Program Notes December 15, 2021
COD Symphonic Band
Deux ex Machina (Flex Series, 2020)
Randall D. Standridge
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Some people say I suffer from an overactive imagination.
That is not true. I don’t suffer from it at all. I enjoy every minute of it. I remember being in English class in high school, and learning about classical plays. Mrs. Eggburn (my fantastic 11th Grade English teacher) mentioned the “Deus Ex Machina,” or “God of the Machine.” I’m not sure what she said after that because my mind was busy envisioning an ancient God brought into the modern age, with glowing neon eyes, speakers inside his mouth, and pulsing circuits growing out from his body into his temple built of circuit boards. It’s an image that has stayed with me ever since every time I hear that particular term. This work for concert band combines exotic scales, cinematic scoring, digital effects, and a dub-step feel to create a truly unique experience for the player and audience. Is it pop? Is it symphonic? Does it matter? Music is music and it’s either effective or it’s not. Deus Ex Machina was commissioned by the Georgia Music Educators District Six for their 9ths-10th grade honor band. They were very kind by allowing me to write something that was far outside the norm, and I will always be grateful. Peace, Love, and Music. Published by Randall Standridge Music, LLC |
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Suite Treats: 5 composers, 5 schools, 5 movements (2021)
In response to school ensemble needs during the 2020 pandemic, Composers & Schools partnered with the Creative Repertoire Initiative (CRI) to create the Adaptable Suite Commissioning Project for high school ensembles in order to encourage the creation and performance of adaptable music. CRI is a collective of industry-leading professionals committed to creating and promoting the creation of adaptable music. Composers & Schools is a nationwide organization that supports music education and the creation and performance of contemporary music.
Each composer wrote a one-minute, grade 3 / 4, adaptable-style acoustic micro-movement for a high school wind ensemble. When combined, the movements formed an adaptable suite encompassing a wide stylistic variety appropriate for high school musicians.
What is Adaptable Music?ADAPTABLE is an umbrella term created by the members of CRI that includes various types of pieces that can be realized by ensembles faced with limited, fluctuating, or unpredictable personnel. The word adaptable refers to both the music and the situation. Types of adaptable music include: flex music, full-flex music, modular/cellular pieces, and improvisatory pieces.
Program note taken from Composers and Schools
About the Composers:
Brian Balmages, Jennifer Jolley, Peter Meehan, Alex Shapiro, and Frank Ticheli are part of the Creative Repertoire Initiative, a group of composers who came together in order to explore and inspire a new wave of adaptable music for ensembles if all types. Each maintains an active schedule of commissions and guest appearances when they are not sitting in theyr homes on Zoom waiting for each others's screens to unfreeze.
Read more about the Creative Repertoire Initiative HERE
Each composer wrote a one-minute, grade 3 / 4, adaptable-style acoustic micro-movement for a high school wind ensemble. When combined, the movements formed an adaptable suite encompassing a wide stylistic variety appropriate for high school musicians.
What is Adaptable Music?ADAPTABLE is an umbrella term created by the members of CRI that includes various types of pieces that can be realized by ensembles faced with limited, fluctuating, or unpredictable personnel. The word adaptable refers to both the music and the situation. Types of adaptable music include: flex music, full-flex music, modular/cellular pieces, and improvisatory pieces.
Program note taken from Composers and Schools
About the Composers:
Brian Balmages, Jennifer Jolley, Peter Meehan, Alex Shapiro, and Frank Ticheli are part of the Creative Repertoire Initiative, a group of composers who came together in order to explore and inspire a new wave of adaptable music for ensembles if all types. Each maintains an active schedule of commissions and guest appearances when they are not sitting in theyr homes on Zoom waiting for each others's screens to unfreeze.
