Learning to Stay
General Info
Year: 2021
Duration: c. 7:40
Difficulty: VI (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Christina J. George
Cost: Score and Parts - contact composer
Instrumentation
Full Score
C Piccolo (doubling Flute V and Whirly Tube; in balcony or in back of the hall)
Flute I-II-III-IV (doubling Whirly Tube; in balcony or in back of the hall)
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
Contrabassoon
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-VI (in audience)
B-flat Bass Clarinet
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I (doubling B-flat Soprano Saxophone)
E-flat Alto Saxophone II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Piccolo Trumpet I-II (in audience)
B-flat Trumpet III-IV-V-VI (in audience)
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
Piano
Percussion I-II-III-IV-V, including:
- Bass Drum
- Marimba
- Ocean Drum
- Suspended Cymbal
- Tam-tam
- Thunder Sheet
- Triangle (2)
- Vibraphone I-II
Laptop (for Fixed Media)
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
In order for us to breathe in, the plants must first breathe out.
We spend so much of our lives running away from or climbing towards, we forget what it means to sit in stillness and simply be a part of the micro patterns that shape the macro. Whether we know it or not, we are a part of this ecosystem.
The earth needs us just as much as we need her.
LEARNING TO STAY
How many steps
until the very beginning?
circles and cycles,
patterns;
I’m hoping to catch one before sundown.Here in the cornfield,
the sound of fingers
grasping vapor —
ephemeral.
Close your eyes and count to ten.Forgetting the numbers,
you remember another rhythm,
one you left behind in another field,
on another shore.Does she remember you
when you call out her name?You open your eyes at the very beginning,
having taken no steps at all.
Learning to stay is not so simple
as learning to walk,
and yet I’d rather be in the circle
than running around the rim.
- Program Note by composer
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- West Chester (Penn.) University Wind Ensemble (Andrew Yozviak, conductor) - 7 October 2021 *Premiere Performance*
Works for Winds by This Composer
- it is, it is, it is what is (2018)
- Learning to Stay (2021)
Resources
- Christina J. George, personal correspondence, October 2021
- Christina J. George website Accessed 14 October 2021