Symphonic Manifold for Wind Ensemble (2006)
(audio excerpt)
(click here to view selected score pages [pdf])
Symphonic Manifold is an adaptation of the composer’s brass ensemble work High Maintenance, which won the 2006 Dallas Wind Symphony’s composition contest, the second such award for the composer in the five-year tenure of the competition. The term “manifold” has several meanings in relation to this work: As a verb, it means “to make many copies,” referring to the rondo-like form; As a noun, it refers to a pipe with apertures for multiple connections, referring to the scoring contrasts in the piece. The premiere of the brass ensemble work takes place on February 13, 2007 in the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, and the wind ensemble version was premiered on October 7, 2006 by the Utah State University Wind Orchestra in Logan, Utah.
“High Maintenance” is is a descriptive term for the energy and virtuosity in this composition. Tempo is incessant, and the combination of tuneful melodic material and derived polyphonic (sometimes polytonal) interjections provides ample continuity along with fiery contrasts. The form is a short rondo (ABACADA) with an added introduction and coda. All themes are derived from the opening motive, with rondo sections introduced by a three-measure syncopated figure.
The work is dedicated to longtime colleague and friend, Brant Karrick, Director of Bands at Northern Kentucky University. The energy in the work pales to that demonstrated by Dr. Karrick during my over sixteen-year professional relationship with him. Through hundreds of conversations and numerous on-site collaborations at both our institutions, I have come to rely on Dr. Karrick as an inspiration for musicianship and work ethic as well as for the pedagogy and philosophy of our craft.