MANHATTAN BEACH MUSIC
Raising the Standards of the American Concert Band and BANDS all Over the WORLD
Exclusive Australian Distribution by Future Music
Bash was composed in 2021 as a kind of birthday celebration, commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic. Thousands of musicians of every age attend the Clinic every year in Chicago to celebrate music, attend concerts, see old friends, and meet new ones. The 74th annual meeting was forced online by the COVID-19 pandemic, making attendees even more passionate about attending the 75th to once again enrich their souls through live music-making face-to-face gatherings. In short, the 75th is/was a huge party.
In keeping with this festive occasion, Bash unfolds as a euphoric romp. It begins as a series of exuberant dances. The section that follows is decidedly more raucous, driven by unrelenting ostinatos and growling solos as the music builds in intensity, suddenly exploding in a powerful burst of sound. The second half begins in sharp contrast to the first, playfully bouncing quiet little fragments from one player to another, and slowly evolving into a return of the opening dance. The coda is as exultant as it is triumphant.
Bash was commissioned by the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in celebration of their 7th anniversary meeting. It was premiered by the Dallas Winds at the 75th conference in Chicago on December 17, 2021, with the composer as guest conductor.
Reading by Unversity of Texas Wind Ensemble, Jerry Junkin, conductor (the rehearsal ends with two additional takes of the last measures).
Virtual Score (Score is tall oversize, 11" x 17")
