The University of Texas Wind Ensemble

Jerry Junkin, conductor

Fanfare for the Maestro (2024)
Donald Grantham
6 minutes

Triathlon (2020)
John Corigliano
30 minutes
Featuring saxophone soloist Stephen Page

Symphony No. 3, Circus Maximus (2004)*
John Corigliano
35 minutes
20th anniversary of the world premiere
*WARNING: A gun firing a blank will be used in this concert.

Fanfare for The Maestro was commissioned by friends and colleagues of Jerry Junkin to celebrate his 35 years as Director of Bands at The University of Texas at Austin and his 30 years as Music Director at the Dallas Winds.

Triathlon is scored for wind ensemble and a saxophone soloist playing a different instrument for each movement (soprano, alto, and baritone saxophones). It is an athletic work showcasing multiple styles.

Circus Maximus was commissioned by Jerry Junkin for the UT Wind Ensemble in 2004. It is scored for three different bands: one on stage, an antiphonal ensemble in the hall, and a marching band. As the title of Corigliano’s third symphony suggests, the composer used the Circus Maximus arena in Rome as inspiration, with the audience situated in the center surrounded by sound:

“The parallels between the high decadence of Rome and our present time are obvious. Entertainment dominates our reality, and ever-more-extreme “reality” shows dominate our entertainment. Many of us have become as bemused by the violence and humiliation that flood the 500-plus channels of our television screens as the mobs of imperial Rome, who considered the devouring of human beings by starving lions just another Sunday show. The shape of my Circus Maximus was built both to embody and to comment on this massive and glamorous barbarity.” – John Corigliano

The University of Texas Wind Ensemble is one of America’s elite wind bands. 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 Omar Thomas. The Wind Ensemble made its international debut in 1991 at the Fifth Conference of the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles in Manchester, England, and its national debut in 1998 at Carnegie Hall in New York.

In addition to serving as noted educators and conductors, graduates of The University of Texas Wind Ensemble hold major positions in each of the Washington D.C.-based military bands as well as major symphony orchestras throughout the world.

The Wind Ensemble recently celebrated its 50th anniversary in June 2024 with an outstanding performance at Carnegie Hall.

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