1. Gentle, Playful
2. Interlude
3. Agitato
For Solo Clar, Picc, 2 Fl, 2 Ob, 2 Bsn, 3 Clar, BClar, Eb Contra Alto Clar, Sop Sax, ASax, TSax, BSax, 3 Trpt, 4 Hn, 2 Tbn, BTbn, Euph, Tba, DBass, Hrp, Timp, 5 Perc (SD, WdBl, Chimes, T-Toms, Sus Cym, BD, Mar, Glock, Sus Cym, Vib, Xyl
16’
2022
Score and Parts will be available for purchase from Theodore Presser Company on December 1st, 2023
My Clarinet Concerto (2022) has three contrasting yet closely related movements and was composed during a painful time. The thematic materials emerged as emotional reactions to the death of a dear friend, and to the terminal illness of a close family member. The nostalgic first movement begins with a sweetly mellifluous opening melody contrasted by a playful secondary theme. The youthful, innocent quality found in the first movement transforms in the short second movement to a more immediate emotional space colored by sadness and loss. The final movement transforms the material from the opening movement into an insistent dance full of dark, agitated energy.
The Clarinet Concerto was originally a Sonata for Clarinet and Piano written for clarinetist Benjamin Fingland in 2015. In 2022, I arranged the sonata into a Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra for clarinetist YaoGuang Zhai. In 2022, I created the wind ensemble version of my concerto for clarinetist Douglas Moore-Monroe and the East Carolina University Symphonic Wind Ensemble in a consortium spear-headed by William Staub, director of bands at ECU. Franklin D. Hansen provided invaluable assistance with the orchestration for wind ensemble, and with the score/part preparation. The concerto was premiered by Douglas Moore-Monroe and the East Carolina University Symphonic Wind Ensemble conducted by William Staub at the North Carolina Music Educators Association In-Service Convention on November 7, 2022.
East Carolina University
Dr. William Staub, Director of Bands
Douglas Moore-Monroe, Soloist
Western Michigan University
Dr. Scott Boerma, Director of Bands
Pennsylvania State University
Tonya Mitchell-Spradlin, Director of Bands
Anthony Costa, Soloist
Timothy Sutfin, Clarinetist
Eastern Michigan University
Mary Schneider, Director of Bands
Sandra Jackson, Soloist
Fan Lei, Clarinet Professor
Beijing Conservatory
University of North Carolina at Charlotte Wind Ensemble
Hunter Kopczynski, Director of Bands
Jessica Lindsey, Soloist