CONCERTO FOR SOPRANO SAXOPHONE AND STRING ORCHESTRA

Concerto for Soprano Saxophone and String Orchestra began with the creation of the second movement first. This is not unusual for me or other composers who often write movements and even sections of the same movement “out of order”. Sometimes the shape of the whole piece just doesn’t present itself until a considerable amount of it has been written. Then, usually in a flash of insight, the work reveals its form. Three years ago, the second movement, originally titled “Tenebrae”, was first performed at Brookside Community Church with English horn and string quartet. Last year after attending a Colonial Symphony concert at Delbarton where “The Seasons” by Vivaldi was performed, the entire concerto revealed itself using “Tenebrae” as the second movement, performed either on English horn or oboe, and adding two faster outer movements to balance the middle. I also decided to mimic Baroque contrapuntal techniques but maintained 21st-century harmony and rhythm. This work is a re-orchestration of a previous work of mine titled Concerto for Oboe and String Orchestra written in 2002.