WIND ENSEMBLE
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ALPENGLOW • 18’ • double concerto for alto saxophone, tuba, and wind ensemble
INSTRUMENTATION
alto saxophone soloist, tuba soloist, 3 Fl (3rd on Picc), 2 Ob (2nd on EH), 2 Bn, CBn or Contrabass Cl, 4 Cl, 1 B. Cl, SATB Sax, 3 Hn, 3 Tpt, 2 Tenor Tbn, 1 Bass Tbn, 1-2 Euph, 1-2 Tba, Timp, 4 Perc, Pno (with optional Celesta), 1-2 DBI. First LightII. Arc of the SunIII. Radiant Glow
VIDEO
"The President's Own" United States Marine Band; Lieutenant Colonel Jason Fettig, conductor
MGySgt Nomar Longoria, alto saxophone, and MSgt Franklin Crawford, tuba
ORDERING SCORES
Theodore Presser Company
Full score: https://www.presser.com/115-40431
To view perusal, click on Score and Parts tab, then click on Preview below the window.
Piano reduction available for concert performance:
https://www.presser.com/114-42421-alpenglow.html
YEAR COMPOSED
2021
COMMISSIONERS
Butler University; Carthage College; Illinois State University; Florida State University; Kansas State University; Louisiana State University; Mansfield University; Oklahoma State University; Roosevelt University; St. Charles East High School; "The President's Own" United States Marine Band; University of Arkansas; University of Massachusetts Amherst; University of Minnesota at Twin Cities; University of Nevada, Las Vegas; University of Nevada, Reno; University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire; and the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee.
PROGRAM NOTES
The first time I saw an alpenglow, I had no idea what it was. It was the late 1980s, and I was a music camp at the base of the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. A few of us got up in the middle of the night so we could hike to a vantage point at the foot of Longs Peak, to watch the sun rise without any trees obstructing our view. Even though we had a few more minutes to go before the sun breached the horizon, when I looked up at the face of Longs Peak, it was glowing intensely with a most beautiful peach-pink color. This enchanting vision lasted only about ten minutes, after which the color faded as the sun rose. Throughout the next thirty years, whenever I returned to the Rocky Mountain National Park, I would occasionally catch this pre-dawn light show in all its glory.
An alpenglow is an optical phenomenon that is visible on high altitude mountains. It happens twice daily, right before the sun rises and right after it sets. The earth’s atmosphere scatters the sun’s light, allowing particular wavelengths of light through and blanketing the mountains in rich hues of peach, pink, red, and purple.
Alpenglow opens with First Light. This movement begins in the pre-dawn hour. The music starts simply and slowly, then grows increasingly animated as the sky lightens and the horizon shimmers with color. The movement explodes in a massive flurry of activity when the sun crosses the horizon; this energy eventually fades as the sun rises in the sky. In Arc of the Sun, we follow the sun as it energetically leaps and surges upwards in the sky. The music moves steadily upwards as it keeps pace with the sun’s progress, then crests as the sun reaches its zenith. As the sun bends back down towards the earth, the music follows suit, getting lower in range and slower as the sun nears the horizon. In Radiant Glow, the sun slips under the horizon, giving way to a most radiant alpenglow. As the alpenglow fades and twilight envelops the earth, stars shimmer in the night sky.
-S.G.
Photo of alpenglow in Denali National Park. National Park Service photo, public domain.
Taken by Emily Mesner. -
THE BATTLE FOR THE BALLOT • 16’ • wind ensemble with narrator
INSTRUMENTATION
5 Fl, 4 Ob, 2 Bn, 1 CBn, 8 Cl, 1 B Cl, SATB saxophones, 4 Hn, 6 Tpt, 3 Tbn, 2 Euph, 2 Tba, Timp, 4 Perc, Hp, Pno, DB narrator
The narrator's part can be performed live or pre-recorded for playback in performance.University of Colorado Boulder Wind Symphony • Donald McKinney, conductor • Donna Mejia, narratorVirtual orchestra world premiere • August 9, 2020
Cabrillo Festival Orchestra • Cristian Măcelaru, conductor •
Julie James, narrator
Produced, mixed, and edited by Svet StoyanovYEAR COMPOSED
2020
ORDERING SCORES
Theodore Presser Company
Full Orchestra: https://www.presser.com/116-42039
Chamber Orchestra: https://www.presser.com/116-42052
Wind Ensemble: https://www.presser.com/115-40428
To view perusal, click on "Score and Parts" tab, then click on "Preview" below the window.
