Most recently, the Wind Ensemble released a 5.1 surround sound Blu-Ray recording of the music of Joel Puckett, Steven Bryant, and John Mackey, also on the Naxos label. Graduates of the Wind Ensemble hold major positions in each of the Washington D.C.- based military bands and international major symphony orchestras, in addition to those serving as noted educators and conductors throughout the world.

Players from the University of Texas Wind Ensemble

Conductor's Bio

Serving since 1988 on the faculty of The University of Texas at Austin, where he holds the Vincent R. and Jane D. DiNino Chair for the Director of Bands, in addition to serving as a University Distinguished Teaching Professor, Jerry Junkin is recognized as one of the world’s most highly regarded wind conductors. Previously, he served on the faculties of both the University of Michigan and the University of South Florida. In addition to his responsibilities as Professor of Music and Conductor of the Texas Wind Ensemble, he serves as Head of the Conducting Division and teaches courses in conducting and wind band literature. He is a recipient of multiple teaching awards, and students of Mr. Junkin hold major positions throughout the world. He has served as Music Director and Conductor of the Hong Kong Wind Philharmonia since 2003, and as Artistic Director and Conductor of the Dallas Winds since 1993. Additionally, he serves as principal guest conductor of the Sensoku Gakuen College of Music Wind Ensemble in Kawasaki, Japan. In 2005 he was presented the Grainger Medallion by the International Percy Grainger Society in recognition of his championing of Grainger’s works. A recipient of the Kappa Kappa Psi Distinguished Service to music Award, he was the 2012 Texas Bandmaster of the Year and in 2015 received the Medal of Honor from the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic. He is the 2017 Phi Beta Mu International Bandmaster of the Year. Performances under the direction of Mr. Junkin have won the praise of such notable musicians as John Corigliano, David Del Tredici, Gunther Schuller, Karel Husa, William Kraft, Jacob Druckman and Michael Colgrass, among many others. Mr. Junkin has released over 30 compact disc recordings for the Reference, Klavier and Naxos labels. The New York Times named his release with the UT Wind Ensemble on the Reference Recordings label, Bells for Stokowski, one of the best classical CD’s of the year. Their performance of Circus Maximus was recently released on the world’s first Blu Ray audio disc in 5.1 surround sound by Naxos. In 2014 he led The University of Texas Wind Ensemble on a four-week tour around the world. Other major appearances with the UT Wind Ensemble include 1992 and 2008 European Tours, the 2007 Festival Del Sole in Napa Valley, in addition to two Carnegie Hall performances, seven TMEA Convention concerts, three ABA Convention performances and six CBDNA National Convention appearances. Jerry Junkin is an enthusiastic advocate of public school music education, having conducted All-State bands and festivals in forty-eight states and on five continents. He spends his summers in residence at the Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan, as well as appearing at major music festivals throughout the world. Mr. Junkin has served as President of the Big XII Band Director’s Association and is a member of the Board of Directors of The John Philip Sousa Foundation, is Past-President of the American Bandmasters Association, and Past-President of the College Band Directors National Association. Regularly making guest appearances with ensembles such as the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra and the Taipei Symphonic Winds, the current season finds him conducting throughout the United States in addition to appearances in Japan, China, and Europe. Jerry Junkin is a Yamaha Master Educator.

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