Read more about the Creative Repertoire Initiative HERE
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I. Focal Point, Brian Balmages
The inspiration for Focal Point was born out of a conversation with the students in the Madison West High School Honor Band. While they introduced a myriad of interesting ideas, they kept coming back to ideas surrounding their experiences during the COVID pandemic. The consensus was that everyone felt extremely scattered and out of focus when everything went virtual for the first time. Then, as routines began to settle in and they adjusted to their new "temporary normal," things began coming back into focus for them. Thus, the idea of starting out of focus and moving into clarity became the "focal point" for this work. Program note taken from the score. |
Madison West High School Honor Band, WI
Director Kevin Rhodes and Composer Brian Balmages Read more about Brian Balmages HERE |
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II. Neoncore for flex ensemble and fixed media, Jennifer Jolley
I Zoomed with Mitch Evett and Josh Murphy, the Rio Americano High School's band directors in Sacramento, California in December 2020 to discuss writing a flex piece for their students. After nine months of COVID isolation, I admitted to them that I just wanted to create something bright and sparkly, something that would have a glossy Instagram glow. I also wanted to write something that the students would call a "bop." Because the school was located in Northern California (the birthplace of Buchla synthesizers), I want the students to work with a simulated analog synthesizer. When we all Zoomed together with the students the next month, I demonstrated the modular synthesizer and introduced them to a red-paneled 16-step sequencer. "You're going to pick sixteenth notes together as a class" I instructed. "I'm going to include this in your piece." They, in turn, requested that I make the piece "crazy", just like their band room during pre-pandemic times. What you hear is a piece that uses the students' sixteen-note sequence as a bass obstinate, which i tweaked to make it sound more "jazzy" and "funky." Program note taken from the score III. Lullaby for Adaptable Ensemble, Peter Meechan
Lullaby was written as part of a five-movement suite of one-minute pieces, by five different composers, commissioned by Composers & Schools for five different schools. Each composer paired with a school (in my case, Mount Rainier High), and having spent some time talking with the students and listening to what they had to say, I felt the piece had to have a special, positive symbolism to it. Between my initial meeting with Mount Rainer High's band director, Jordan Beckman, and the subsequent time I spent with the wonderful students, Mr. Beckman became a father- and so it seemed appropriate that lullaby was composed! Program note taken from the score |
Composer Jennifer Jolley and
Rio Americano HS Honors Concert Band, CA Directors Josh Murray and Mitch Evett Read more about Jennifer Jolley HERE 
Composer Peter Meechan
and Mount Rainier HS Wind Ensemble, WA Director Jordan Beckman Read more about Peter Meechan HERE |
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IV. Kitchen Sync For Any Ensemble and Pre-Recorded Soundscape I'm not an inspired cook, but I do enjoy the meditative groove of cleaning up after a meal - and listening to the pitches and rhythms barked from bowls, dishes, and cookware that form a chorus of multi-registered clanking the sink. To me, everything in life has the potential to a musical instrument! For instance, it was this very household task that resulted in my use of resonant metal mixing bowls filled with a little water, to create an otherworldly live sound effect in my 2014 electroacoustic tone poem for wind ensemble LIQUID COMPASS. The short, percussive blast that is KITCHEN SYNC lands squarely on the other end of the musical spectrum. When I described to my husband Dan how the musicians will rely solely on lots of related utensils and tools as their instruments, he enthusiastically replied, "you should have them play a kitchen sink, too!". I loved the idea, but explained that it might be logistically difficult for ensembles to lug a big appliance to the band room or the stage. Scrolling through Facebook a day later, I stumbled upon a post from my friend Jennifer Jolley, one of the five co-conspirators of SUITE TREATS, for which KITCHEN SYNC was composed. Seeking titles suggestions for her contribution, she mentioned something about her piece sporting a prerecorded accompaniment track., My brain lit up. I had designed my little rhythmic offering to work purely acoustically, but suddenly the prospect of an additional version became too tempting to ignore: now I could include everything AND the kitchen sink! Mine and Dans, in this case, as can be heard in the accompaniment track. Program note taken from the score |
Culver City HS Concert Band, CA
Director Tony Spano and Composer Alex Shapiro Read more about Alex Shapiro HERE |
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V. Moving On for Flex Band or Flex Orchestra
MOVING ON is an 80-second shout for flex band or flex orchestra (or any combination therein). It was comissioned by Composers & Schoools for the Hays High School Windf Ensemble, Maththew Rome, Director. This little piece unleashes a barrage of triumphant energy. It is a shout of joy and optimism, with a bit of an attitude. As such, Moving On is playable both in concert or at festive events such as pep rallies or sporting events. Program note taken from the score |
Composer Frank Ticheli and
Hays HS Wind Ensemble, KS Director Matthew Rome Read more about Frank Ticheli HERE |
A Little Tango Music: for flexible Wind Band with Adaptable Parts (2007, 2020)
Adam Gorb
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A Little Tango Music is a short sequence of melodies inspired by the curvaceous, melancholic and dangerous dance from Argentina that is at the Tango. The three brief movements can be played in any order, continuously, or separately.
