Anniversaries (2009)

Live recording by the University of Idaho Wind Ensemble, November 16, 2017, with Paul Thompson, conductor.

Commissioned by the Charles River Wind Ensemble

Team

Solo Sextet: b-flat clarinet, oboe, bassoon, alto saxophone, horn, trombone

Wind Ensemble: piccolo, 2 flutes, 1 oboe, 3 b-flat clarinets, bass clarinet, contrabassoon, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, 3 trumpets, 2 horns, 2 trombones, euphonium, tuba, double bass, timpani, percussion (3 players)

Preface

Anniversaries is a short concerto grosso scored for six solo instruments (clarinet, oboe, bassoon, alto saxophone, horn and trombone) and wind ensemble. I treated the solo sextet as a single composite wind instrument (much like an organ) that plays together as a cohesive unit throughout, blending its six unique colors into one dynamic, breathing musical voice. The counterweight of the full wind ensemble highlights and supports the soloists, but can also obliterate them, maintaining a somewhat precarious relationship between the two sides. The work marks the cyclical passage of time with a recurring sense of bittersweet nostalgia – past memories as perfect pictures framed in a collective imagination.

Anniversaries was commissioned by the Charles River Wind Ensemble in commemoration of its tenth anniversary. The Ensemble premiered the work with conductor Eric Hewitt on June 14, 2009, in Newton, Massachusetts.

Heard

• November 16, 2017: University of Idaho Wind Ensemble, Paul Thompson, conductor.

• June 14, 2009: Charles River Wind Ensemble, Eric Hewitt, conductor.