From the Maslanka Archive features media and stories of David’s life and work. Did you work with David? Please consider contributing material.
It’s time for another edition of From the Maslanka Archive. We are actively building the Archive, but it won’t be ready for public viewing for a while. In the meantime, we wanted to show off some great items we’ve already collected.
We also wanted to inspire YOU to help grow the collection. We would love to feature you in an upcoming edition! Simply provide us with photos, video, audio, or stories of your time together and you may find them on the front page.
This week, we are excited to feature one of David’s very last interviews. In April of 2017, Damon Talley – Director of Bands at LSU – had the opportunity to sit down with David and discuss Symphony No. 4 during a residency with the LSU Wind Ensemble. In the interview, David also discusses his process of composition and gives a brief history of his compositions for wind ensemble.
“So we have a piece which is in a single movement – it’s twenty-seven minutes. It can be thought of as a number of separate dreams, all of which add up to the whole experience of the symphony.” – David Maslanka
Click here to watch the complete interview.
Damon Talley serves as Director of Bands and the Paula G. Manship Associate Professor of Conducting at Louisiana State University School of Music, where he oversees all aspects of the LSU Department of Bands, conducts the Wind Ensemble and teaches graduate conducting. The nationally recognized Band Department at LSU serves as an integral component of the thriving School of Music. Under his leadership, the Department has established an annual conducting symposium, high school and middle school camps that serve hundreds of students annually, and numerous outreach events for public school educators. The Golden Band From Tigerland has been selected to present at national conferences on multiple occasions, and most recently, the LSU Wind Ensemble has been selected to perform at the CBDNA College Band Directors National Association National Convention. Dr. Talley is a strong supporter and advocate of music in the public schools. He regularly serves as a guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator throughout the United States and abroad, including appearances engagements in Germany, Switzerland, England, and Spain, among others.
Prior to his appointment at LSU, Dr. Talley held the position of Director of Bands at Shenandoah Conservatory, where he was responsible for guiding the wind band program, conducting the EDGE New Music Ensemble, and teaching graduate conducting. He has also taught on the faculties at The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Michigan. He has recorded on Best Classical Records, and received favorable reviews from publications including Gramophone magazine and the American Record Guide. He has also served as producer or associate producer on commercial recordings by the Naxos, Klavier, and Equilibrium, record labels, and is published in the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band series, distributed by GIA Publications.
As an avid supporter of new music for the wind medium, Dr. Talley has conducted numerous world premier performances and has commissioned composers to write for the wind band. He has won praise for his work by composers such as William Bolcom, Steven Mackey, Kevin Puts, Joseph Schwantner, David Maslanka, Donald Grantham, and Michael Daugherty, among others. He regularly hosts visiting composers of national and international status on the campus of LSU, and is a strong advocate for young composers, often premiering pieces by student composers.
Prior to teaching at the university level, Dr. Talley taught in the public schools in Texas at both the middle school and high school levels. He earned the Master of Music degree in Wind Conducting from the University of Michigan and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Wind Conducting from The University of Texas. His principal conducting teachers are Jerry Junkin, Michael Haithcock, and H. Robert Reynolds. Dr. Talley is an honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma, and holds professional memberships in the College Band Directors National Association, the Texas Music Educators Association, the Virginia Music Educators Association, and the Louisiana Music Educators Association. He is also and an Educational Consultant and Clinician for the Conn-Selmer Corporation.
A very special thanks to Louisiana State University & Damon Talley for sharing this interview with the David Maslanka Foundation.
Would you like to be featured in an upcoming edition of From the Maslanka Archive? It’s easy! Please send us anything you have (picture, audio, video, concert poster, concert program, correspondence with David, etc.) and we will feature you!