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Flourishes! (2017, 2021)
William Owens
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Distinct melodic statements and crispy rhythms come together to define this robust concert opener. A various opening statement is at the forefront of the work, which soon settles into a smoother theme. A variety of styles and textures are heard as "flourishes" of melodic content pass seamlessly throughout the various sections. The final section once again heralds in the introductory theme as the music comes to a rousing finish.
Flourishes! was commissioned by the Colleyville (TX) Middle School Honors Band, with the premiere performance given at the 2018 Midwest Clinic in Chicago, Illinios. Program note taken from the score |
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Blooming in the Darkness (2021)
A Collaborative Composition created by Members of the 2021 Fall COD Symphonic Band Members
Program note written by Alyssa Means and members of the 2021 COD Symphonic Band
Part I depicts an ominous musical idea portraying the desperation and isolation we all experienced during the Covid-19 Pandemic of 2020. We intend to express the chaos, monotony, and emotional turmoil as the truth we came to know as our new reality as the effects of the pandemic set in. We express the solitude we experienced as we were kept from gathering with friends and family during the lockdown and the feeling of never knowing when life will return to how it once was.
Part II expresses the idea of new beginnings and the positive change that resulted from the new sense of understanding of oneself that emerged as a result of our acceptance of the new world we came to know. The solitude we felt has melted away and we have brought to light curiosity and adventure.
As we reflected on the pandemic we came to realize that our future is directly related to the choices we make. We as individuals carve our own path in life. There are two paths we can follow: a path where we succumb to the negativity and darkness in our minds, and a path where we embrace opportunity, growth, and resilience to follow the light of our own hearts.
Most of us lost someone near and dear to our hearts as a result of COVID. We chose to express our heartache through our music to remember and honor those we lost. We dedicate this music to all those affected by the pandemic.
Part I depicts an ominous musical idea portraying the desperation and isolation we all experienced during the Covid-19 Pandemic of 2020. We intend to express the chaos, monotony, and emotional turmoil as the truth we came to know as our new reality as the effects of the pandemic set in. We express the solitude we experienced as we were kept from gathering with friends and family during the lockdown and the feeling of never knowing when life will return to how it once was.
Part II expresses the idea of new beginnings and the positive change that resulted from the new sense of understanding of oneself that emerged as a result of our acceptance of the new world we came to know. The solitude we felt has melted away and we have brought to light curiosity and adventure.
As we reflected on the pandemic we came to realize that our future is directly related to the choices we make. We as individuals carve our own path in life. There are two paths we can follow: a path where we succumb to the negativity and darkness in our minds, and a path where we embrace opportunity, growth, and resilience to follow the light of our own hearts.
Most of us lost someone near and dear to our hearts as a result of COVID. We chose to express our heartache through our music to remember and honor those we lost. We dedicate this music to all those affected by the pandemic.
