The Delta College Symphonic Winds will be performing at New York’s Carnegie Hall on April 16, commemorating Band Director Arthur J. Holton Junior’s 50 years as a music director and educator.
“The theme is a celebration of my 50th year,” said Holton.
Holton was a band director at Lincoln High School for 21 years, and retired after 41 years of teaching full time. Still, Holton was around to direct Delta Symphonic Winds and remain as an adjunct professor at Delta.
As the 90 person ensemble approached the concert in New York, Delta Symphonic Winds performed at Delta’s Atherton Auditorium April 9 for friends and family who couldn’t travel.
“We wanted to perform as if we were in New York,” said Holton.
The symphony features a mix of students and musicians from all over San Joaquin County, Stockton, Tracy, and Brentwood.
The opening piece “Transcendent Journey” is a powerful and heroic piece that Holton said he chose specifically in order to engage the audience.
From there the symphony flows right into “Symphonic Variants for Euphonium and Band” written by James Curnow in 1998.
This section features Euphonium solo by Amanda Cardwell, who has known Holton for many years.
The program describes the third track, “One Beautiful Life”, as being inspired by loss, the sacred and tragic reality that there is only one life for each of us.
Following that is “Golden Vistas,” a song that made a world premier during the sendoff concert at Atherton Auditorium and was commissioned by French Horn musician Ruth Brittin, who is a part of Delta Symphonic Winds.
“Golden Vistas” is a piece inspired by Holton and written in his honor.
“I was tickled when Bob and Bitty Stover asked if I’d be interested in writing the piece for Art’s fifty years of teaching. I immediately said yes because I’ve enjoyed working with so much over the years,” said Brittin.
Sounds were developed by Brittin to reflect Holton’s passions and his experiences as musician and educator.
“There were things I wanted to weave in…he really loves the mountains, I wanted to have a little bit of grandeur for the open spaces. There’s clicks like rocks falling…he really loves trains…I tried to capture those sounds,” said Brittin.
Randy Watson from Tracy Community band will also be making an appearance as a guest conductor in the third track “From Glen to Glen.”
The trip was self funded, Delta Wind members paid roughly $2,000 for hotel rooms, food, and travel.
“It’s very nice and cost efficient…to do something like this especially in a place like Carnegie Hall it’s really worth it for a musician,” said Delta Student and tuba player for Delta Symphonic Winds Sean Sandoval.
Students find themselves excited for the trip and feel that their performance at the sendoff concert is a reflection of how well the concert will go at Carnegie.
“I’m pretty excited…you know it’s pretty great being his (Holton) last time at Carnegie Hall. It’s pretty cool to get that piece commissioned for him and be able to play it,” said Delta Student and Tuba player for Delta Symphonic Winds Marcus Rowe.
Delta Symphonic Winds hasn’t performed at Carnegie Hall since 2010, and this will be Holton’s third and final Carngie Hall concert.