Concerto for Percussion and Wind Orchestra
Trevor Grahl
Ensemble: Wind Orchestra
Solo Instrument: Percussion
Duration: 23:00
Year of Composition: 2008
Commissioned by: Gina Ryan, Alain Cazes, and the McGill Wind Orchestra
Premiered by: McGill Wind Orchestra (Alain Cazes, conductor; Gina Ryan, percussion)
Publisher: self-published
Available: Yes
How to Acquire: Composer
Links:
Program Notes:
Gina and Alain approached me in 2007, after I had already worked with the McGill Wind Symphony in Urquitaqtuq. My foot was almost out the door, leaving to California, to study at UCSD, so time was limited. I set to work for most of the summer on the sketches and by early August, had already tried out some material with Gina. Something was sure, she was not afraid of many instruments, and anything was possible! I was allowed to indulge in a large setup, and also included an extended passage for castanets, an instrument on which Gina was a specialist. I had just become acquainted with Max/MSP and live signal processing, so I used this as my compositional basis. The sound of the orchestra is always derived from the sound of the soloist, expanding, contracting, exploding, going on its own way, etc. Gina and the orchestra provided a seriously rock-solid performance, and I’m indeed proud to have worked with her and the orchestra.
(Program note by Trevor Grahl)