POWERPOINT SLIDE SHOW
An accompanying Microsoft PowerPoint slide presentation with public domain photos of Suffragists is available at no cost to groups for use in performance. To obtain, please click here to contact Stacy.
PUBLIC DOMAIN SUFFRAGIST PHOTOS
25 photos from the Library of Congress are located here.
These can be downloaded and used in performance and for promotion.
COMMISSIONER
Commissioned by the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, Music Director & Conductor Cristian Măcelaru, with generous support from JoAnn Close and Michael Good. The Battle for the Ballot commemorates the centenary of the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1920 granting women the right to vote.
TEXTS BY
American suffragists (in alphabetical order): Jane Addams, Susan B. Anthony, Carrie Chapman Catt, Carrie W. Clifford, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Adella Hunt Logan, Mary Church Terrell.
TEXTS (in order of use)
Woman suffrage is coming – you know it.
(Carrie Chapman Catt)
The ballot! The sign of power, the means by which things are brought to pass, the talisman that makes our dreams come true!
(Carrie W. Clifford)
When I am asked to give the reasons why women should have the ballot, the reasons are too many to name. At every turn we are brought up to the desire to have a vote.
(Jane Addams)
It is the ballot that opens the schoolhouse and closes the saloon; that keeps the food pure and the cost of living low; that causes a park to grow where a dump-pile grew before.
(Carrie W. Clifford)
It is the ballot that regulates capitol and protects labor; that up-roots disease and plants health. It is by the ballot we hope to develop the wonderful ideal state for which we are all so zealously working.
(Carrie W. Clifford)
I don’t believe in urging a man to vote against his convictions. I don’t even believe in trying too hard to persuade him… But the women should have votes to represent themselves.
(Jane Addams)
How can anyone who is able to use reason, and who believes in dealing out justice to all God’s creatures, think it is right to withhold from one-half the human race rights and privileges freely accorded to the other half? (Mary Church Terrell)
What a reproach it is to a government which owes its very existence to the loved freedom in the human heart that it should deprive any of its citizens of their sacred and cherished rights.
(Mary Church Terrell)
Justice is not fulfilled so long as woman is unequal before the law.
(Frances Ellen Watkins Harper)
Behold our Uncle Sam floating the banner with one hand, “Taxation without representation is tyranny,” and with the other seizing the billions of dollars paid in taxes by women to whom he refuses “representation.”
(Carrie Chapman Catt)
Behold him again, welcoming the boys of twenty-one and the newly made immigrant citizen to “a voice in their own government” while he denies that fundamental right of democracy to thousands of women public school teachers from whom many of these men learn all they know of citizenship and patriotism.
(Carrie Chapman Catt)
Is all this tyranny any less humiliating and degrading to women under our government today than it was to men one hundred years ago?
(Susan B. Anthony)
Seeking no favors because of our color, nor patronage because of our needs, we knock at the bar of justice, asking an equal chance.
(Mary Church Terrell)
Having no vote they need not be feared or heeded. The “right to petition” is good; but it is much better when well voted in.
(Adella Hunt Logan)
This much, however, is true now: the colored American believes in equal justice to all, regardless of race, color, creed or sex, …and longs for the day when the United States shall indeed have a government of the people, for the people… and by the people…even including the colored people. (Adella Hunt Logan)
Seek first the kingdom of the ballot, and all things else shall be given thee. (Susan B. Anthony)
If we once establish the false principle, that citizenship does not carry with it the right to vote in every state in this Union,…there is no end to the cunning devices that will be resorted to, to exclude one and another class of citizens from the right of suffrage.
(Susan B. Anthony)
The time for woman suffrage is come. The woman’s hour has struck.
