Program Notes

Flying Jewels

James M. David Murphy Music Press Anticipated Grade 6

Flying Jewels is a symphonic poem for wind ensemble that attempts to capture the joyous and hopeful spirit of a famous essay by the late author Brian Doyle. The title refers to how Europeans described hummingbirds when first encountering them in North America. Doyle’s essay muses on how intensely and passionately these tiny birds live their lives, with their hearts beating “ten times a second.” He also considers the blue whale’s giant heart, which beats as little as eight times a minute and can be heard from miles away. Ultimately, the essay asserts the connection that all people and creatures share: we all have one heart that carries us through life’s struggles, victories, and simple pleasures. My composition deals with the themes of Doyle’s essay by depicting the heart rhythms of different creatures through various metric/tempo modulations and relationships. First is the hummingbird, flitting about with bright flourishes from woodwinds and metallic percussion at superhuman speeds. A reptile’s three-chambered heart is heard next with nods to the triple-meter dances of the Caribbean. At the center of the work is the human heart, which is a simple tune that slowly builds to a cadence at the heart rate of a blue whale: four giant chords that resound under the ocean depths. Finally, the work recapitulates each idea while gaining speed to combine all of the tempi in an exuberant and ecstatic finale. This work was commissioned by the United States Air Force Band, Col. Don Schofield, commander and conductor.

A Song For Peace

Christina Huss Excelcia Publishing Grade 2

Song for Peace is a stirring, uplifting original composition for young band designed to transport both performer and listener on a moving journey of peace. From beginning to end, this warm and expressive piece features various musical qualities, including beautiful melodies, tempo and key changes, solo passages, and a powerful impact that will be sure to stir both performers and audiences alike.

Thoughtfully woven with the serene American Folk Song I’ve Got Peace Like A River, the composer notes that this moving ballad was a joy to write.

The Witness Pixel

Elizabeth Raum Cherry Classics Music Anticipated Grade 5

The Witness Pixel is a new work by Canadian composer Eliabeth Raum, commissioned by Gregory Freeman and the Robinson Trombone Choir with generous support from the Robinson Band & Orchestra Parent Organization. A prolific and award-winning composer, Elizabeth Raum has commissioned new works for a number of orchestras in Canada such as the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, The Calgary Philharmonic, and the CBC to name a few. Her compositions include ballets, operas, chamber pieces, concerti, vocal works, an oratorio, and orchestral works. The Witness Pixel is written for trombone sextet, and is inspired by a process used in the field of cosmology whereby special telescopes are used to try to detect the origins of the universe. Witness pixels relate to the coordination of the layers of metal and ceramics within the high-powered telescopes. The composer links this process to the coordination of the different parts or layers within the trombone choir in bringing the music to life.

Members of the Robinson Trombone Choir: Alex Alsina, Jack Bird, Santhony Chan, Austin Cotton, Jack Essig, Ethan Hubbard, Adam Irvine, Alden Shapiro, Violet Taylor, Adam Wong, Josh Ziegler

hitchBOT

Alex Tedrow Murphy Music Press Grade 3

hitchBOT, the late Canadian hitchhiking robot, was created by professors at McMaster University and Ryerson University in 2013. hitchBOT was a study in “roboethics” (the ethics of robot use) and set out to answer the essential question: “Can robots trust humans?”

The robot was released into the wild and traveled all over North America and Europe. Because hitchBOT couldn’t move on its own, it asked drivers to pick it up and transport it from location to location. hitchBOT eventually became a social media sensation with fans all over the world following its journey. In 2015 hitchBOT was brutally decapitated and vandalized during its attempt to hitchhike across the United States, thus ending the study. Sometimes bad things happen to good robots.

Composer Alex Tedrow was inspired by hitchBOT’s tragic story to write this fun, quirky, dark techno-western influenced piece for band and electronics. The audio track is constructed to sound somewhat robotic in nature while the ensemble has room to add expressivity and human artistry to the mix, hinting at the underlying tension present by nature in the ethics of human interaction with technology.

While hitchBOT was not limited to only Western United States, when imagining the idea of hitchhiking robots Tedrow shares that he couldn’t help but picture two robots hanging out by a campfire in the desert – harmonicas in hand. For this reason the piece has a bit of a country-western flavor hinting at music from some of his favorite classic films (too bad those films didn’t have robots).

Stillwater

Kelijah Dunton Murphy Music Press Grade 4

Kelijah Dunton was inspired to write this piece by the beauty of a small town, Stillwater Minnesota. This town has a big lake in its center, which can be seen out of everyone’s backyard. During the winter, the very top of the lake freezes and creates a tranquil effect that cannot be seen, but can be heard. When stepping out into one’s backyard, you see a frozen mass, stuck into place and completely unmovable, but if you listen closely, you can hear that the water underneath continues to flow.

The composer poses, “Why is this important?

We as people forget sometimes that we are so much more deep and vast beneath our hard surfaces. We work, we go to school, we take care of our families, we deal with the struggles of the day-to-day routine militantly. But if we just take a moment to listen within ourselves; we discover our passions, our longings, and our sense of belongings.

Bride of the Waves

Herbert L. Clarke arr. Diana Appler Solo Grade 6/Band Grade 3

Herbert L. Clarke (1867-1945) was one of history’s finest cornet players. He was a phenomenal soloist in John Philip Sousa’s band and went on to conduct his own bands as well as compose many pieces. He is documented as the composer of hundreds of pieces. Composed for cornet, The Bride of the Waves was composed in 1900. It is a light, entertaining dance piece subtitled “Polka Brillante.” The piece has a lyrical introduction which leads into a variety of light sections. A cadenza and quick coda bring the piece to conclusion.

Zeembah

Michael Barry Murphy Music Press Not Graded

Of Zeembah, composer Michael Barry shares: Zeembah is the made-up word that came to my brain when I first finished the piece and was trying to think of a name. I thought it just sounded “zeembah-ish”.

The piece has heavy influence from a hodgepodge of sources including disco brass, New Orleans rhythm section funk, Simpson-main-title Bari saxophone, and fond memories of a piece I used to play in middle school marching band (but now can’t remember the name of).

Composing it was kind of just an experiment in experimentation, a “Gonzo Journalism” method of composing; I spent no time conceptualizing it and just started writing till I was finished.