2001

Notes from 2001. Overture 1776, premiered 9/1/01 at West Point.Wow!!! There were 12,000 people in the audience at West Point on September 1, 2001. I was commissioned to write a piece for the Bicentennial of the US Military Academy at West Point. I decided to write the kind of piece that everyone will want to perform at patriotic concerts, so I rewrote the 1812 Overture! WHY, TO CELEBRATE AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE FROM GREAT BRITAIN ON THE 4TH OFJULY, DO AMERICANS CONTINUE TO PLAY THIS PIECE OF MUSIC BY A RUSSIAN COMPOSER THAT ADDRESSES THE BATTLE BETWEEN THE RUSSIANS AND THE FRENCH IN 1812??? Because it has fireworks, bells, cannons, and a chance for a chorus to sing. So does my "new" piece: Overture 1776 is very much like 1812 Overture: it has bells and cannons, it supports fireworks and has the chance for a chorus to sing (but my chorus sings Chester not the Russian hymn). My piece tells the story of the British and American conflict. My music is The World Turned Upside Down (allegedly the British played this when Cornwallis surrendered to Washington), The British Grenadiers, God Save Our King (or My Country Tis of Thee, as it becomes throughout the end of my piece, with a great wink to Charles Ives' Variations on America), Chester, The White Cockade (the Minutemen played this fife tune on the way to fire the Shot Heard 'Round The World in Massachusetts), and instead of that famous Tchaikovskian bass-line that accompanies the first burst of cannon fire in 1812, my piece features Yankee Doodle - still pumped out by the trombones and then entire low brass section. My overture is exactly as long as 1812 Overture. The Army shot off eight howitzers during the piece and then thumped the audience with a massive fireworks show. I hope that you are curious about this piece and choose to do it instead of 1812 the next time you are called to play something patriotic and theatrical. Thanks to Ltc. David Deitrick Jr for extending the commission to me, and for all of the wonderful preparation and patience throughout the three days they had it before the concert! ************************************************************************ There are some new performances of Three Places in New Haven for marimba, percussion soli, and wind ensemble (written for Robert VanSice). He asked that I write something with band accompaniment that would involve the percussion section (as well as the percussion soloist) in some kind of concerto grosso-like piece. Cool idea! There are three movements, each based on some aspect of Charles Ives in New Haven: Castle in the Sky, The Long Wharf, and City Band March. This piece was premiered at the University of Akron on February 20, 2001, Robert Jorgensen conducting. See program notes in my catalogue. Bob is playing the piece with the Yale Concert Band on Friday, October 12, 2001; with the Bowling Green State University Wind Ensemble on Saturday, October 20, 2001 and with the SUNY Fredonia Wind Ensmble on November 12, 2001. ************************************************************************* I wrote Millennium Fanfares for Shinik Hahm and the Daejon Philharmonic (South Korea). This 15:00 piece for full orchestra celebrates the third millennium, and will be performed by the Yale Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, November 10, 2001. I started and finished Tempus Fugit II, The Tercentennial Fanfare, on Tuesday, October 2, 2001. We premiered it at the convocation ceremony for Yale's Tercentennial on Friday October 5, and again that evening at the Gala Concert in the Yale Bowl. 2:00, it is written for full symphony orchestra. Here's what I am up to these days: I wrote a piece for the Connecticut Chapter of the American School Band Directors Association, entitled A Parisian in America. It was premiered on November 13, 2000, at the E. O. Smith High School in Storrs, CT. This piece is my answer to George Gershwin's American in Paris, and is the perfect opportunity for you to use those taxi horns again! It was performed on February 9, 2001, by the Yale Concert Band. You can see the program notes for this piece in my catalogue. Premiere: Three Places in New Haven: Concerto for Marimba, Percussion and Winds. University of Akron on February 20, 2001, Robert Jorgensen conducting. I have just returned from Akron where I heard the premiere of my newest piece, Three Places in New Haven for marimba, percussion soli, and wind ensemble (written for Robert Van Sice). He asked that I write something with band accompaniment that would involve the percussion section (as well as the percussion soloist) in some kind of concerto grosso-like piece. Cool idea! There are three movements, each based on some aspect of Charles Ives in New Haven: Castle in the Sky, The Long Wharf, and City Band March. This piece was premiered at the University of Akron on February 20, 2001, Robert Jorgensen conducting. The idea was that, in conjunction with performing this piece, Robert Van Sice will come to your school, play the piece as the soloist with your percussion section and band, and do a master class! I scored one of my band pieces for orchestra, Whispers of the Patriots. I wrote this piece for Walter Cronkite. It is a different kind of acknowledgement of Black History Month (February), in which falls the birthday of Abraham Lincoln. You can see the program notes for this piece in my catalogue. The orchestral version was premiered by the Meriden Symphony Orchestra on February 11, 2001.