Wind Ensemble welcomes new director, guest conductor

Giovanni Santos, a music educator, director and trumpet player accepted a position as director of wind and percussion studies and assistant professor of music at La Sierra University beginning this fall. He previously served as an adjunct trumpet professor at the university, and held a seven-year post at Loma Linda Academy as director of bands and of the acclaimed Loma Linda Academy Wind Symphony. His extensive musical background includes performance tours across the United States, Italy and France, and serving as a music festival clinician and featured performer in various parts of the country. 

On Sat., Oct. 24 Santos will give his directorial debut with the La Sierra University Wind Ensemble in performances of works by Percy Aldridge Grainger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Steven Bryant and John Mackey. Two works will be performed during the program’s first half following a trombone choir performance led by David Kendall, assistant professor of music at La Sierra. Guest conductor H. Robert Reynolds, a former professor and mentor of Santos’s will lead the La Sierra ensemble in performances of “O Magnum Mysterium” by Morten Lauridsen and “First Suite in E flat” by Gustav Holst. The remainder of the pieces under Santos’ direction will occupy the second half of the evening’s performance. 

The concert will be held at 7 p.m. at Hole Memorial Auditorium. Admission is free.

Reynolds is principal conductor of the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music Wind Ensemble. He also serves as conductor of The Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, and formerly served as a music professor and band director with the University of Michigan School of Music. He has conducted recordings for Koch International, Deutsche Grammophon and other labels, and has conducted in such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York City, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C., and Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. His many national awards, citations and posts include Honorary Life Member of the Southern California Band & Orchestra Association. He is past president of the College Band Directors’ National Association.

In addition to his work with Reynolds and others, Santos studied trumpet at U.S.C. with Boyde Hood and Donald Green. He has appeared as a solo trumpet performer on television and feature film scores and has played nationwide as a soloist and chamber musician. Santos delivered a solo performance for the 2010 Park City Film Festival Jury Choice for Best Impact in a Musical Score, “Actually, Adieu My Love” by Jay Kim. He has performed as principal trumpet under noted conductors and composers including Carl St. Clair, conductor of the Pacific Symphony in Santa Ana, and composer Frank Ticheli.

Most recently, Santos was guest conductor and performer for the Northern New England Conference Music Festival and the Atlantic Union Conference Band Clinic. He served as a clinician for the University of California, Riverside Concert Band, and clinician for the Southeastern California Conference of Seventh-day Adventists Junior High Band Festival. As a director he has performed in such famed venues as the Fete de la Musique in Paris, the Notre Dame Cathedral of Chartres, and most recently at Walt Disney Concert Hall. He received a Bachelor of Music degree from La Sierra University and a Master’s in Music Education from U.S.C. Thornton School of Music.

As La Sierra University Wind Ensemble director Santos hopes to add 10 or 15 more students to the group over the next couple of years. The ensemble also attracts a few experienced players from the area who participate for the enjoyment of performance.

“Wind band music is really on the forefront of new and exciting music. We hope to bring an audience that appreciates all styles of music, and is willing to experience the amazing variety of tones, colors, and timbres a wind band can use,” said Santos. “As an educator, it’s also very important that students study and experience the classics, masterworks for wind band, which really aren’t very old.

For further information about the Wind Ensemble concert call 951-785-2036, email music@lasierra.edu or visit lasierra.edu/music. La Sierra University is located at 4500 Riverwalk Parkway, Riverside. A campus map is available at https://lasierra.edu/campus-map/.