Synergy for Wind Ensemble (2004)
(audio excerpt)
(click here to view selected score pages [pdf])
Synergy was commissioned by the Utah State University College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences to commemorate the groundbreaking of the School of the Arts Recital Hall on the USU campus, April 29, 2004.
The work begins with two reflective statements of a theme based on the pitches Eb, E, C, and F. The first statement by a lone trumpet symbolizes the beautiful open spaces of the campus area, dwarfed by the surrounding mountains. The theme then becomes a woodwind duo (symbolizing the collaborative nature of the arts) followed by two more permutations of the theme, first with the stability of a timpani ostinato (the university structure in support of the School of the Arts) and then in augmentation by the low brass.
Although in the same meter, a transparent section then appears, defined by a 3/8 undulating feel, symbolizing the gentle interaction of the arts, which leads to the majestic climax of the new building’s rise as a center for performing arts on campus. The timpani ostinato then returns, this time with a driving 3/4 version of the original theme (the community of the arts), and ascending to a final triplet fanfare to a grand flourish.