Cut Time

Cut Time (2004) for orchestra is marked ?fast, bright, but slightly heavy, in Gospel feel.? It might be an opener or an encore. The music doesn?t evoke Gospel music directly, however ? only in its hand-clapping joy and exuberance. Growing from Cut-time Shout, for two pianos, the orchestral version was offered in thanks to the National Symphony Orchestra for the wonderful performances the NSO and its magnificent principal cellist, David Hardy, gave of my Cello Concerto, under Leonard Slatkin?s direction, in January 2004. The NSO gave the premiere performances of Cut Time throughout an ?American Residencies? tour of North Carolina in 2005. Now stop reading, because the piece is so short (you?ll miss it if your head is buried in the notes!).