(Carrie Chapman Catt)
And so, lifting as we climb, onward and upward we go, struggling and striving, and hoping that the buds and blossoms of our desires will burst into glorious fruition ere long.
(Mary Church Terrell)
With courage, born of success achieved in the past, with a keen sense of responsibility which we shall continue to assume, we look forward to a future large with promise and hope.
(Mary Church Terrell)
We propose to fight our battle for the ballot –all peaceably, but nevertheless persistently through to complete triumph, when all United States citizens shall be recognized as equals before the law.
(Susan B. Anthony)
PROGRAM NOTES
Democracy in the United States has always been a messy process that is in a constant state of flux. When the nation’s Constitution was penned, the framers of the document didn’t differentiate voting rights between men and women. This led to various interpretations in the thirteen original colonies. For instance, while most of the colonies passed state laws that stipulated only a male adult who possessed property worth fifty pounds to vote, New Jersey’s laws allowed women to vote between 1776 and 1807, after which they were excluded. Women weren’t the only disenfranchised party in these states – slaves, men of particular religions, and men too poor to own the requisite amount of land were excluded as well. As the country progressed, wording was added to many states’ voting laws to ensure that white men (and a slim grouping at that) were the sole possessors of the vote.
Women’s inability to vote carried significant consequences. They paid taxes with no legal voice in crafting the laws of the land (i.e. taxation without representation). They were barred from becoming politicians, formulating laws, and serving on juries. If a woman got married, she immediately lost custody of her wages, children, possessions, and property. Women grew progressively frustrated by these circumstances and began to organize. The first women’s rights convention was held in 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York, and officially launched the beginning of the women’s Suffrage movement. While additional conventions were held over the next several years, forward progress was halted during the Civil War (1861-1865), after which the cause was taken up again. Starting in the late 1860s, various Suffrage organizations formed, fell apart, and re-formed in pursuit of rallying women and men to the cause. Black female Suffragists were not treated well by many of their white counterparts; as a result, they created organizations and clubs of their own. Even when the Nineteenth Amendment was passed in 1919 and ratified in 1920, many states immediately passed laws that blocked Black women from voting by one means or another; this situation wasn’t rectified until Congress passed the 1965 Voting Rights Act which federally protected all citizen’s right to vote and put an end to discriminatory practices throughout the country. Nonetheless, we still witness today how various parts of our nation try new methods to disenfranchise Black women and men from voting. For instance, in June 2013 the U.S. Supreme Court removed a significant section of the 1965 Voting Rights Act which enabled especially southern states to once again seek to disenfranchise primarily Black voters because they are no longer required to get the approval of the Justice Department when revising voting laws in their states. Even more recently, the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election brought a fresh wave of attacks on voting rights in states all around the country. Not only is democracy a messy process, but it is something we must be vigilant in safekeeping for all of our citizens.
The Battle for the Ballot features the voices of seven Suffragists, four of whom are Black (Carrie W. Clifford, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Adella Hunt Logan, and Mary Church Terrell) and three of whom are white (Jane Addams, Susan B. Anthony, and Carrie Chapman Catt). I excerpted lines from their speeches and writings, then interwove these lines together to form a single narrative that follows their reasoning for fighting so hard for the right to vote.
Commissioned by the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, Music Director & Conductor Cristian Măcelaru, with generous support from JoAnn Close and Michael Good, The Battle for the Ballot commemorates the centenary of the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1920 granting women the right to vote.
-S.G.
BLOG POST on the genesis and development of the narration:
Getting Real about Suffragists and Racism in Composing The Battle for the Ballot -
CHARIOT OF HELIOS • 5’ • wind ensemble
Enter description here.
INSTRUMENTATION
3 Fl, 2 Ob, EH, 3 Cl, B Cl, 2 Bn, CBn, SATB Sax, 4 Tpt, 4 Hn, 3 Tbn, Euph, Tba, Timp, 4 Perc
VIDEO
Crane Wind Ensemble, Brian Doyle, conductor
Video by Douglas McKinnie
YEAR COMPOSED
2015
COMMISSIONER
Gaudete Brass Quintet (original brass quintet); wind ensemble version arranged by the composer
ORDERING SCORES
Theodore Presser Company
https://www.presser.com/415-41152-chariot-of-helios.html
ONLINE PERUSAL SCORE
https://www.presser.com/415-41152-chariot-of-helios.html
Click on the "Score and Parts" tab directly above the word "Configuration"
Next, on the left side of the screen, click the "Preview" button under the embedded score window to see the perusal.
