Program Notes

How to Train Your Dragon

How To Train Your Dragon​ (2010) tells the story of Hiccup, a young Viking, who befriends a dragon named Toothless and works together with it to prove that humans and dragons can live in peace together. The film was scored by composer John Powell and draws influence from Nordic, Scottish, and Celtic folk music, as well as the music of Jean Sibelius. The soundtrack was nominated for both the BAFTA Award and Academy Award for Best Score and won the International Film Music Critics Association award for Film Score of the Year. 

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Symphonic Suite “Scheherazade”

Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade was composed in 1888. It is based on One Thousand and One Nights, a set of Arabic fairy tales which tells the story of Scheherazade, a woman who regales a sultan with a series of stories spanning one thousand and one nights so as to delay her execution. The Suite has four movements, each loosely based on one of the tales - "The Sea and Sinbad's Ship," "The Story of the Kalendar Prince," "The Young Prince and the Young Princess," and "Festival at Baghdad" - which are tied together by two motifs representing the brutish Sultan and the seductive Scheherazade. The piece remains one of Rimsky-Korsakov's most popular works, aided in large part by a revolutionary ballet adaptation which premiered in 1910. 

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Pavane

The pavane is a slow, processional Spanish court dance which was popular in the 16th century. Fauré composed his Pavane in 1888, intending it to be used for light summer concerts (he described the work as "elegant...but not particularly important"); however, at the urging of his  patron Elisabeth, cometesse Greffhlhe, he added lyrics and dancers. The work inspired Fauré's contemporaries to write pavanes of their own. Pavane it is well-loved to this day for its simple, accessible beauty. 

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Raiders of the Lost Ark

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) was John William's fifth collaboration with director Stephen Spielberg and is representative of the lush, theatrical style the composer is known for. Speaking to the significance of the soundtrack, Spielberg said "Jones did not perish, but [he] listened carefully to the Raiders score. Its sharp rhythms told him when to run. Its slicing strings told him when to duck. Its several integrated themes told adventurer Jones when to kiss the heroine or smash the enemy. All things considered, Jones listened... and lived." Indiana Jones's theme, "The Raiders March," has featured in every subsequent Indiana Jones film and is one of the most iconic pieces in film history. 

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Oboe, Brass Band and Dragons, Oh My!

Twin Cities-based composer and TCBB trombonist Samantha Hogan wrote Oboe, Brass Band and Dragons, Oh My! in 2025 for the Buffalo Silver Brass Band and oboist Dr Sarah Hamilton, who have been pioneering the use of solo oboe with brass band through pieces arranged by conductor Bill Coca. Each of the piece's four movements depicts a dragon which is a combination of two elements: "Magma Dragon" is a sleepy dragon swimming in lava and features a double ostinato bass line and earthquake-like rumbles in the percussion;  "Sand Dragon" is a fast moving, snake-like creature with melodies and rhythms inspired by Middle Eastern and Spanish music; "Vapor Dragon" is an ephemeral cloud-dwelling dragon with sparse orchestration reminiscent of a Renaissance chamber piece,; and "Bubble Dragon" closes out the work on a joyous, buoyant note with a baby dragon who, in the words of the composer, "has the spirit of a Viking blowing bubbles." 

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The Planets

British composer Gustav Holst was a devotee of astrology and horoscopes and intended each movement of The Planets to convey the astrological influences of the planets on the psyche rather than the celestial body itself or its namesake god. the first movement, "Mars, the Bringer of War" was written in early 1914 and features a relentless 5/4 ostinato which subsides briefly in the middle of the piece only to return and grow to a quadruple-forte, dissonant climax, creating a mood that was sadly prophetic as the horrors of World War I unfolded later that year. In contrast, "Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity," reflects the exuberance and vitality of those born under its sign, featuring folk dance-inspired melodies and a regal trio (later repurposed as the tune to the hymn "I Vow to Thee, My Country"). Together, "Mars" and "Jupiter" are the most well-known movements of the suite and have served as inspiration for countless film and television scores.