The Arrowhead Union High School Instrumental Music Department is comprised of approximately 200 students participating in four curricular concert bands (Wind Ensemble, two Symphonic Bands, and Concert Band), two jazz ensembles, (Jazz Ensemble and 3 O’Clock Jazz), a voluntary/non-competitive Marching Band, three pep bands, Percussion Ensemble, and jazz combos.
The Arrowhead High School Wind Ensemble is comprised of the most advanced wind and percussion students grades 9-12 in Arrowhead’s Instrumental Music Program. This ensemble continues a rich tradition of commissioning and premiering new works by some of the finest composers in the world such as Michael Markowski, Carl Holmquist, John Mackey, Clint Needham, and Alec Schumacker, among others. Notable performances include the National Band Association Wisconsin Chapter conventions (2011, 2016, and 2020), the Wisconsin State Music Conferences (2014, 2023), and the Sounds of Spring Festival at Carnegie Hall (2022). The students are thrilled to be performing in the 2024 World Projects International Music Festival at the John F. Kennedy Center!
Jacob Polancich is in his 16th year as Director of Bands and Music Department Teacher Leader at Arrowhead Union High School. He oversees all aspects of the program and conducts the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band South, Jazz Ensemble, Marching Warhawks, and teaches the Music Foundations course. Prior to his appointment at Arrowhead, he served as director of bands at Rockridge High School in Taylor Ridge, Illinois..
An advocate for commissioning projects and new music, Mr. Polancich has initiated and conducted AHS ensembles in over 20 commission/consortium projects. He has led successful performance travel opportunities for Arrowhead students to Washington D.C., Orlando/Disney, Toronto, Chicago, New York City, Ireland, Northern Italy, and several destinations throughout the Midwest. He is an active percussionist and bassoonist, having performed in a variety of ensembles throughout the United States, Canada, England, and the Republic of China. He maintains an active performance and recording schedule with the Meisel Quartet, Montauk Project, and his own trio Sincerely, Linus. Mr. Polancich is a proud endorser/artist for Dream Cymbals and Pork Pie Drums.
PERFORMING WORKS
First Suite in E-flat, by Gustav Holst
Jackson Square [revisited], by Carl Holmquist
The Bicycle Shoppe, by Lisa DeSpain
From Either Side of the Table, by Justin Casinghino
Lexington High School Wind Ensemble
Lexington
Massachusetts, USA
Jared L. Cassedy, Director
The Lexington High School Wind Ensemble is the most advanced concert band at Lexington High School consistently receiving superior marks at state, regional, and national festivals. Many of the students have performed in state and regional music festivals including MMEA All State and the NAfME All Eastern and All National Music Festivals as well as participate in the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, and ensembles at the New England Conservatory of Music’s Preparatory School. Made up of students who come from a myriad of different backgrounds and identities, the ensemble continues to celebrate the diversity that exists within its make-up and the continued commitment to performing music by living and underrepresented composers, music steeped in social justice themes, and music that has been recently composed. Through this, the ensemble has been highlighted in national podcasts and conferences focusing on the connection of social-emotional learning and music, and has collaborated with a number of clinicians and composers around this work. The ensemble holds a strong standing belief in the authentic investment of each other from both a musical and social standpoint, which has enabled them to bring forward musical performances underscored by both composer and performer intent. They continue to look inward as they offer musical experiences that celebrate the joy and purpose of such a moving and transformative artform.
This is Jared Cassedy’s 20th year in education. He is the K-12 Performing Arts Coordinator for Lexington Public Schools, MA and also directs the LHS Wind Ensemble. Jared serves as the conductor of the Junior Massachusetts Youth Wind Ensemble at New England Conservatory’s Preparatory School and is the artistic director for The Longy School of Music’s Side-by-Side Orchestra program. He is the recipient of the 2015 GRAMMY Music Educator Award furnished by the GRAMMY Foundation and The Recording Academy and was recently recognized as a 2022 National Music Teacher of Excellence by the Country Music Association (CMA) Foundation. His ensembles have participated in numerous national festivals including The National Band and Orchestra Festival and New York Wind Band Festival at Carnegie Hall, Festival of Gold in Chicago, the Bands of America (BOA) National Concert Band Festival in Indianapolis, the NAfME Eastern Division Conference and the Pacific Basin International Music Festival in Honolulu, HI. Jared is President-Elect for the Massachusetts Music Educators Association and serves on the National Association for Music Education Equity Committee, Council of Music Program Leaders, and Strategic Planning Committee. Jared has spoken at a myriad of state, national, and international conferences about program culture and development, leadership and best practices in teaching, and advocacy including talks given at TEDx and the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic. He continues to be an active conductor of honors bands and adjudicates state festivals across the northeast.
