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Program notes

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Stereo Action
for percussion ensemble

In the music-style wars of the last century, nothing out-"styled" the swanky swing of the Space-Age Bachelor Pad and Pops Percussion records of the 1960's. Composers, arrangers, and band leaders like Esquivel, Marty Gold, Enoch Light, Dick Schory, and Bernie Green all had fabulous bands, fabulous record covers, a remarkably square-shaped hipness, and an unabashed excitement about the still-infant separated audio channels of "Living Stereo". If the record was any good, the stereo was hyper-panned, and the guitars and bongos would bounce from left to right like a tennis ball. RCA Victor even had a series with the name "Stereo Action", which hits the aesthetic nail so on the head, it seemed worth stealing. These records are all driven by virtuosic percussionists, so a full ensemble of them seemed even better. The result is this Stereo Action, where the percussion (including the oft-neglected percussion instrument, the piano) also takes on the original roles of the hot brass, the swanky strings, and the smooth electric guitars. Of course, all is in glorious stereo. But Stereo Action is not a parody; it is a loving embrace of the only musical genre where your Hi-Fi must be finely-tuned, and your martini perfectly chilled.

—JN

1861, a hymn fantasia for concert band - view note
3 O’Clock Mix, for school ensemble - view note
Across the groaning continent, from Symphony No. 1, My Hands Are a City - view note
As the scent of spring rain..., for wind ensemble - view note
Avenue X, for wind band - view note
Blow It Up, Start Again, for orchestra - view note
Blow It Up, Start Again​, for wind ensemble - view note
Chunk, a funk for winds and percussion - view note
Climbing Parnassus, for wind ensemble - view note
Concertino, for flute solo, chamber winds, and piano - view note
De Profundis, for massed winds - view note
Deep Sky Blue, for viola and piano - view note
Dohyci, miniature for violin and bass clarinet - view note
Lullaby for Munch in Hell, for saxophone quartet - view note
Metropolitan, for orchestra - view note
Milori Blue, for euphonium and piano - view note
Moon by Night, for band and optional chorus - view note
Moon by Night​, Anthem for SATB chorus - view note
My Hands Are a City, from Symphony No. 1, My Hands Are a City - view note
Nocturnes, for piano solo - view note
Ohanashi, for sinfonia - view note
OK Feel Good, for chamber group - view note
OK Feel Good​, for wind orchestra - view note
Practicing Joy, for percussion solo - view note
Prayers of Steel, for brass quintet - view note
Prelude on "Schmücke Dich", for organ solo - view note
Single, for wind band - view note
Sowing Useful Truths, for wind ensemble - view note
Symphony No. 1, My Hands Are a City, for wind ensemble - view note
The Americans, from Symphony No. 1, My Hands Are a City - view note
The Rivers of Bowery, an overture for winds, brass, and percussion - view note
The Vinyl Six, for mixed chamber ensemble - view note
These Inflected Tentacles, for marimba, piano, violin, and cello - view note
Tree, for string orchestra - view note
Uncle Sid, fantasy on a folk tune - view note
Verses from Solomon, for soprano and organ - view note
Vivid Geography, for women's chorus and chamber orchestra - view note
Wapwallopen, string quartet no. 1 - view note