Circuits

From Wind Repertory Project
Cindy McTee

Cindy McTee


Subtitle: A Concert Overture for Wind Ensemble


General Info

Year: 1990 / 2011
Duration: c. 5:35
Difficulty: VII (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Orchestra
Publisher: Bill Holab Music
Cost: Score and Parts - $300.00   |   Study Score Only - $24.95 |   Full Score Only $34.95


Instrumentation

Full Score
Flute I-II-III
Oboe I-II
English Horn
Bassoon I-II
Contrabassoon
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II
B-flat Bass Clarinet
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Saxophone
E-flat Alto Saxophone
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III-IV
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Percussion I-II-III, including:

  • Almglocken (4)
  • Bass Drum (small)
  • Cowbell
  • Cymbals (2: small suspended)
  • Glockenspiel
  • Metal Plate
  • Snare Drum
  • Tambourine
  • Temple Blocks (5)
  • Vibraphone
  • Woodblocks (2)


Errata

N.B. These changes needed for editions published before March 2021.

In Parts and Score:

  • Flute I, m.92: Should be C-sharp for the entire measure.
  • Flute I, m.215: Cautionary E-natural.
  • Flute II, m.92: Should be C-sharp for the entire measure.
  • Flute III, m.92: Should be C-sharp for the entire measure.
  • Oboe II, m.33: Last beat B-flat, A-flat G, F concert.
  • Oboe II, m.229: Last beat B-flat, A-flat G, F concert.
  • Bassoon I, m.90: Last two 16th notes should be F-sharp G.
  • Bassoon I, m.250: Last two 16th notes should be F-sharp G.
  • Bassoon II, m.90: Last two 16th notes should be F-sharp G.
  • B-flat Bass Clarinet, m.90: Last two 16th notes should be G-sharp A.
  • Horn in F I, m.215: Cautionary written A natural.
  • All low transposing instruments, m.220: Second quarter note is F natural.
  • All low non-transposing, m.223: Last quarter note is F natural.
  • All low transposing instruments, m.243: Second quarter note is F natural.
  • All low non-transposing instruments, m.246: Second quarter note is F natural.


Program Notes

The title, Circuits, is meant to characterize several important aspects of the work's musical language: a strong reliance upon circuitous structures such as ostinatos; the use of a formal design incorporating numerous, recurring short sections; and the presence of an unrelenting, kinetic energy achieved through the use of 16th notes at a constant tempo of 152 beats per minute.

- Program Note by composer


Circuits was originally written in 1990 for the Denton Chamber Orchestra of Denton, Texas. Shortly thereafter, in 1991, McTee created a version for wind ensemble. In 2011, she bought back the copyrights to Circuits and, following extensive editing, created a newly revised version. ... The inclusion of jazz elements and the playful manipulation of musical materials using syncopation, sudden transposition, and juxtaposition are also characteristic of the work.

- Program Note from the Baylor University Symphonic Band concert program, 16 October 2017


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • University of North Texas (Denton) Wind Symphony (Eugene Migliaro Corporon, conductor) – 9 February 2023 (2023 TMEA Conference, San Antonio)
  • The Naperville (Ill.) Winds (Sean Kelley, conductor) - 1 December 2022
  • Bowling Green (Ohio) State University Wind Symphony (Bruce Moss, conductor) – 14 April 2022
  • University of Toronto (Ont., Can.) Wind Ensemble (Gillian MacKay, conductor) – 2 April 2022
  • Mansfield (Penn.) University Concert Wind Ensemble (Adam F. Brennan, conductor) – 20 November 2021
  • University of Central Florida (Orlando) Symphonic Band (Scott Lubaroff, conductor) – 27 February 2020
  • University of Central Florida (Orlando) Wind Ensemble (Scott Lubaroff, conductor) – 21 February 2020 (CBDNA 2020 Southern Division Conference, Natchitoches, La.)
  • Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge) Wind Ensemble (Lisa Tatum, conductor) – 16 February 2020
  • University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire Wind Symphony (John R. Stewart, conductor) – 22 November 2019
  • University of Central Florida (Orlando) Wind Ensemble (Scott Lubaroff, conductor) – 7 November 2019
  • Roosevelt University Chicago College of Performing Arts Wind Ensemble (Stephen Squires, conductor) – 23 October 2019
  • California State University, Stanislaus, Wind Ensemble (Stuart Sims, conductor) – 17 October 2019
  • University of South Carolina (Columbia) Wind Ensemble (Scott Weiss, conductor) – 22 September 2019
  • University of North Carolina School of the Arts (Winston-Salem) Wind Ensemble (Iris Cole, conductor) – 23 April 2019
  • Michigan State University (East Lansing) Symphony Band (David Thornton, conductor) – 21 March 2019
  • Florida State University (Tallahassee, Fla.) Symphonic Band (Patrick Dunnigan, conductor) – 8 October 2018
  • State University of New York, Fredonia, Wind Symphony (Donna Dolson, conductor) – 4 September 2018
  • University of Massachusetts (Amherst) Symphony Band (Jared Bloch, conductor) – 30 April 2018
  • University of Wisconsin-Platteville Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Barry Ellis, conductor) – 20 April 2018
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison Wind Ensemble (Scott Teeple, conductor) – 7 April 2018
  • Georgia (Atlanta) Institute of Technology Concert Band (Chaowen Ting, conductor) – 19 November 2017


Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources

  • Alber, Brian. (2007, Fall). “The evolution of melodic construction in three 20th-Century wind band works.” Journal of Band Research 43(1), 63–78.
  • Cindy McTee website Accessed 7 Jabuary 2023
  • "CIRCUITS – A Concert Overture for Wind Ensemble by Cindy McTee (USA, 1953)." WASBE. Web. (Featured as WASBE’s Composition of the Week, 16 May 2022). Accessed 7 January 2023
  • Errata List
  • The Horizon Leans Forward…, compiled and edited by Erik Kar Jun Leung, GIA Publications, 2021, p. 419.
  • Miles, Richard B. 2000. Teaching Music Through Performance in Band. Volume 3. Chicago: GIA Publications. pp. 446-450.