William McMullen

The program will consist of four works under the theme, “A Celebration of Nature and more…from a British point of view!” All of the works on the program are by British composers and all of them were composed with the personality traits of different British oboists in mind. The first work, by Alan Richardson, was composed for Leon Goossens, perhaps the most famous 20th century British oboist known for his pioneering work with recital repertoire for oboe. It portrays impressions of traveling in France while on vacation, highlighting the swaying of poplar trees and the movement of windmills in the distance. The second work was composed by Andrew Downes after he had traveled in northeast India near a wildlife sanctuary in Burdwan during the spring of 1995. It was written for the talented and scholarly oboist George Caird. The fourth work is by Paul Reade which consists of seven short movements describing the movements of birds in the morning by the North Sea, and was composed for the energetic oboist Sarah Francis. Donna Harler-Smith will be reading five poems about birds by Colorado poet Rosemary Bergstrom that were written to accompany this piece. The final work on the program is a sonata by Edmund Rubbra, and composed with his friend and lyrical oboist Evelyn Rothwell in mind. It is the one work on the recital that does not portray any specific programmatic intent but does provide a fitting emotional conclusion to the program.

William McMullen, professor of oboe at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, is principal oboe with the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra and oboist in the Moran Woodwind Quintet. He has appeared as soloist with the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra and the Nebraska Chamber Orchestra in performances of the Strauss, Mozart and Vaughan-Williams concertos.