PERFORMING WORKS
A Mother of a Revolution, by Omar Thomas
Into the Silent Land, by Steve Danyew
Kingfishers Catch Fire Mvt. II, by John Mackey
From Either Side of the Table, by Justin Casinghino
The Concordia Orchestra
Ann Arbor Michigan, USA
William Perrine, Director
Concordia University Ann Arbor (CUAA) is a private, liberal arts university in Ann Arbor, Michigan affiliated with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS). CUAA offers students a comprehensive traditional undergraduate education in a faith-based environment in one of the top college towns in the United States. The Music Department is housed in the Kreft Center for the Arts, and offers majors in Music Performance, Music Education, and Church Music in addition to minors in Music, Musical Theater, Contemporary Christian Music, and Worship Arts Leadership.
William Perrine serves as Associate Professor of Music and Director of Instrumental Activities at Concordia University Ann Arbor. Under his direction the Wind Ensemble and Orchestra have developed a national reputation for excellence. The Wind Ensemble’s 2016 Carnegie Hall debut through World Projects was critically praised as “stunning and inspirational…one of the finest wind bands in the nation,” while the ensemble’s 2018 Chicago Symphony Center performance was recognized at the 2019 CBDNA Small Program Showcase and received 3rd Place in the 2021 American Prize competition. Dr. Perrine also founded the Concordia Civic Orchestra in 2019. He holds a doctorate of philosophy in music education from Indiana University, a master of music degree in conducting from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and an undergraduate degree in music education from Transylvania University. Prior to his appointment at Concordia, Dr. Perrine spent ten years teaching in Title I schools in Kentucky and Florida, where he earned his National Board Teacher Certification. Dr. Perrine has presented his peer-reviewed research at many national and international conferences and symposia, and is published in multiple journals, as well as two peer-reviewed books. Dr. Perrine also currently serves as conductor of the Washtenaw Community Concert Band.
PERFORMING WORKS
Jubilate Deo, by Dan Forrest
Symphony no. 1 Mvt. 1: Longings, by William Grant Still
Danza del Sol, by Kevin Day
Omnis Terra!, by Dan Forrest
The Concordia Choir

Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
John Boonenberg, Director
Concordia University Ann Arbor (CUAA) is a private, liberal arts university in Ann Arbor, Michigan affiliated with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS). CUAA offers students a comprehensive traditional undergraduate education in a faith-based environment in one of the top college towns in the United States. The Music Department is housed in the Kreft Center for the Arts, and offers majors in Music Performance, Music Education, and Church Music in addition to minors in Music, Musical Theater, Contemporary Christian Music, and Worship Arts Leadership. Since the founding of Concordia, Ann Arbor in 1963, the Concordia Choir has maintained a reputation of excellence in choral music and performs regularly both on and off campus. The Concordia Choir has performed through the country and abroad, presenting performance tours into most regions of the United States as well as two recent international tours to Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic. The ensemble recently was recognized as a finalist in the 2023 American Prize Competition. The Concordia Civic Orchestra was founded in 2019, and is now a vibrant part of CUAA’s musical culture. Members include current CUAA students, advanced guest and dual enrollment students, and adult community members. The ensemble has quickly developed a national reputation for excellence, recently earning 2nd Place in the 2023 American Prize Competition. Members of both the Choir and Orchestra represent nearly all majors on campus, and substantial merit-based music scholarships are available to musicians in all fields of academic study.
