Travis Jürgens, Music Director Guest Soloist – Lyle Steelman, Trumpet
Music Director Travis Jürgens serves as Director of Music Ministry at Saint Ambrose Catholic Parish and as Music Director of the fully professional Perrysburg Symphony Orchestra. He won 2nd Prize and the President of the Jury Award at the 2019 Bucharest Music Institute International Conducting Competition. He has collaborated with esteemed conductors, including Michael Tilson Thomas and Marin Alsop. He has been praised as “a superior conductor” and “well on his way to becoming a major conductor in the world of symphony orchestras” (Opus Colorado).
Lyle Steelman – Trumpet Cleveland native Lyle Steelman joined The Cleveland Orchestra as assistant principal trumpet during the 2009 Blossom Festival. He came to the Orchestra from the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, where he had been principal trumpet since 2006. He had also served as a substitute trumpet for The Cleveland Orchestra since 2005. A 2001 graduate of the Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music, he earned a Master of Music degree from Southern Methodist University. As a soloist, Steelman has performed with The Cleveland Orchestra, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, the Baldwin Wallace Bach Festival, the Cleveland Symphonic Winds, and the Blossom Festival Band. As a teacher, Steelman has taught masterclasses at Baldwin Wallace University, Southern Methodist University, The Cleveland Institute of Music, and Oberlin College.He currently serves as Lecturer of Trumpet at the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music.
Charles Gounod – Petite Symphonie Though Gounod wrote little instrumental music, the two symphonies of 1855, the
Petite Symphonie of 1885, and a handful of late string quartets are all skillfully wrought essays in traditional forms, graceful and unpretentious. We can be grateful to the flutist Paul Taffanel, who commissioned the Petite Symphonie for a Paris concert series devoted to wind chamber music. Gounod took the Mozartian wind octet consisting of pairs of clarinets, oboes, horns, and bassoons and added a single prominently featured flute to the mix. In Scherzo and Finale, the musical ideas are beguiling both in their charm and in the manner of their distribution amongst the players.
Leroy Anderson – A Trumpeter’s Lullaby 'A Trumpeter's Lullaby' had its beginning backstage at Symphony Hall in Boston. In addition to composing and conducting, I was an arranger for the Boston Pops Orchestra for a number of years. After one of the concerts, I was talking with the conductor Arthur Fiedler and the first trumpet of the Boston Pops, Roger Voisin. Suddenly Roger Voisin asked me why I didn't write a trumpet solo for him to play with the orchestra that would be different from traditional trumpet solos which are all loud, martial or triumphant.
After thinking it over, it occurred to me that I had never heard a lullaby for trumpet so I set out to write one. The melody is based on bugle call notes and rhythmical figures which are idiomatic to the trumpet, but the mood is nevertheless one of a lullaby due to the relaxed playing of the soloist and the quiet background in the orchestra'. Per Leroy Anderson
George Friedric Handel – Suite in D George Frideric Handel’s “Trumpet Suite in D Major, HWV 341” is a lesser known but charming work that showcases Handel’s flair for writing festive and celebratory music. Though not as famous as some of his other compositions, such as “Water Music” or “Music for the Royal Fireworks,” this suite is a delightful example of Handel’s ability to craft music for special occasions and public ceremonies.The “Trumpet Suite in D Major” was likely composed around 1725, during a period when Handel was actively engaged in composing for the court and public festivities. The suite is written in the key of D major, a common choice for trumpet music due to the instrument’s natural tuning in this key, which allows for bright and resonant sounds.
Ludwig van Beethoven – Symphony No. 4 Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony wonderfully combines a relaxed and lyrical element with a mood of exuberantly aggressive high spirits. This work is often noted for its cheerful character and innovative orchestration, marking a transition in Beethoven's compositional style.It is considered a masterpiece of musical economy, demonstrating Beethoven's ability to create depth with simplicity.