Commissioned by Josh Thompson, Lake Zurich High School; Jim Kull, St. Charles East High School; Jon Walsh, Conant High School; Ramiro Barrera, James Logan High School; Steve Andre, Grapevine High School; Marc Mueller, Moore High School; Phil Obado, University High School; and David Papenhagen, Portage Northern High School.
Consortium organized by Josh Thompson
"Turning" includes a prominent part for "waterphone." Although the original waterphone is quite expensive (over $800), there are very similar instruments available at a much lower cost. Options include the "ocean harp" (approximately $240) and the composer's preference, the Aquasonic Super Standard (approximately $275). That said, if you can get your hands on a real Waterphone, nothing beats it.
"Turning" was commissioned by a consortium led by my high school friend, Josh Thompson, who is now a high school band director in the Chicago area. The overriding idea when writing the piece was to convey "strong" beauty as well as loss, rather than traditional "pretty" lyricism.
I chose the title "Turning" for this piece because the word can mean any number of things, all of which might be heard in the piece itself. It could refer to the turning of a massive, prehistoric planet, as the first signs of life begin to bubble up from cracks in the ground. It could refer to the turning of leaves in the fall, a beautiful - but melancholy - thing to see. Or, in the piece's darkest moments, the title could refer to the turning of a knife into one's chest.
|
|
|
|
| Turning | MP3, 192 kbps, stereo, 8:05, entire work, 11.0 MB Texas Christian University Wind Symphony conducted by Bobby Francis LIVE RECORDING, March 29, 2007 CBDNA National Convention, Ann Arbor, Michigan |
Download PDF of the full score - not printable (April 2, 2007) |
Performances of Turning:
| University High School conducted by Philip A. Obado |
October 9, 2006 |
| Portage High School conducted by David Papenhagen |
January 26, 2007 2007 Michigan Music Conference |
| Grapevine High School conducted by Steve Andre |
February 12, 2007 |
| Texas Christian University conducted by Bobby Francis |
February 12, 2007 |
| Texas Christian University conducted by Bobby Francis |
February 16, 2007 Texas Music Educators Association convention |
| St. Charles East High School conducted by Jim Kull |
February 26, 2007 |
| Lake Zurich High School conducted by Josh Thompson |
February 27, 2007 |
| St. Charles East High School conducted by Jim Kull |
March 1, 2007 |
| Moore High School conducted by Marc Mueller |
March 6, 2007 |
| Lake Zurich High School conducted by Josh Thompson |
March 14, 2007 |
| Texas Christian University conducted by Bobby Francis |
March 29, 2007 |
| Arizona State University conducted by Gary Hill |
September 20, 2007 |
| Michigan State University conducted by Bill Staub |
September 23, 2007 |
| Eastman School of Music conducted by David Jacobs |
October 5, 2007 |
| Oakland University conducted by Greg Cunningham |
October 17, 2007 |
| Florida State University conducted by Richard Clary |
November 18, 2007 |
| University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire conducted by Richard Mark Heidel |
November 18, 2007 |
Texas Region 17 Band |
January 12, 2008 |
| Bowling Green State University conducted by Kenneth Thompson |
January 26, 2008 |
| Texas 4A All State Band conducted by John Lynch |
February 16, 2008 |
| Broken Arrow High School conducted by Scott Tomlinson |
February 23, 2008 BOA Concert Festival |
| University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire conducted by Richard Mark Heidel |
March 9, 2008 |
| University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire conducted by Richard Mark Heidel |
March 14, 2008 CBDNA Regional Convention |