John Boonenberg serves as Associate Professor and Kreft Endowed Chair of Music at Concordia University Ann Arbor, Director of Music at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Ann Arbor, and Music Director of The Boychoir of Ann Arbor. At Concordia University, Dr. Boonenberg directs the Concordia Choir and Arborsong chamber choir, as well as teaching courses in church music and applied organ. Throughout his career, Dr. Boonenberg has been involved in the full musical life of the church—playing organ, piano, guitar, and other instruments for worship services, conducting choirs and instrumental ensembles, and teaching general music and drama in Lutheran schools. His choral ensembles have consistently won superior ratings and awards at local and national levels. He is also a sought-after conductor, vocal coach, and clinician. He has conducted much of the Bach cantata repertoire, and has coached opera and art song at several prestigious music festivals, including serving as faculty at the Amalfi Coast Music & Arts Festival in Maiori, Italy. He is also active in his local MTNA chapter, and remains committed to music education at all levels. Dr. Boonenberg holds degrees from The University of Michigan (BM, DMA) and The Juilliard School (MM).
PERFORMING WORKS
My Spirit is Uncaged, by Paul Rardin
A Red, Red Rose, by James Mulholland
Set Me As a Seal, by Margaret Burk
Wild Forces, by Jake RunestadThe Concordia Orchestra
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
William Perrine, Director
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TENOR Joseph Kramp Daniel Popa Benjamin Orlando Marek Bernhardt Benjamin Brenner Nicholas Holz Cameron Jacobs James Wilson
BASS Aaron Halboth Ben Kletzli Caleb Gard Timothy Burmann Dylan Anderson Elijah Boye Luke Dameron Ethan Dodson Theodore Eising Justin Goodrich Caleb Gross
Festival Guest Faculty
Festival Guest Faculty
William Perrine serves as Associate Professor of Music and Director of Instrumental Activities at Concordia University Ann Arbor. Under his direction the Wind Ensemble and Orchestra have developed a national reputation for excellence. The Wind Ensemble’s 2016 Carnegie Hall debut through World Projects was critically praised as “stunning and inspirational…one of the finest wind bands in the nation,” while the ensemble’s 2018 Chicago Symphony Center performance was recognized at the 2019 CBDNA Small Program Showcase and received 3rd Place in the 2021 American Prize competition.
Dr. Perrine also founded the Concordia Civic Orchestra in 2019. He holds a doctorate of philosophy in music education from Indiana University, a master of music degree in conducting from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and an undergraduate degree in music education from Transylvania University. Prior to his appointment at Concordia, Dr. Perrine spent ten years teaching in Title I schools in Kentucky and Florida, where he earned his National Board Teacher Certification. Dr. Perrine has presented his peer-reviewed research at many national and international conferences and symposia, and is published in multiple journals, as well as two peer-reviewed books. Dr. Perrine also currently serves as conductor of the Washtenaw Community Concert Band.
Carl Holmquist is a composer, conductor, and music educator. He is the Director of Bands at the H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program in Arlington, VA, where he teaches concert bands, jazz band, percussion ensemble and music theory. He earned a BM in Music Education from St. Olaf College, where he studied conducting and composition with Timothy Mahr and Steven Amundson. He also earned a MM in Instrumental Conducting from George Mason University, where he studied with Mark Camphouse and Anthony Maiello.
As a composer, he has written numerous works for concert band, orchestra, chamber ensembles and vocal ensembles, and has been commissioned by middle school, high school, university, and community ensembles across the country. His works for band and string orchestra have been published by C. Alan Publications, Bandworks Publications, Leading Tones Music, Alfred Publishing and Grand Mesa Music Publishers. Holmquist contributed a chapter to Volume 4 of the Composers on Composing for Band series, edited by Mark Camphouse and published by GIA Publications. He was one of three composers to participate in the 2008 Young Composer Mentor Project, sponsored by the National Band Association. Holmquist also received first prize in the 2006 Claude T. Smith Memorial Composition Contest for his work, Play!
In addition to his work at H-B Woodlawn, he maintains an active schedule serving as guest composer, conductor and clinician for school, community and honor ensembles and has presented at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic. Carl lives in Annandale, VA with his wife, Elizabeth, and two sons, William and Nathan.
