A Dollar in All
Pennies
2015
for Solo Soprano Saxophone for the Terminus Ensemble
Ryan J Williams (ASCAP)
w w w. R y a n J W i l l i a m s. n e t
A Dollar in All Pennies for Solo Soprano Saxophone Duration: ca. 1’00” This piece came about as a commission from Adam Scott Neal and the Terminus Ensemble of Atlanta, Georgia for a concert of all “miniature” works for solo instruments. After being invited to participate in the project, I began to ponder ideas for the piece, trying to consider a style and a purpose that would fit into the simplicity of a one-minute miniature. In an unrelated conversation about a stylistic term in another piece of music, the descriptor of “Expansively” was misheard as “Expensively,” and I was inspired to follow that idea for this composition. While quite the ambiguous and ill-defined descriptor for a piece of music, I was still amused by the term and kept it, anxiously awaiting to hear future performers’ personal interpretations of the meaning of the word as they communicate that through the music. The title of the piece was suggested to me by none other than the illustrious and exotic L.F.T. After hearing a final draft of the piece, the idea came about in consideration of the many short, staccato tones throughout the works, each as being a “penny” to make up the whole “dollar” that is the piece, and of course, the “dollar” being a nod to the one-minute duration. On another level, the entire program for which “A Dollar in All Pennies” was written will be a collection of many one-minute works that will come together to create one program. Many thanks go out to Adam Scott Neal for his invitation to participate in this endeavor. It’s truly an honor to have been asked to be a part!
Mr. Ryan Williams first began composing music as a freshman in high school in Mechanicsburg, PA. Following this passion for more than 20 years, Williams has written many works for a variety of forces, both large and small, with a notable focus being on the wind band. To flesh out his craft, Williams attended West Chester University where he earned his Master of Music Theory and Composition in 2014 and his Bachelor of Music in 2003. While studying at West Chester University, he had the opportunity to work with renowned composers and scholars such as Dr. Robert Maggio, Dr. Adam Silverman, Dr. Lex Rozin, Dr. Mark Rimple, Dr. Andrew Yozviak, and Dr. Larry Nelson. It was during this time that he was selected for the 2014 Charlotte New Music Festival and won the 2014 West Chester University NOW Music Society Speedwriting Competition for an accompanied clarinet piece “Chicken with No Stones, Baby with No Bones.” Building off this success, his master’s thesis, “Pasíon y Fuego,” was a four-movement tour de force for Wind Ensemble, highlighting a different section of the band through Latin dance styles before culminating in a passionate tango. Now, Williams receives commissions for all levels of music, ranging from beginning students and middle school band and to professional musicians. His works have been performed across the Eastern United States and have been described as “a cut above the rest” and “sophisticated” by American composer Mark Camphouse. He is a member of the composer’s collective at CWJ Music House, publishing through that group on the JW Pepper website, and has a set of Bassoon Duets titled “Six Greeting Cards” published through TrevCo Music Publishing. Most of his works, however, are self-published and can be previewed at www.RyanJWilliams.net. In addition to composition, Williams is a performer and technician. As a performer, Williams has 5 years’ experience marching with DCA and DCI drum and bugle corps, earning the 1996 DCA World Championship with the Harrisburg Westshoremen and being a 2000 DCI Finalist with the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps. In 2002, he enlisted into the Army Reserve where he served as an instrumentalist, arranger, and composer for 14 years. Since earning a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from York College in 2005, Williams has worked with 32+ competitive and non-competitive high school bands, college bands, and drum corps over the last 17 years across the northeast. Most recently, Williams served as the tuba technician and brass instructor for the 2015 World Champion Reading Buccaneers Drum and Bugle Corps, and in 2016, he will serve as the tuba technician for the for the Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps in Allentown, PA. Presently, Williams lives in Gaffney, SC, where he composes with his cat, Theodore, and watches the kudzu eat his yard. It’s an art form, really. You should buy his music.
with special thanks to L.F.T.
Soprano Sax
A Dollar in All Pennies for the Terminus Ensemble Ryan J Williams (ASCAP)
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Expensively
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Copyright © 2015 Ryan J Williams & Ryan Williams Music (ASCAP) www.RyanJWilliams.net All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced without express, written consent of the composer.
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