PROGRAM NOTES
In Greek mythology, Helios was the god of the sun. His head wreathed in light, he daily drove a chariot drawn by four horses (in some tales, the horses are winged; in others, they are made of fire) across the sky. At the end of each day’s journey, he returned to earth and slept in a golden boat that carried him on the Okeanos River back to his sun palace on Mount Olympus, where he mounted his chariot and rode into the sky again. The cyclic journey of Helios is depicted in this short work. The first half is fast-paced and very energetic, while the second half is slow and serene, representing day and night.
-S.G. -
FORGED BY THE SEA • 11’30" • wind ensemble
Enter description here.
INSTRUMENTATION
4 Fl, E-flat Cl, 9 Cl (3 parts), B Cl, Contrabass Cl, 2 Ob, EH, 2 Bn, SATB Sax, 6 Tpt, 4 Hn, 3 Tbn, B Tbn, 1-2 Euph, 1-2 Tba, Timp, 5 Perc, Hp, Pno, DB
DURATION
11'30"
YEAR COMPOSED
2023
ORDERING SCORES
Inkjar Publishing Company
$500 full score & parts • PDFs with perpetual performance license
$700 full score & parts • printed (shipping costs are calculated separately)
To purchase, email Inkjar Publishing Company
ONLINE PERUSAL SCORE
Email Inkjar Publishing Company
COMMISSIONER
United States Navy Band
PROGRAM NOTES
Part of the United States Navy’s mission is to send expeditionary forces to places that are unfriendly to human life, both below the sea and above. I was immediately drawn to the idea that Navy personnel do their utmost to keep the world’s oceans and skies safe in circumstances that can be challenging, dangerous, and constantly changing.
In Forged by the Sea, I chose to feature two areas in which expeditionary forces operate. The first movement, From the depths below, explores the secret and stealthy world under the ocean. The movement begins with a musical representation of a submarine sonar sweep. Technically speaking, submarines are “blind” as they have no windows to see what is in the ocean around their vessel. They use sonar sweeps, among other methods, to map out their location and to detect explosive mines and other submarines in the water. In my piece, the first sonar sweep we hear is played by solo piccolo, which is soon joined by additional sonar sweeps in the woodwind instruments. The sweeps fade away as the submarine dives down further into the far-reaching expanse of the sea, where the deep ocean sings around the craft. The sonar sweeps gain in strength once again as the submarine rises and crests at the ocean’s surface.
The second movement, To the skies above, celebrates the joy of flight. The movement begins as a jet rapidly takes off from an aircraft carrier at sea and soars into the sky. Running through a series of maneuvers, the jet glides over the ocean, performs barrel rolls, and surveys the grandeur below. As the jet climbs higher into the sky, the pilot looks wistfully at the heavens above before diving back to the earth. The jet continues soaring, gliding, and surveying, and the piece ends with the pilot looking to the heavens once more.
Forged by the Sea was commissioned by the United States Navy Band.
-S.G. -
MYTHOLOGY SUITE • 19’ • wind ensemble
Enter description here.
