for Solo Tuba and Wind Quintet
Instrumentation:
- C Flute (dbl. C Piccolo)
- Oboe (dbl. English Horn)
- Bb Clarinet (dbl. Bb Bass Clarinet)
- Horn in F
- Bassoon
Program Notes:
Music Aquatica was born out of an “etude” assignment for my first composition class at JMU and originally was just the first 30 or so measures of the second movement titled, The Whale. As I was writing those first 30 or so measures, I immediately fell in love with the combination of Tuba and Wind Quintet and all the possible colors that could come out of such an ensemble. I then went on to finish the “whale” movement with little to no issue, and then found myself momentarily stuck at where to take the piece from there. I knew I wanted to write an introductory movement before, and a movement after the whale, but was not sure if I wanted them to be animal themed, as the whale was obviously, or if I wanted to try and write a suite of music simply inspired by the ocean, and the idea of being underwater… as I have done many times before. Of course, I decided on the latter, and wrote an introductory movement to set the atmosphere of our ocean setting, titled, The Ocean Floor, and then wrote the finale movement, Surfacing, which is meant to depict the ascent back to the surface or land. Overall, Music Aquatica is a journey from the bottom of the ocean, back to the surface, and it is primarily showcased through the Tuba taking us from the bottom of it’s range, to the top, and the ensemble behind it acting as the color and interest of the ocean, and all the activity that happens in it.
Score Video/Audio:
Full Set of Score and Parts Available Directly from the Composer.