Sweep(2022-23)
For Orchestra
7 minutes
(2,2,2,2 3,2,2,1 Timp. 2 Perc., and strings)
Commissioned by the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies
Premiered in May 2022 at Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis, MN.
Revised version premiered by the Moncton Youth Symphony in New Brunswick, Canada.
Further Performances by the St. Olaf Orchestra (March 2024), and the Brandeis-Wellesley Orchestra (April 2024).
Program Notes:
This work begins with a short two-chord gesture that suggests a kind of sweeping motion. There is a kind of kinetic energy that builds up on the upbeat that begins the piece, only for it to be released on the downbeat, while some of the motion continues on. There is a short introductory section before a searching melody is introduced in the low strings. From here on, the sweeping two-chord gesture and the searching melody compete for attention in an energetic fashion. About halfway through the work, a new melody emerges in the violin that explores a different meaning of the word "Sweep." This soaring and expressive line provides the emotional core of the piece and returns in the exciting, rollicking coda.