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The SUNY Fredonia Wind Ensemble, directed by Dr. Paula Holcomb, has earned a rave review of a recording project that was years in the making.

BBC Magazine’s Recording of the Month for June 2024 lauded composer Augusta Read Thomas,’ “Terpsichore's Box of Dreams,” featuring, among other works, the world premiere of “Carnival,” a piece commissioned by the SUNY Fredonia School of Music and performed by the Fredonia Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. Holcomb, with bassoonist Nadina Mackie Jackson. 

Excerpted from BBC Magazine review: “Among many highlights, 'Carnival' (2022) also stands out, framed here as a concerto for bassoon ‘locking horns’ with a wind ensemble. Soloist Nadina Mackie Jackson gives an especially rollicking performance and her strident solo line is met with stinging retorts from SUNY Fredonia Wind Ensemble (conducted with flair by Paula Holcomb) in this exhilaratingly spiky work.” 

“Rarely does a collegiate wind ensemble receive international recognition,” commented Dr. Holcomb, “yet that is the level of artistry, tenacity, and professionalism that the SUNY Fredonia Wind Ensemble brings to every rehearsal, performance, and their careers! We are thrilled and honored to receive this incredible international recognition. I am truly humbled and honored to have the privilege of serving as their conductor; our students deliver, on and off the stage, personally and professionally. They are amazing!” 

In 2015, Holcomb and the Fredonia School of Music commissioned a work for bassoon and wind ensemble by Ms. Read Thomas. The commission and recording project was funded in part by The Sorel Organization, founded by Claudette Sorel, SUNY Distinguished Professor and former chair of the SUNY Fredonia piano area. 

Read Thomas and Mackie Jackson were on the SUNY Fredonia campus for several days of rehearsals, recording sessions, and student workshops during the 2022-2023 academic year. The recording was done by SUNY Fredonia Sound Recording Technology students and faculty member and GRAMMY nominee, Dr. Bernd Gottinger, and was picked up by the Nimbus label late in 2023.

“This was an epic project from so many angles,” commented Mackie Jackson, “and a career highlight to see our efforts acknowledged so powerfully by BBC Music! From Paula Holcomb's vision of bringing women to the forefront of virtuoso wind ensemble music, to Augusta Read Thomas' off-the-charts magnificent, kinetic and exquisitely crafted concerto for bassoon and wind ensemble, to the students who put in the hard-core time and dedicated effort to bring off the whip-smart, back-and-forth of the writing. The meticulous work of the recording engineers, editors and producers added infinitely to creating an educational experience of the highest order, emerging from genuine artistic vision, genuinely original music, and genuine blood-sweat-and-tears to make it all happen. My heartfelt gratitude to everyone involved.”

“Music for me is an embrace of the world – a way to open myself up to being alive in the world in my body, in my sounds, and in my mind,” said Read Thomas. “The journey I shared with the SUNY Fredonia team of conductor Paula Holcomb, musicians, guest soloist Nadina Mackie Jackson, and engineers makes me feel among a musical ‘family.’ Deep gratitude to all for such kind, positive, elegant, backing of my life’s work. I will always treasure each artist and our recording!”