Composer Randall Standridge writes: My musical tastes are wildly eclectic. One moment, you might find me enjoying Beethoven’s symphonies and the other you might find me head-banging to Iron Maiden. I have never been a musical snob and I value and love the entire array of sounds, rhythms, and textures that the world of music, in all its forms, has to offer.
One genre I have a particular affection for is mambo. Being introduced to the style when I was in High School, I was enchanted with the melodies, rhythms, and excitement that it generates. As I dug more deeply into the style, I was introduced to the work of Yma Sumac, Tito Puente, Pérez Prado, and others. I was absolutely enchanted.
Havana Nights is a concert work for Wind Ensemble, but it was also conceived as a short ballet. The action takes place in the mambo clubs of Havana as our heroine (Havanna) dances her way through the night life. She encounters another young dancer and the two begin a flirtatious, seductive conversation through the art of movement. As the ballet comes to a close, Havanna casts one final, gleeful look at her would-be suitor before escaping into the night.