INSTRUMENTATION
5 Fl (5th on Picc), 3 Ob (3rd on EH), 2 Bn, CBn or Contrabass Cl, 6 Cl, 1 B. Cl, SATB Sax, 4 Hn, 3 Tpt, 2 Tenor Tbn, Bass Tbn, Euph, Tba, Pno, Harp, Timp, 4 PercI. The Lovely SirensII. Penelope WaitsIII. Pandora Undone
AUDIO
Nevada Wind Ensemble; Reed Chamberlin, conductor
DURATION
19'
YEAR COMPOSED
2016
COMMISSIONERS
Albany Symphony and the Chicago College of the Performing Arts (orchestral version); Carthage College commissioned the wind ensemble versions of The Lovely Sirens and Penelope Waits
ORDERING SCORES
Theodore Presser Company
https://www.presser.com/415-41156-mythology-suite.html
ONLINE PERUSAL SCORE
https://issuu.com/theodorepresser/docs/garrop_mythology_suite_issuu
PROGRAM NOTES
The Mythology Suite consists of three movements of my Mythology Symphony, which I arranged for large wind ensemble. The arrangements of The Lovely Sirens and Penelope Waits were commissioned by James Ripley and Carthage College for the Carthage Wind Orchestra’s 2017 Japan tour. I added Pandora Undone to complete the set; Stephen Squires and the Chicago College of Performing Arts gave the premiere of the entire Suite in February 2017.
Movement 1: The Lovely Sirens
The Sirens were sea nymphs, usually pictured as part woman and part bird, who lived on a secluded island surrounded by rocks. Their enchanting song was irresistible to passing sailors, who were lured to their deaths as their ships were destroyed upon the rocks. The Lovely Sirens presents three ideas: the Sirens’ beautiful song, an unfortunate group of sailors whose course takes them near the island, and the disaster that befalls the sailors. The sailors’ peril is represented by the Morse code S.O.S. signal (three dots, three dashes, and three dots—represented musically by short and long rhythms). The S.O.S. signal grows increasingly more insistent and distressed as it becomes obvious that the sailors, smitten with the voices of the Sirens, are headed for their demise.
Movement 2: Penelope Waits
This quiet movement represents Queen Penelope, the faithful wife of Odysseus, as she patiently waits twenty years for her husband's return from fighting the Trojan Wars. Penelope herself is represented as an oboe. She is accompanied by the ensemble as she keeps at bay the suitors who wish to marry her and inherit her riches.
Movement 3: Pandora Undone
This movement is, in turns, both lighthearted and serious. The music depicts a young, naïve Pandora who, while dancing around her house, spies a mysterious box. She tries to resist opening it, but her curiosity ultimately gets the best of her. When she cracks the lid open and looks inside, all evils escape into the world. Dismayed by what she has done, she looks inside the box once more. She discovers hope still in the box and releases it to temper the escaped evils and assuage mankind's new burden.
-S.G. -
PANDORA UNDONE • 7’20” • wind ensemble
Enter description here.
INSTRUMENTATION
5 Fl (5th on Picc), 3 Ob (3rd on EH), 2 Bn, CBn or Contrabass Cl, 6 Cl, 1 B. Cl, SATB Sax, 4 Hn, 3 Tpt, 2 Tenor Tbn, Bass Tbn, Euph, Tba, Pno, Harp, Timp, 4 Perc
Pandora Undone is the third movement of the Mythology Suite, and can be programmed as a stand-alone piece.
VIDEO
Nevada Wind Ensemble; Reed Chamberlin, conductor
YEAR COMPOSED
2013
COMMISSIONERS
Chicago College of the Performing Arts (orchestral version)
ORDERING SCORES
Theodore Presser Company
https://www.presser.com/115-40241-pandora-undone.html
ONLINE PERUSAL SCORE
https://www.presser.com/115-40241l-pandora-undone.html
Click on the "Score and Parts" tab directly above the word "Configuration"
Next, on the left side of the screen, click the "Preview" button under the embedded score window to see the perusal.
PROGRAM NOTES
Pandora Undone is, in turns, both lighthearted and serious. The music depicts a young, naïve Pandora who, while dancing around her house, spies a mysterious box. She tries to resist opening it, but her curiosity ultimately gets the best of her. When she cracks the lid open and looks inside, all evils escape into the world. Dismayed by what she has done, she looks inside the box once more. She discovers hope still in the box and releases it to temper the escaped evils and assuage mankind's new burden.
-S.G. -
PENELOPE WAITS • 5’50” • wind ensemble
Enter description here.