Composer-conductor Mark Camphouse is a native Chicagoan. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in music from Northwestern University. He began composing at an early age, with the Colorado Philharmonic premiering his First Symphony when he was 17. His 36 published works for wind band have received widespread critical acclaim and are performed frequently in the U.S. and abroad. He has served as a guest conductor, composer, lecturer, and clinician in 44 states, Canada, Europe, China, and Central America.
He has co-authored 6 books with GIA Publications, served 22 years as founding coordinator of the National Band Association/U.S. Air Force Band Young Composer/Young Conductor Mentor Project, served 5 summer seasons as Music Director and Conductor of the New Mexico Music Festival at Taos Symphony Orchestra, and 4 years as Associate Director of the Virginia Governor's School for the Arts.
The 2021-22 academic year marked his 44th and final year of full-time teaching in higher education. Camphouse served for 16 of those years as Professor of Music and Director of Concert Bands at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. In 2002, he received an Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), the Commonwealth's highest honor for faculty at Virginia's colleges and universities "for demonstrated excellence in teaching, research, and public service." In 2022, he received the National Band Association Distinguished Service Award "in recognition of exemplary service to the NBA and tireless efforts on behalf of bands and band music."
Mr. Camphouse has been married to Elizabeth ("Libby") Curtis since 1982. They have twin daughters and 3 granddaughters. Mark and Libby live in Millville, Delaware near Bethany Beach and the Atlantic coast.
Justin Casinghino composes in a variety of genres, striving to create works that are lyrical, rich in harmony and possess a sound structurally integrity. Dr. Casinghino is a Visiting Assistant Professor at Fitchburg State University, a Lecturer at Boston University, and is the Director of the Composition Program and Electroacoustic Workshop at BU’s Tanglewood Institute.
He has also held positions at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Brandeis University, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Keene State College and the Rivers School, and is regularly recruited as a guest speaker on a variety of topics in music. His studies of composition include work with Gunther Schuller, Lukas Foss, Theodore Antoniou and Richard Cornell, and he has had pieces requested and performed by groups including the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Family Concert Series, Boston Musica Viva, the Rivers Symphony Orchestra, ALEA III, the Longy Chamber Orchestra, the Lorelei Vocal Ensemble, the wind quintet Vento Chiaro and the Pharos saxophone quartet. His music has been commissioned via the New England Foundation for the Arts and the Free for All Concert Fund, has been featured on programs of the International Trumpet Guild, the North American Saxophone Alliance, IRCAM, the International Society of Bassists and the Rivers School Conservatory’s Annual Seminar on Contemporary Music for the Young, and has received recent performances in venues including Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA, Tanglewood’s Seiji Ozawa Hall, the Symphony Center in Chicago, D.C.’s Kennedy Center, and multiple appearances in New York’s Carnegie Hall. Casinghino also performs throughout New England on piano, Hammond organ, SATB saxophones and as a vocalist with a number of “popular” genre groups. Justin lives outside of Boston with his wife, four daughters and dog. Samples of his music can be heard at www.jdcas.com.
DMA, Boston University; MM, Longy School of Music; BM, Hartt School of Music.
Brett Abigaña's music has been performed throughout the world, and his music has been commissioned and performed by numerous performers including The United States Navy Band, The United States Navy Pacific Fleet Band, The United States Air Force Band of the Golden West, The United States Army Field Band and Soldiers' Chorus, ALEA III, The Afiara String Quartet, The Webster Trio, The Fourth Wall Ensemble, The Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra, and numerous high school and college ensembles.
He has written a wide variety of music including chamber music for strings and winds, song cycles, and numerous pieces for orchestra and symphonic band, including several concertos. He has gained a reputation for writing expressive, colorful music, and is much in demand as a guest lecturer, clinician, and conductor.
Dr. Abigaña completed his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees at The Juilliard School where he studied with Samuel Adler and Robert Beaser, and received his Doctorate of Musical Arts from Boston University where he studied with Samuel Headrick and Richard Cornell. Other studies include composition, harmony, and counterpoint with Narcis Bonet, Michel Merlet, and Philip Lasser at La Schola Cantorum in Paris, as well as conducting with Judith Clurman, and ear training with Mary Anthony Cox.

