Dawn Chorus

JoAnne Harris

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General Info

Year: 2019
Duration: c. 3:20
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Unknown
Cost: Score and Parts - Unknown

Instrumentation

Full Score
Flute
Bassoon I-II
B-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Trumpet I-II
Trombone I-II

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

JoAnne Harris wrote Dawn Chorus in 2019 as a companion piece to Igor Stravinsky’s Octet (Stravinsky). She provides the program notes, from her score:

The title Dawn Chorus comes from a work by Scottish poet Sasha Dugdale.
(excerpt)
…I have woken to the dawn chorus
And even before it sounded, I dreamed of it Loud, unbelievably loud, shameless, raucous

My favorite time to compose is on “borrowed time”; very early in the morning. I like to take the day’s first coffee break on my roof in Jersey City, watching the sunrise over the Hudson. This summer, I’ve added a new procrasti – errr – hobby – to this routine: bird watching! I’d been somewhat patiently ignoring their dawn-breaking announcements until one day the cacophony from the tree on my corner became irrepressible. Annoyed, I got up from my desk to close the window but stopped; captivated by the sound of one wren delivering earnest triplets against the short, cloying barks of her tree mates. This piece took shape from that moment, with intent to honor Stravinsky’s octet, its own chattering declarations so convivial you can’t help but stop what you’re doing and listen.

- Program Note by composer

Media

Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Arizona State University (Tempe) Wind Ensemble (Dylan Rook Maddix, conductor) - 21 November 2022
Hartwick College (Oneonta, N.Y.) Faculty Wind Octet (Andrew Pease, conductor) – 27 September 2019 *Premiere Performance*

Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

Dimension (Flex instrumentation) (2021)

All Wind Works

Dawn Chorus (2019)
Dimension (Flex instrumentation) (2021)
Gloria (2021)
The Lighthouse (2017)
To Be Free (2016)
Voices of the Inside Passage (2023)

Resources

JoAnne Harris website Accessed 14 April 2017
Pease, Andy. "Dawn Chorus by JoAnne Harris." Wind Band Literature, 22 May 2020. Web.] Accessed 23 May 2020