The Music of Don Gillis II; Cracker Barrel

You're listening to music by Don Gallo's and this is Don Gillis hoping you're back again with me this week on our regular session abroad guys brought to you over your favorite radio station by the national educational radio network. For this particular program I've selected quite a variety of materials including music for band music for woodwind quintet and music for symphony orchestra. And then in a moment of madness I decided to put together another my left handed lectures on a subject of musical protest. You see since I'm not old enough to burn my Medicare card in much too old to act like a picket carrying PROTESTER I have to stage my demonstrations against whatever it is I am demonstrating about here on this program. And so we will take time out of our otherwise normal shell to make a verbal picket sign. That's against the misuse of music in public places. But more of that later we'll begin this program by hearing music in a mood of fun. I wrote it actually as a sort of soft shoe dance and its title is footsie and the performance right here now Dr. Ronald Gregory from the University of Indiana band are playing

footsie. You are. Wrong. And you. Are.

Right. The music you have just heard was called footsie and it was played for us by Dr. Ronald Gregory and

the University of Indiana band as the opening number on music by Don give us Dr. Gregory and his band have recorded a number of my compositions for us on the series this year. And my thanks to them for their helpfulness. I mentioned earlier that on this program I was going to stage a sort of one man freedom march against the Thai radical forces that insist on having music around all the time as just plain background noise. You know you're always hearing it in public places like elevators restaurants offices and especially airport except in airports you really don't hear much of it. And that's what the whole big deal was about on the show. But lest I get all steamed up now and forget to paint my picket signs for the upcoming demonstration. Let's return to music and this time music for woodwind quintet. But we're going to hear now is a movement from my third suite for the woodwind quintet. And I use as my basic musical materials a form of jazz which was popular some years ago bebop and while this piece doesn't pretend to be pure bop it does use

the elements of the style and it's sort of fun to hear I think. For if no other reason than to hear instruments who normally play only in the classical style. But their collective long hair down to a joyride in a sort of modern manner Don Yeager is the director of the Interlochen Arts Academy faculty woodwind quintet. And we'll hear them now under his direction as they play a frolic in bebop minor from five piece combo. This was a.

Little. Thing. Oh.

The Interlochen Arts Academy faculty woodwind quintet has just played my frolic in bebop minor from the third suite for woodwind quintet by piece

combo and of course I'm Don give us wearing as usual multiple hats as I function as your composer commentator and tater and sometimes even a conductor on our radio rendezvous brought to you at little or no charge by the national educational radio network. The next work you're going to hear has been programmed a number of times on the series but never this particular performance. It was played on one of our old NBC symphony broadcast by the dynamic young protege of Maestro Tuscany. We don't can tally and it's a beautiful performance of a movement from Portrait of a frontier town. For me it is a treasured momento for it represents a timeless relationship with this brilliant young man whose tragic death cut short what it was to have been otherwise a great contribution to the world of musical art. We are here as widow can tell he played it with the NBC symphony orchestra prairie sunset. The law.

When.

The NBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by the lake and Towie have just been heard in Prairie sunset for my portrait of a frontier town. Music by Don give us continues now as we utilize the remaining moments of our time to stage a sort of one man demonstration against the misuse of music in public places. You know you get on an elevator and you hear music. You go into a dentist office or a doctor's office and you hear music. You go into a bank or even a supermarket and sure enough music again. And there's so much of it that it is a pretty meaningless proposition to even have it around anymore. And so I decided in the rather limited facilities I have at hand to stage a gigantic demonstration and I asked some of my friends if they would loan me their talents for a little while so I could condemn the whole thing in the only way I really know how to do it in satire. They agreed and so therefore were about to

present the results of our unified handwork which I have been titled music to be interrupted by announcements of airline schedules for at least that's what I think we call it. So if you're ready we are too. And we'll begin the whole bit with some music to introduce sketches such as this one by. Recently when I was in the Minneapolis airport between planes I was suddenly struck by the fact that the music coming out of the loudspeaker was being interrupted so much by the announcer giving flight information that one simply couldn't tell what music was even being played. The composition would start and be immediately interrupted by information that a plane had just arrived. Then it would play on a few majors only to be interrupted again by still another bit of vital airline information. Well the thought occurred to me that if I were a composer whose music was being made such a verbal I wouldn't like it very much

and I commented vaguely to my wife that what the airlines really needed to do was to commission a few compositions which were designed to be interrupted by announcements. We're getting the matter momentarily I was dreaming peacefully about untold wealth and world fame. A few nights later when suddenly my dream shifted right back to the Minneapolis airport and it was strange because in my dream I seemed to see a full fledged Symphony Orchestra sitting right in the middle of the lobby right near the newsstand. And not only that people were coming up to me to tell me how much they were looking forward to the premiere of my latest masterpiece. Even if it was a dream I was still a bit surprised but I decided to have some of my music was going to be played I was ready to listen to it as I am not one to want to miss even one tiny note of one of my compositions asleep or awake. But dream or no dream I should have missed this one. Or as the orchestra began

