There's a village in my sneakers
INSTRUMENTATION
2222 4231 piano, harp, timp, 2 perc, strings
DURATION
2'
YEAR COMPOSED
2024
ORDERING SCORES • ONLINE PERUSAL
Theodore Presser Company
https://www.presser.com/116-42241
To view perusal, click on "Score and Parts" tab, then click on "Preview" below the window.
COMMISSIONER
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
PROGRAM NOTES
When the Chicago Symphony Orchestra commissioned me for a short work for their youth concerts, they sent me to Whitney M. Young Magnet High School for inspiration. I met with a class of orchestral students and asked them who is their "village,” the people who support them in their lives. I invited the students to respond through drawing artwork or writing poetry. Students answered in a number of creative and unexpected ways: one student drew a house with her mom holding it aloft like a bodybuilder; another drew a collage that included his friends and family as well as his favorite possessions; another wrote free verse poetry on how the student’s village in the stories he (or she) writes.
I was most intrigued with a drawing that consisted of three pairs of legs, each wearing sneakers. When the student presented her picture to the class, she explained that her village is her track team, represented by the legs, as well as her parents, who support her endeavors and purchase her running shoes.
There’s a village in my sneakers begins with a single runner putting on her shoes, then running laps alone around the school track. She is soon joined by a friend who runs alongside her. As she jogs, she thinks about her parents who support her and purchased the sneakers she’s wearing. As more teammates join, she realizes that her village is all around her, from her friends running alongside her to her family that supports her, all embodied by the sneakers on her feet.
There's a village in my sneakers can be performed by any level group, from youth to professional.
-S.G.
2222 4231 piano, harp, timp, 2 perc, strings
DURATION
2'
YEAR COMPOSED
2024
ORDERING SCORES • ONLINE PERUSAL
Theodore Presser Company
https://www.presser.com/116-42241
To view perusal, click on "Score and Parts" tab, then click on "Preview" below the window.
COMMISSIONER
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
PROGRAM NOTES
When the Chicago Symphony Orchestra commissioned me for a short work for their youth concerts, they sent me to Whitney M. Young Magnet High School for inspiration. I met with a class of orchestral students and asked them who is their "village,” the people who support them in their lives. I invited the students to respond through drawing artwork or writing poetry. Students answered in a number of creative and unexpected ways: one student drew a house with her mom holding it aloft like a bodybuilder; another drew a collage that included his friends and family as well as his favorite possessions; another wrote free verse poetry on how the student’s village in the stories he (or she) writes.
I was most intrigued with a drawing that consisted of three pairs of legs, each wearing sneakers. When the student presented her picture to the class, she explained that her village is her track team, represented by the legs, as well as her parents, who support her endeavors and purchase her running shoes.
There’s a village in my sneakers begins with a single runner putting on her shoes, then running laps alone around the school track. She is soon joined by a friend who runs alongside her. As she jogs, she thinks about her parents who support her and purchased the sneakers she’s wearing. As more teammates join, she realizes that her village is all around her, from her friends running alongside her to her family that supports her, all embodied by the sneakers on her feet.
There's a village in my sneakers can be performed by any level group, from youth to professional.
-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.