Wake Up! Concerto for Orchestra

W A K E U P:

W A K E U P: A Concerto for Orchestra

Commissioned by San Diego Symphony Orchestra, Rafael Payare, Music Director (lead commissioner) and the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington, D.C., Gianandrea Noseda, Music Director

PROGRAM NOTE

This concerto for orchestra is inspired by the poem, Awake, Asleep, written by the Nepali poet, Rajendra Bhandari. In this profound poetic offering, Bhandari warns of the danger of being obliviously sleep in a social world, but yet how collective wakefulness provides “a bountiful harvest of thoughts.” My goal in writing this work was not only wake a sleeping hall with the sound of the orchestra, but to leave those who hear the piece with the question: Am I asleep? For these reasons, I chose to compose a two-note rhythmic motif that acts as a “wake up call” throughout the composition— as if the orchestra is speaking to the hall and the audience, “WAKE UP!”

The entire poem can be found here: https://www.lyrikline.org/en/poems/awake-asleep-13081

INSTRUMENTATION

Piccolo

2 Flutes

2 Oboes

2 Clarinets in Bb

2 Bassoons

4 Horns in F

3 Trumpets in C

2 Trombones

Bass Trombone

Tuba

Percussionist List:

Xylophone, Vibraphone, Piatti, Suspended Cymbal, Wind Chimes, Bell Tree, Sizzle Cymbal, Tam-Tam, Large Triangle, Sleigh Bells, Wood Blocks, Toms, Snare Drum, Brake Drum (or Anvil), Metal Pipes, Bass Drum, Crotales

Harp

Piano Timpani

Violin I

Violin II

Viola

Cello

Double Bass

Duration: ca. 20 minutes

Transposed Score