UP Symphonic Band - Banja Luka (Jan De Haan)

Composed in 1995 on the occasion of the International Horn Festival in Leeuwarden. Banja Luka is a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina has a rich history, as evidenced by the many preserved sites. Partly due to its strategic location Banja Luka has successively been under Roman, Turkish and Austrian rule and it developed over the centuries a major trading center. The city was largely destroyed by an earthquake in 1969 and then rebuilt in modern style. The name Banja Luka means "bath of Luke." According to popular belief, the evangelist Luke here exercised the profession of doctor and discovered mineral springs, which are still in use. This composition expresses my feelings towards it in the nineties by a civil war-torn former Yugoslavia. An aggressive introduction, the conflict, and the saxophone section drama voiced. This section culminates in a prayer represented by the trumpet and the trombone soloist. After the conflict again rears its head here, follows a fairly light-hearted section which hope is placed on peace expressed. That this hope was premature, evidenced by the fact that the rulers (represented by the alto saxophone and flute) decide otherwise. The forces then advancing and leaving a trail of death and destruction behind. Disaster strikes and hard-fought Post: innocent people are being raped and killed, and there are large-scale ethnic cleansing place. The population is suffering. Jan De Haan ___________________________________ Extreme Make-Over: UP Symphonic Band Concert Series Abelardo Hall Auditorium College of Music, University of the Philippines 20 March 2014 UP Symphonic Band Rodney Ambat, conductor