Jubilation

 

"Jubilation" was commissioned by the University of Georgia for the occasion of the opening of the Performing and Visual Arts Center at the University of Georgia. The work is approximately 6 minutes long and is scored for piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 2 trombones, bass trombone, tuba, timpani, percussion (glockenspiel, vibraphone, 2 crash cymbals, small, medium and large suspended cymbals, sizzle cymbal) and strings. The commissioning of new music to inaugurate a new edifice is an ancient and, for me, a very meaningful tradition. One easily imagines other Athenians of another time and place marking the opening of their Parthenon with music celebrating the occasion. Certainly, buildings from the Cathedral in Florence, Italy, to our own Carnegie Hall began their public lives with special music filling the new spaces. So I considered it a great honor as well as a great pleasure to play the privileged role of writing music for the opening of this new Performing and Visual Arts Center at the University of Georgia in Athens. But concert halls exist for the music that draws us together in a community of performers and listeners, and therefore "Jubilation" celebrates the opening of the new concert hall by celebrating the orchestra. Though short, the piece is almost a concerto for orchestra, emphasizing its vibrant colors and contrasts, the virtuosity of its players, and the orchestra?s almost unparalleled ability to give voice to musical drama.