Firefly

Ryan George

General Info

Year: 2008
Duration: c. 6:00
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Fornine Music
Cost: Score and Parts - $300.00 | Score Only - $50.00

Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Bass Trombone
Tuba I-II
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV-V, including:

Bass Drum
Chimes
China Cymbal
Crash Cymbal
Crotales
Finger Cymbals
Glockenspiel (2)
Snare Drum
Suspended Cymbal (2)
Tam-tam
Triangle
Vibraphone
Wind Chimes

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

I'm amazed at how children use their imaginations to transform the ordinary and normal into the extraordinary and fantastic. Just about anything they come across can be used to spark their fantasies and usher their minds into unseen worlds. A stick on the ground becomes a wand with magical powers or a sword to fight off bad guys. A collection of rocks turns into buried treasure, and a blanket stretched over two chairs becomes a cave to hide in. And things found in nature -- birds, waterfalls, flowers, and even insects -- can take on mythic identities when viewed through the eyes of a child.

The idea for Firefly was born one night as I watched my four-year-old become mesmerized by a firefly that had wandered into our front yard. When I asked her what she thought of the "firefly" she looked at me with a puzzled look and said with a corrective tone, "Dad, that is not a firefly... that's Tinkerbell, and she's come to take me with her on an adventure!"

Firefly is dedicated to my daughters Sophia and Nyla, who ignite my imagination and bring awe and wonder into my life every day.

- Program Note by composer

Media

Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown
Audio CD: Hillcrest High School Wind Ensemble (Andrew Pettis, conductor) - 2009
Audio CD: North Texas Wind Symphony (Eugene Migliaro Corporon, conductor) - 2011

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Lake Agassiz Wind Symphony (Fargo, N.D.) (Warren Olfert, conductor) - 14 January 2023
Lamar University Wind Ensemble (Andrew McMahan, conductor) - 22 November 2022
Northwestern University (Evanston, Ill.) Symphonic Band (Shawn Vondran, conductor) - 23 October 2022
Rutgers University (New Brunswick, N.J.) Symphony Band (Julia Baumanis, conductor) - 9 December 2021
West Virginia University (Morgantown) Wind Symphony (Scott C. Tobias, conductor) - 23 February 2021
Brigham Young University (Provo, Utah) Symphonic Band (Kirk Saville, conductor) – 26 February 2020
Texas Tech University (Lubbock) Concert Band (Ryan Smith, conductor) – 25 February 2020
Cypress Bay High School (Weston, Fl.) Wind Ensemble (Michael D. Scott, conductor) - 17 January 2020
Pacific Lutheran University (Parkland, Wash.) Wind Ensemble (Edwin Powell, conductor) – 24 November 2019
Panther Creek High School (Cary, N.C.) Wind Ensemble (David Robinson, conductor) – 21 November 2019
California State University Northridge Wind Ensemble (Lawrence Stoffel, conductor) – 19 November 2019
Wichita (Kan.) Youth Wind Ensemble (Timothy Shade, conductor) – 11 November 2019
University of Wisconsin-Madison Concert Band (Scott Teeple, conductor) – 22 October 2019
University of Nebraska at Omaha Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Karen Fannin, conductor) - 3 October 2019
Ithaca (N.Y.) College Wind Symphony (Benjamin Rochford, conductor) – 25 April 2019
The Ohio State University (Columbus) Wind Symphony (Russell C. Mikkelson, conductor) – 4 April 2019
University of Manitoba (Winnipeg, Man., Can.) Wind Ensemble (Jacquie Dawson, conductor) - 29 March 2019
Baylor University (Waco, Texas) Wind Ensemble (J. Eric Wilson, conductor) – 5 March 2019
State University of New York, Fredonia, All College Band (Carrie Pawelski, conductor) – 27 February 2019
Binghamton (N.Y.) University Wind Symphony (Daniel Fabricius, conductor) – 24 February 2019
The Ohio State University (Columbus) Symphonic Band (Michael Weintraub, conductor) – 14 February 2019
Oregon State University (Corvallis) Wind Symphony (Olin Hannum, conductor) – 27 November 2018
University Of North Carolina, Greensboro, Symphonic Band (Kevin Geraldi, Conductor) – 14 November 2018h.)

Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

Autobahn (Flex instrumentation) (2008/2020)
Café 512 (Flex instrumentation) (2010/2020)
Jinx (Flex instrumentation) (2017/2020)

All Wind Works

Resources

George, R. (2008). Firefly: For Wind Ensemble [score]. Fornine Music: [Cedar Park, Tx.?]
Ryan George website