王曉嵐 Hsiao-Lan Wang

Instrumentation: 3 trumpets, 3 horns, 3 trombones, & 2 percussionists

Like a fable, a magical moment takes place in this piece of music. Yet more important to me, was how to create a musical environment where magic would appear. Whether the “gold” exists or not is a different story entirely…

Premiere:
Faulk Scholars Concert (Denton, TX, 02/19/2007)
Stephanie Lee, Misha Garcia & Beth Peroutka, trumpets
Brad Flint, Natalie Phillips & Erin Schilling, horns
Nick Laufer, Alex Dubrov & Michael Jordan, trombones
Brady Spitz & DiMitri Higginbotham, percussion
Hsiao-Lan Wang, conductor

Rugged Edges is composed for intermediate-level string orchestra although it is still possible to be performed by a professional one. The main concept in this piece is that modern music does not have to be difficult. Through specially considered notations, the players will be able to carry out non-traditional and complex musical thoughts without having to stress about extended techniques, although some are indeed included. Textures are the most important elements here and the transformation of textures is to be decided by all the players’ ears. It is hoped that through the rehearsals, players will open their ears to different elements in music such as timbre, intensity, articulation, intonation, and timing.

The conductor is given a vital role when executing this work and should bear clear images of the sounds in mind to lead the performers since the conductor often decides the exact lengths and shapes of gestures. I believe that everyone has musical talent that can be brought out by certain kinds of inspirations, and Rugged Edges provides a different way to approach modern music for the intermediate-level string orchestra.

Etude for Orchestra is a one-movement work composed for double-wind standard orchestra. Pure musical ideas such as harmony, timbre, and gesture are essential to the structure of the piece rather than programmatic elements. Sound masses of various densities, spectra, lengths, and colors provide the main textures for local events. Multiple divisions within orchestral families are used to allow the maximum number of individual voices to create cluster harmony.

In this work, melodies develop in a heterophonic style borrowed from East and Southeast Asian music. The Pelog scale (E, F, G, B, C) derived from Gamelan music functions as the primary melodic source, while the overtone series provides the basis for harmonic material.

Exploring the boundaries of conventional orchestration, Etude for Orchestra experiments with different mixtures of timbres while still attempting to remain accessible to listeners. Techniques required to perform this piece are of medium difficulty level.