Yale Concert Band to premiere "Juvenalia" for Solo Percussion and Wind Ensemble by Robert Honstein - Garrett Arney, guest artist

The Yale Concert Band, Yale’s premier wind ensemble, Thomas C. Duffy, Music Director, will perform the Thomas C. Duffy Yale Concert Band Spring Concert on Friday April 10, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. in Woolsey Hall. Free Admission, with reservations required ONLY for a limited number of free premium center first balcony tickets. Get premium seating tickets here.

● Tonight’s concert features the world premiere of Robert Honstein’s “Juvenalia” for Solo Percussion and Wind Ensemble. Inspired by the Ancient Roman festivals of the same name -- which featured games, theater, and ritual celebrations -- Honstein embraces this wild energy in the three movements of this concerto. Feat. Garrett Arney, percussion. Both Honstein and Arney are graduates of the Yale School of Music.

● “Concertino” was originally written by renowned Brazilian composer Francisco Mignone for bassoon and chamber orchestra. This arrangement by Harry Searing for small wind ensemble is a world premiere, featuring Frank Morelli, Yale School of Music Professor of Bassoon, guest artist.

● “Tarot” (Lindsay Bronnenkant) takes inspiration from Gustav Holst’s incorporation of Indian classical music into his famous work Planets. Bronnenkant applies Holst’s musical experimentation to a different topic; Tarot. Just as the planets represent specific astrological characteristics and personalities, so too do Tarot cards and each movement represents a different Tarot Card with references to Holst’s Planets. The Fool evokes Jupiter and Uranus, The King of Cups references Neptune and Venus, and The Tower recalls Mars, the Bringer of War.

● Thomas C. Duffy composed “Gnomon” (the Greek word for the pointer of a sundial) after visiting the Kentucky Veterans Vietnam Memorial of the same name. The piece represents the passing of time and the presence of death and incredible sadness. “Gnomon” conjures up the sounds of distant bugles, martial drumming, marching, funereal hymns, and the popular folk songs that represented the anguish of America in the 1960s.

● “Bugler’s Holiday” is one of Leroy Anderson’s most widely known compositions. This lively solo piece is for three trumpets accompanied by a band. This trio imitates the sound of a bugle, commonly used for military calls and fanfares.

● Dmitri Shostakovich’s “Folk Dances” is a light-hearted combination of various folk melodies reflecting the joy of Russian people. It originated as the third movement of Shostakovich’s 1942 suite, The Motherland (op. 63). The third movement, originally named “Dance of Youth”, was meant to lighten the mood of the somber suite, written during World War II.

ADMISSION:  Free Admission, with reservations required ONLY for a limited number of free premium center first balcony tickets. Register for Premium Seats by clicking on the Buy Tickets link (blue box). You do not need tickets for regular open seating General Admission.