CEU Wind Symphony performs tribute to heroes

The Eastern Utah Wind Symphony, a college-community band at College of Eastern Utah, will appear in concert on Saturday, April 18 at 7:30 p.m. in CEU’s Jennifer Leavitt Student Center. The program will feature guest euphonium soloist, Edward Mallett, as well as the premiere of a new composition, Crandall Canyon, by Daniel Thrower. Gregory Benson, CEU music professor and dean of arts & sciences, will conduct the evening’s performance.
Edward Mallett, a native and resident of Big Rapids, Mich., is recognized internationally as a performer on the tuba and euphonium, performing as soloist and chamber musician throughout North America in venues ranging from major concert halls to preschool classrooms.
Along with his solo career, he frequently performs throughout Michigan with his wife, Adriana, as “TubaTales,” a literacy and music program developed by the Malletts. As a composer, Mallett has had his works performed throughout the world, with pieces ranging from intimate chamber works to full orchestral symphonic pieces.
In 1998, he was nominated for the Pulitzer prize in music for his work Tanka and Haiku: August 1945, a multi-media work for soprano, flute, and piano, featuring poetry, photography, and artwork of survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Mallett earned his undergraduate degree in music from Central Michigan University in 1992 and graduate degrees in music from Michigan State University in 1993 and 1996.
He taught over 10 years at college and universities in Michigan and North Carolina before returning to Michigan to pursue his performing and composing full-time.
Daniel Thrower received his doctor of musical arts degree in trumpet performance from Arizona State University in 2007. His bachelor’s degree in music and master’s degree of music were earned from Brigham Young University. He served as professor of music at BYU-Idaho, where he played with the Faculty Brass Quintet and the Faculty Jazz Ensemble. While in Idaho, he also played principal trumpet in the Idaho Falls Symphony and the Snake River Chamber Orchestra.
Thrower currently serves as an adjunct professor of music at CEU, as well as at BYU and Utah Valley University. One of his career highlights was his experience playing principal trumpet in the 2002 Winter Olympic Games Closing Ceremony Orchestra. He can also be heard on a dozen commercially-released CDs and DVDs.
Besides being an accomplished trumpeter, Thrower spends much of his “spare time” composing, mostly for his own enjoyment. Described in his own words, his music comprises a “personal musical journal.” Thrower greatly enjoys being a husband and a father of five wonderful children. He loves studying religion, the sciences, and history.
The April 18 Wind Symphony concert will feature the premiere performance of Crandall Canyon, a new composition for euphonium and band by Daniel Thrower.
Crandall Canyon was commissioned by CEU and the Eastern Utah Wind Symphony, and commemorates the local mine tragedy of 2007. Composer Thrower offers the following thoughts: “In August of 2008 (a year after the tragedy), to honor those lost, a grand sculpture entitled ‘Heroes Among Us’ was commissioned and placed in the Huntington Cemetery. This masterwork sparked a desire in me to do something as well. Even now, almost a year and a half after the disaster, the families continue to suffer. Their loved ones were not there for Christmas, birthdays, or other important family events. My gift to them is this composition.
“Benson and the EU Wind Symphony and CEU, commissioned me to compose and direct a piece for the band, to feature this year’s guest soloist, Edward K. Mallett on euphonium. Though I was free to title the work, the instructions I received included that the piece should be slow, with lush melodies. It didn’t take long for me to decide to give something to the families of the lost miners, and to the suffering community.
“What I have to say, I have said through music. Words are inadequate. This is my gift of compassion and commiseration. Indeed, all those whom the tragedy surrounded share more or less in the loss. This composition expresses my heart, which goes out especially to the anguished families of Kerry Allred, Luis Hernandez, Brandon Phillips, Carlos Payan, Manuel Sanchez, Don Erickson, Gary Jensen, Brandon Kimber, and Dale Black. May you experience some degree of cathartic healing in this work.”
In addition to Crandall Canyon, the Wind Symphony’s program will feature Edward Mallett on two standard works for euphonium and band – Vintage by David Gillingham and Napoli by Herman Bellstedt; two traditional pieces for band – Toccata by Girolamo Frescobaldi and Ave Maria by Franz Biebl; and selections for the popular Broadway musical, Wicked. In something of a concert change-of-pace, Mallett will also join with his wife, Adriana, for a “TubaTales” presentation.