28 March 2026 / Myths & Machines

Glasgow Wind Band

Myths and Machines

Musical Director Matthew Chinn

From ancient legend to imagined futures, tonight’s programme explores the forces that shape our stories and our sound worlds. Myth, folklore, light, and machinery intertwine revealing how composers draw on both the past and the possibilities of the future to create music that is vivid, expressive, and transformative.

Flight of the Piasa – Robert Sheldon

Drawing on Native American legend, Flight of the Piasa tells the story of a fearsome dragon-like creature said to dwell in the cliffs above the Mississippi River. Early accounts describe the Piasa as a winged beast with glowing eyes and immense strength, a figure both feared and revered.

Robert Sheldon translates this legend into a sweeping and cinematic musical narrative. Broad melodic lines suggest the vast landscape, while driving rhythms and bold brass writing evoke the creature’s power and flight. Moments of tension and release mirror the drama of the story, as if the Piasa itself is circling overhead before vanishing back into myth. The result is music that is both descriptive and exhilarating, opening the programme with a sense of scale and imagination.

A Plain Man’s Hammer – Martin Dalby

Glasgow Wind Band were delighted to perform A Plain Man’s Hammer earlier this month in Perth Concert Hall, at the Scottish Concert Band Festival and at the invitation of event organiser and Concert Band champion Nigel Durno. Nigel recommended the work by the late Scottish composer Martin Dalby, having first studied with Dalby in Aberdeen in the late 1960s and later performing in its world premiere at Glasgow’s Kelvin Hall in 1985.

Dalby, one of Scotland’s most distinctive musical voices, conceived the piece as an affectionate counterpoint to Pierre Boulez’s Le Marteau sans maître (The Hammer without a Master). Where Boulez wrote for elite professionals in a complex idiom, Dalby celebrates the vitality and commitment of amateur music-making—however, don’t be fooled; this work is not for the faint of heart! Loosely in sonata form, it weaves contrasting ideas through a playful parade of styles: waltz, tango, Mahlerian march, flashes of Janáček, and even a wry distortion of Oranges and Lemons before returning to the opening material in a confident, triumphant close.

Lux Aurumque – Eric Whitacre

Eric Whitacre’s Lux Aurumque (Light and Gold) provides a moment of stillness and reflection. Originally written for choir, the piece sets a short Latin text describing light as warm, radiant, and quietly transformative.

In its wind band form, the work retains its vocal origins, with long, sustained lines and delicately shifting harmonies creating a sense of suspended time. In the context of tonight’s programme, it offers a moment of calm between myth and machinery—a reminder of music’s ability to illuminate, rather than dramatise.

Deus Ex Machina – Randall Standridge

If Dalby tips his hat to twentieth-century modernism, Deus Ex Machina by Randall Standridge explores music from a contemporary perspective. Its title refers to the ancient Greek theatrical device in which an unsolvable drama is suddenly resolved by a “god from the machine,” lowered onto the stage to bring order or revelation. Standridge translates this idea musically, with sudden climactic gestures, unexpected harmonies, and striking instrumental effects evoking the awe-inspiring arrival of an unseen force.

Standridge reimagines this idea for the modern age, exploring the relationship between humanity and technology. The work combines driving rhythmic energy with bold harmonic language and the integration of electronic elements, creating a sound world that is both immediate and immersive. Mechanical precision sits alongside expressive intensity, suggesting both the power and unpredictability of the systems we create. Together with Dalby’s work, it forms a compelling dialogue across time, united by transformation and innovation.

INTERVAL

Metroplex – Samuel Hazo

Samuel Hazo’s Metroplex is inspired by the energy, pace, and complexity of modern urban life. The work evokes towering skyscrapers, bustling streets, chaotic traffic and the ceaseless rhythm of the city.

Propulsive rhythms, layered textures, and bold orchestration capture the vibrancy and unpredictability of metropolitan life. Soaring melodies, striking harmonic gestures, and vivid musical imagery create an exhilarating finale, leaving the audience immersed in a sonic portrait of the modern metropolis.

Steampunk Suite – Erika Svanoe

Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction inspired by 19th-century steam-powered technology, often set in a neo-Victorian alternate history. It combines retro-futuristic inventions with the era’s fashion, culture, architecture, and art, as imagined by figures like H. G. Wells and Jules Verne.

Erika Svanoe’s Steampunk Suite brings this world to life, featuring notable Victorian-era figures including Charles Ives, Marie Curie, H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, P.T. Barnum, and Nikola Tesla. The suite blends popular music of the time—cakewalk, march, and waltz—with clockwork sounds and elements inspired by composers such as Ives, Sousa, Satie, Karl King, Stravinsky, and Weill, with touches of Khachaturian and Danny Elfman.

Originally written as Steampunk Scenes for chamber ensemble, it has been transcribed for wind ensemble and unfolds in four imaginative movements:

Charlie and the Mechanical Man Marching Band – energetic and witty march.

The Strange Case of Dr. Curie and Madam Hyde – whimsical and dramatic.

Bertie Wells attends Mr. Verne's Lecture on Flying Machines – soaring and fantastical.

Barnum & Tesla's Tandem Bicycle – playful and inventive finale.

The suite offers a vivid, imaginative journey through a neo-Victorian world, making it the perfect penultimate work before the finale.

Paprikash – Julie Giroux

Julie Giroux’s Paprikash brings our programme to a thrilling conclusion.

This vibrant tribute to Hungarian musical traditions is inspired by the flavours, colours, and energy of Eastern European folk culture. The title evokes warmth and spice, and the music mirrors this vividly.

Rhythmically driven and richly scored, the work features lively dance patterns, expressive solos, and a strong sense of forward momentum. Giroux’s writing is both virtuosic and idiomatic, capturing the spirit of folk music while elevating it through the colour and precision of the modern wind ensemble.

Musical Director Biography – Matthew Chinn

Matthew Chinn is an arts and education leader with over two decades of experience in music performance, education, and strategic programme development. Originally from Aberdeen, he graduated with First-Class Honours from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RCS), where he studied Tuba, Community Music, and Conducting, and went on to complete a Postgraduate Diploma and a Master of Music in Performance, earning numerous awards.

As a professional musician, Matthew has performed with leading UK orchestras, including the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Scottish Ballet, and the world-renowned Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra. He is a founding member of the award-winning brass quintet Thistle Brass, touring internationally and delivering interactive performances and workshops from the Shetland Isles to the Great Wall of China.

He has directed major interdisciplinary projects in partnership with NASA, National Geographic, the King’s Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, the COP26 UN Climate Summit, Edinburgh International Festival, and the Benedetti Foundation, and has worked extensively as an educator and conductor with ensembles including the National Youth Wind Ensemble of Scotland, National Children’s Orchestras of Great Britain, Scottish Opera, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and the Confucius Institute for Scotland’s Schools.

Matthew is Artistic Director of the National Youth Wind Ensemble of Scotland (NYWES), the country’s flagship summer ensemble for pre-professional wind, brass, and percussion musicians, attracting over 100 young players each year from the UK, Europe, Asia, Australia, and the USA.

As Head of Junior Conservatoire Music at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, he leads the Pre-Higher Education programmes, supporting over 1,000 young musicians each week and overseeing the artistic, educational, and strategic development of one of the UK’s leading music education portfolios. When time allows, Matthew maintains an active conducting profile, including regular engagements with the State Honours Education Programme (SHEP) in Brisbane, Australia, and is delighted to be currently working as guest conductor with the Glasgow Wind Band.