turning a fellow claiming to be one of the Wright Brothers climbed up to the podium and spoken to a microphone Dearly beloved we are gathered here today to bring you music by that fearless and intrepid air traveler Don killers. I know it was a fraud right there as I still hold the world's record for twitching on any plane I ever get on. As you all know Dr. Gillis has been commissioned to write one of his near genius type of musical compositions for us to celebrate the history of aviation. And we are going to give it its world premiere here today right here in this great airport. This was also news to me as I didn't recall writing anything about air travel although once I had sketched a symphonic Requiem called from Kitty hall to Forest Lawn and now it gives me great pleasure to present my strong automatic who will conduct the combined international airlines retired employees Symphony Orchestra and the lost luggage division back in the world premiere of music to make

announcements in airports by the audience who kindly refrain from smoking until after takeoff. I stood terrified. Was this actually a dream. It didn't seem like it. The musicians seemed real enough all dressed up and cute off the shoulder stewardess outfits and crisp Captain pilot's gold braided uniforms. The conductor who was using his sort of bent propeller from a world war one biplane for about gave a downbeat and I bent both of my ears forward a bit to listen and hardly had a big guy and Ben. Airlines announces the arrival of flight 6 5 6 5 6 5 in the green concourse. Well incoming passenger Grover please come to the ticket counter. Your wife has just had twins. Excuse me Mr. Guy and make that trip let.

Your attention please. Well all skycaps report to gate 52 luggage for flight 82 has accidentally been placed on flight 28 and vice a versa. Well Pedro Alaska kindly come to the Spanish American Airlines ticket counter. There is a lady here claiming to be your mother. Monsoon Airlines flight 13 is ready for departure in the blue concourse the gate. Eric KEENE Well the passenger holding ticket then paid up insurance policies kindly get on board and good luck. Everybody go the Alaska please come at once to the Spanish American Airlines ticket counter. Passengers holding space on Flight three to nine of high flyer transport attention please. Your flight originally scheduled for yesterday afternoon at

2:00 p.m.. Well now the park tomorrow morning around 7:30 I think. I know my doctor how to county please call Japanese our lines worldwide Airlines Flight 990 9 announces its departure for Buffalo Paris Bangkok Kirkuk Dallas Tokyo Cedar Rapids a Ryan Airways announces the departure of the royal hula for a lock and key in Honolulu. All passengers should be on board. Francisco New Haven London Manila Cameron Moser Flight 223 leaving from London it takes five and a half. All passengers must go through customs. Have your tea bags ready please. Albuquerque Albany Tallahassee Bombay Phoenix Capetown and intermediate stuff all aboard planes.

Passengers holding space on the freedom flight on American Airlines for home by peeking while score in North Vietnam. You will please hurry while passport offices are out to lunch please. Testing one two three. Well Pedro the last question. Please come to Pedro that ask. Oh thank you could make it. This lady has something to say to you. Don't forget to send me a postcard bedroom. See. The movie technician in charge of in-flight entertainment kindly take a real three and four of Lassie returns to Flight five two trans Lux airline. They cannot take off until the complete picture is aboard. So we're just double 0 7 ready for takeoff at exotic Traverse City Michigan

and all points west. At 10:10 are passengers holding space in car five two bedroom a of the Santa Fe Super Chief. You're in the wrong terminal. I stood transfixed my music mute before the loud speakers again as the planes kept your you know and the planes kept coming in that I knew I was there right from the front it seems so you can do so well just as the final bars of my work approached the codicil. Well the lady who left the live armadillo on flight 23 Kindly check with the ticket counter of Far Western Airlines. By this time I was hoping it was all a hoax. There really wasn't any symphony orchestra here in the Minneapolis terminal it was all just a collection of bad tapes very old spinning and all of us leave while people

said well follow us. Bangkok Kirkuk valid if you're on the last Ok only counter-evidence American or longer leg like a lion Airways are also the program the latter kind because my Spanish American airline could count all passengers and crew on the lab work a bit on the Latin get everything on the way of American Airlines on the counter and I know my family would have never and the music finally finished. Hey go for a last please. And there was a pause. Thanks. And I heard a voice say you have been listening to the world premiere performance of music airline schedules by now all passengers holding space on the symphony special get onboard their aircraft. We're repeating this concert in 20 minutes at Kennedy International courtesy of local

and monsoon Airlines flight number. Like we said. What you just heard was a sort of a one man protest against the misuse of music in public places especially airports. It was performed by a group of assorted friends of mine named Jean and Barbara Gar and Keith Donaldson and my wife who participated very reluctantly I must admit. Either helping hands included an electronic participation by you know Marco and Jean Garland. I hope you had fun hearing it and I also hope that none of you have space on monsoon flight number 13. If so cancel your trip please. But don't care for your reservation for next week with us or we will return again and this time with the full length word for symphony orchestra called saga of a prairie school.

I hope you'll join as music by Don give us his brush with the national educational radio network and this is don't go saying thank you. All on. One. Way. This program was distributed by national educational radio. This is the national educational radio network.