INSTRUMENTATION
4 Fl, 2 Ob, EH, 2 Bn, CBn or Contrabass Cl, 6 Cl, 1 B. Cl, SAT Sax, 2 Hn, Tpt, 2 Tenor Tbn, Bass Tbn, Euph, Tba, Harp, Timp, 3 Perc
Penelope Waits is the second movement of the Mythology Suite, and can be programmed as a stand-alone piece.
VIDEO
Nevada Wind Ensemble; Reed Chamberlin, conductor
YEAR COMPOSED
2013
COMMISSIONERS
The Chicago College of the Performing Arts (orchestral version); Carthage College commissioned the wind ensemble version
ORDERING SCORES
Theodore Presser Company
https://www.presser.com/115-40240-penelope-waits.html
Click on the "Score and Parts" tab directly above the word "Configuration"
Next, on the left side of the screen, click the "Preview" button under the embedded score window to see the perusal.
PROGRAM NOTES
This quiet piece represents Queen Penelope, the faithful wife of Odysseus, as she patiently waits twenty years for her husband's return from fighting the Trojan Wars. Penelope herself is represented as an oboe. She is accompanied by the ensemble as she keeps at bay the suitors who wish to marry her and inherit her riches.
-S.G. -
THE LOVELY SIRENS • 5’30” • wind ensemble
Enter description here.
INSTRUMENTATION
Picc, 4 Fl, 3 Ob, 2 Bn, CBn or Contrabass Cl, 6 Cl, 1 B. Cl, SATB Sax, 4 Hn, 3 Tpt, 2 Tenor Tbn, Bass Tbn, Euph, Tba, Pno, Harp, Timp, 4 Perc
The Lovely Sirens is the first movement of the Mythology Suite, and can be programmed as a stand-alone piece.
VIDEO
Nevada Wind Ensemble; Reed Chamberlin, conductor
YEAR COMPOSED
2010
COMMISSIONERS
Albany Symphony (orchestral version); Carthage College commissioned the wind ensemble version
ORDERING SCORES
Theodore Presser Company
https://www.presser.com/115-40239l-the-lovely-sirens.html
ONLINE PERUSAL SCORE
https://www.presser.com/115-40239l-the-lovely-sirens.html
Click on the "Score and Parts" tab directly above the word "Configuration"
Next, on the left side of the screen, click the "Preview" button under the embedded score window to see the perusal.
PROGRAM NOTES
The Sirens were sea nymphs, usually pictured as part woman and part bird, who lived on a secluded island surrounded by rocks. Their enchanting song was irresistible to passing sailors, who were lured to their deaths as their ships were destroyed upon the rocks. The Lovely Sirens presents three ideas: the Sirens’ beautiful song, an unfortunate group of sailors whose course takes them near the island, and the disaster that befalls the sailors. The sailors’ peril is represented by the Morse code S.O.S. signal (three dots, three dashes, and three dots—represented musically by short and long rhythms). The S.O.S. signal grows increasingly more insistent and distressed as it becomes obvious that the sailors, smitten with the voices of the Sirens, are headed for their demise.
-S.G. -
QUICKSILVER • 24’ • alto sax concerto with wind ensemble
Enter description here.
INSTRUMENTATION
Alto saxophone soloist, 5 Fl (5th on Picc), 2 Ob, EH, 2 Bn, CBn or Contrabass Cl, 5 Cl, 1 B. Cl, SATB Sax, 4 Hn, 2 Tpt, 2 Tenor Tbn, Bass Tbn, 1-2 Euph, 1-2 Tba, Timp, 4 Perc, Pno (with optional Celesta), DBI. Antics of a Newborn GodII. Guiding Souls to the UnderworldIII. Messenger of Olympus
VIDEO
Jonathan Hulting-Cohen, saxophone, and the University of Massachusetts Wind Ensemble; Matthew Westgate, conductor
YEAR COMPOSED
2017
ORDERING SCORES
Theodore Presser Company
https://www.presser.com/115-40245
To view perusal, click on Score and Parts tab, then click on Preview below the window.
