Muse
General Info
Year: 2014
Duration: c. 3:45
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Joshua Hobbs
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $80.00; (digital) - $60.00 | Score Only (print) - $40.00; (digital) - $20.00
Instrumentation
Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II-III-IV
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III-IV
B-flat Bass Clarinet
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
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-IV
Euphonium
Tuba
Piano
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV, including:
- Bass Drum
- Crash Cymbals
- Glockenspiel
- Hi-Hat
- Kick Drum
- Marimba
- Slapstick
- Snare Drum
- Suspended Cymbal
- Tambourine
- Tam-Tam
- Triangle
- Vibraphone
- Xylophone
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
When Josh Blair commissioned me to write a concert opener for his doctoral conducting recital, he did not specify a particular theme or concept for the piece. He left me with a blank palette just waiting to be painted -- welcome news to composers! I decided to compose a piece depicting the spark provided to me in my music by my muse, my beautiful fiancee, Tori.
The four notes that make up the fanfare call by the trumpets in the opening measure serve as the foundation of the work’s most prominent themes. This motif (in one form or another) permeates the piece, even as the tonality and mood of the piece shifts. A career in music can be summed up as a metaphor for my life and our marriage: the journey -- through its twists, turns, highs and lows -- is not always easy, but it is worth it and easily the thing I am most thankful for.
Commissioned by and dedicated to Joshua Blair, for his final conducting recital of his doctoral degree from the University of South Florida.
- Program Note by composer
Awards
- Washington and Lee Wind Ensemble Composition Contest, Postgraduate/Professional Category, winner, 2017
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Washington and Lee University (Lexington, Va.) Wind Ensemble (Christopher Dobbins, conductor) - 8 November 2021
- Washington and Lee University (Lexington, Va.) Wind Ensemble (Christopher Dobbins, conductor) – 6 November 2017
Works for Winds by This Composer
- Always (2023)
- And More (2021)
- Blind Tiger (2020)
- Flight 19 (2011)
- Into the Blue (2016)
- Keystone Landscapes (2018)
- The Life in Your Years (2019)
- Many Hearts One Pulse (2017)
- Muse (2014)
- Outbreak (2013)
- Turn the Page (2017)
- Vienna Philharmonic Fanfare (as arranger) (1924/2015)
Resources
- Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music. "Josh Hobbs." Accessed 9 September 2017
- Joshua Hobbs website Accessed 9 September 2017
- Perusal score