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Hillcrest Wind Ensemble celebrates music of legends old and new, from the vast library of music written for the wind band. All the works performed at this concert, except Galop, were originally composed for band. This evening we hear music that spans the 20th and 21st centuries. We hear from a diverse group of composer legends, from various countries: Russia, England, Norway, and the United States. Some of these works are based on traditional folk melodies, like English Suite by Clare Grundman, Folk suite for Band by William Grant Still, Sea Songs by Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Valdres by Johannes Hanssen. Others are original musical materials, meant to evoke a mood or feeling. All are well suited to our medium, the wind ensemble, which was an invention of Frederick Fennell at Eastman School of Music in 1952. Fennell standardized the instrumentation of what was previously called a symphonic band, scaling it down to what was normally seen in the wind section of an orchestra. By reducing the number of players to mostly one per part, Fennell allowed for greater clarity and intonation. Hillcrest Wind Ensemble has been performing as San Diego’s only adult volunteer community wind ensemble since 1997.