Piano reduction available for concert performance:
https://www.presser.com/114-41985-quicksilver.html
COMMISSIONERS
• Appalachian State University • John Stanley Ross, conductor • Scott Kallestad, saxophone
• Arizona State University • Gary W. Hill, conductor • Christopher Creviston, saxophone
• Baylor University • J. Eric Wilson, conductor • Michael N. Jacobson, saxophone
• Butler University and the Butler University chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi • Michael J. Colburn, conductor • Heidi Radtke, saxophone
• Carthage College • James Ripley, conductor • Andrew Carpenter, saxophone
• Louisiana State University • Damon Talley, conductor • Griffin Campbell, saxophone
• Penn State University and the Margot Music Fund • Dennis Glocke, conductor • David Stambler, saxophone
• SUNY Potsdam • Brian K. Doyle, conductor (head of consortium) • Casey Grev, saxophone
• University of Alabama • Kenneth Ozzello, conductor • Jonathan Noffsinger, saxophone
• University of Massachusetts Amherst • Matthew Westgate, conductor • Jonathan Hulting-Cohen, saxophone
• University of Michigan at Ann Arbor • Michael Haithcock, conductor • Timothy McAllister, saxophone
• University of Nebraska-Lincoln • Carolyn Barber, conductor • Paul Haar, saxophone
• University of North Carolina at Greensboro • John R. Locke and Kevin M. Geraldi, conductors • Steven Stusek, saxophone
• University of Oregon • Rodney Dorsey, conductor • Idit Shner, saxophone
• University of South Carolina • Scott Weiss, conductor • Clifford Leaman, saxophone
PROGRAM NOTES
In addition to being another name for the element mercury, “quicksilver” is used to describe something that changes quickly or is difficult to contain. My concerto of the same name was inspired by the Roman god Mercury, as well as the mercurial nature of the saxophone: unpredictable, very lively, and volatile. Mercury (known as Hermes in Greek mythology) is best known for his winged shoes, which allowed him to fly swiftly as the messenger of his fellow Olympians. Mercury had other duties too, including serving as the god of merchants, travelers, and tricksters; he also ushered souls of the departed to the Underworld.
Quicksilver tells three tales of the Roman god. The first movement (Antics of a Newborn God) opens with the birth of Mercury; after he takes his first steps, he toddles around, gleefully looking for mischief. He stumbles across a herd of cows that belong to his brother Apollo; Mercury slyly lets the cows out of their pen before toddling onward with his mischief-making. In the second movement (Guiding Souls to the Underworld), Pluto, god of the Underworld, bids Mercury to bring him fresh souls. The movement begins with death-knells tolling for humans who are about to die; Mercury picks up these souls and leads them down to the gates of the Underworld. The third and final movement (Messenger of Olympus) depicts Mercury as he is busily running errands for various gods and goddesses. We first encounter him mid-flight as he dashes to earth to find Aeneas, a Trojan lieutenant who had been run out of Troy by the invading Greeks. Aeneas is on a quest to find land on which to establish a new city that would eventually become Rome. While traveling, he is distracted from his quest when he meets the beautiful queen Dido. They live together for many years before Mercury intervenes; he chastises Aeneas for giving up on his quest and persuades him to pick it up again. As Aeneas mournfully resumes his journey, we hear Dido perish of a broken heart. Mercury then takes to the skies to seek out Perseus, who is preparing to kill the Medusa, the hideous gorgon who has snakes for hair and a gaze that turns those who catch her glance into stone. Mercury advises Perseus on how to slay Medusa and lends Perseus his sword to do the deed. We hear Perseus victorious in the beheading of Medusa, after which Mercury takes to the skies once more to fly home to Olympus.
-S.G.
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HELIOS • 4’30” • 2 tpts/flugelhorns, hn, tbn, tba
PROGRAM NOTES
In Greek mythology, Helios was the god of the sun. His head wreathed in light, he daily drove a chariot drawn by four horses (in some tales, the horses are winged; in others, they are made of fire) across the sky. At the end of each day’s journey, he slept in a golden boat that carried him on the Okeanos River (a fresh water stream that encircled the flat earth) back to his rising place. The cyclic journey of Helios is depicted in this short work for brass quintet. The first half is fast-paced and very energetic, while the second half is slow and serene, representing day and night.
-S.G.