In 2011, Dr. Abigaña was commissioned by the United States Navy Band to write his Symphony no. 1 - Omnes Gentes. This work is written for wind band, antiphonal trumpets, soprano soloist, chorus, and organ, and was premiered in 2012 by the United States Navy Band under the direction of CAPT Brian Walden in Washington, D.C. The work was also released on the US Navy Band's album, Derivations. The Navy Band commissioned Dr. Abigaña again to write As The Wood Smoke Rises, for release on their 2014 album, Sea Interludes, and for premiere at the 2014 Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic.

In 2013, The Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Mr. Jung-Ho Pak commissioned Dr. Abigaña to write Passing Acquaintance, a double concerto for violin, viola, and orchestra. Since then, they have also commissioned a new completion of Holst's The Planets, to which Dr. Abigaña added Pluto, the Unseen One, and Apollo, the Bringer of Life (2013), a work commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Cape Cod Canal entitled Through the Bent and Twisted Arm (2014), Seven Faces of a Stone (2014) in honor of the 375th anniversary of the Town of Barnstable, and The Lamp Beside the Golden Door (2023), an expandable work meant to accompany narrations of various lengths on the topic of immigration.

Dr. Abigaña was commissioned in 2015 by the World Youth Wind Orchestra to write his Symphony no. 2 - Commedia, which was premiered at the 2015 WASBE Convention in San Jose, CA under the baton of maestro José Luis Pascal Viliplana. The piece is based on the three canticles of Dante's Commedia, and has since been performed around the world.

In 2016, The United States Navy Pacific Fleet Band under the direction of LT. Kelly Cartwright commissioned Dr. Abigaña to compose Still, There for the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The piece was premiered in Honolulu, HI on December 7th of that year for an audience that included veterans and survivors of the attack.

In 2017, the Alabama Winds under the direction of Randall Coleman commissioned and premiered Devil’s Drive, part of an ongoing series of bluegrass-influenced works for large ensemble, at the Midwest Conference in Chicago. Other works in this series include Daylight Passing (2012), written for the Woodland High School Wind Ensemble, Down the Lonely Path (2014), written for the Vista High School Symphonic Band, Chorale and Prelude (2018), written for the Murray State University Wind Ensemble, and Leap (2019), written for the Kansas All-State Honor Orchestra.

Dr. Abigaña is proud to be on faculty at Boston University Academy, and is also Director of New Music at World Projects, an international tour and festival company as well as new music publisher. His music is published by World Projects.
Program Notes
"From The Other Side Of The Table"
Justin Casinghino (World Premiere)
From Either Side of the Table began with reflection on both the unique instrumental request of the commission – two full wind ensembles sitting on either side of the stage – and that the piece would be premiered at the Kennedy Center, within our nation’s capital city. Contemplation on these two elements brought me to the same idea, that I had two sides, a left and a right, creating both a stereo audio field and the means to offer my thoughts on what I see as ideal political discourse. I want to make clear that this piece is in no way about “politics”, nor is it about a view within politics that I see as “right” or “wrong”. I also want to be clear that I am not thinking about the stage orientation of either group as actually representing “the Right” or “the Left”. Instead, I am using the two-sided staging of the ensembles to pay homage to what I see as the fundamental core of a democratic society: conversation and the sharing of ideas that equally influence one another, ultimately growing toward a unified whole. Perhaps this is naively idealistic at best, but for me, this exchange of ideas is the cornerstone of our society and is that we should continually strive for and try to maintain. To this aim, From Either Side of the Table progresses with each ensemble presenting stretches of music that the other group responds to in some way: sometimes picking up the idea, sometimes steering it somewhere new. As the piece goes on, these back-and-forth moments get shorter and shorter, eventually arriving at a unified, full-stage ensemble. The piece is structured with a refrain and several subsections that each share a common form and move through an underlying cyclical key-scheme throughout. The motivic elements of these sections are passed between the ensembles and eventually come together along with the ensembles themselves. Some of the musical ideas that are presented along the way end up being combined within phrases, some get overlapped and layered, and some get left on the table. In the end, it’s the growth through the two groups’ conversation that carries the piece forward, and as I see it, is my hope for us all.
-JDC
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