Silver Lining

From Wind Repertory Project
Frank Ticheli

Frank Ticheli


Subtitle: Concerto for Flute and Wind Ensemble


General Info

Year: 2017
Duration: c. 23:40
Difficulty: VI (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Manhattan Beach Music
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $375.00   |   Score Only (print) - $135.00


Movements

1. Game - 8:20
2. The Girl with the Flaxen Hair - 8:48
3. Silver Lining - 5:45


Instrumentation

Full Score
Solo Flute
C Piccolo (doubles Flute)
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Contra Alto Clarinet
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II
Horn in F I-II
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III, including:

  • Bongos
  • Cabasa
  • Chimes
  • Crotales
  • Drum Set
  • Flexatone
  • Guiro
  • Maracas
  • Marimba
  • Slapstick
  • Snare Drum
  • Suspended Cymbal
  • Tam-Tam
  • Temple Blocks
  • Tom-Tom
  • Triangle
  • Vibraphone
  • Vibra-slap
  • Wood Blocks(3)
  • Xylophone


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Frank Ticheli, whose orchestral works have received considerable recognition, describes the first movement of the concerto as inspired by his teenage son’s love of video games. The concerto’s form progresses in a way that mimics the progression of a video game –- he adds pitch, then chords and sprinkles in transitional episodes. He says, “The rapid interaction between the soloist and the ensemble suggests a competition, a fun game, with no clear winner in the end.”

Dr. Ticheli cites the inspiration for the second movement as a tribute to the memory of Lara Barnett, the late wife of the main commissioner of the concerto, Peter Warshaw. “The movement is largely built around a melodic setting of American poet, Sara Teasdale’s poem, A Little While.”

The final movement, Ticheli says, “serves as a bright and joyous contrast to the second movement. It moves alternately between ebullient dance-like energy and carefree lyricism.” The dynamic between the soloist and the ensemble develops here further, as they take turns sharing the spotlight.

- Program Note from USC Thornton School of Music concert program, 27 October 2017


Silver Lining is a new concerto for flute and wind ensemble. It was commissioned by Peter Warshaw, in memory of his late wife, Lara Barnett, with assistance from the Worldwide Concurrent Premieres and Commissioning Fund, Inc. The premiere performance was given at the National Flute Association Convention, Minneapolis, Minnesota, on 11 August, 2017, with Jerry Luckhardt’s Medalist Concert Band, soloist Jim Walker, and composer Frank Ticheli as guest conductor.

The first movement, Game, was inspired partly by the affinity of the composer’s son for video games. Ticheli became acquainted with the elements of game-play and used these to create an overall form for the movement. The “Game” opens with a tutorial in which the basic rhythmic devices are introduced as only air or air-like sounds. The movement progresses through various levels of play. The rapidity of the interaction between soloist and ensemble suggests a competition: a fun game with no clear winner in the end.

The second movement serves as a personal tribute to the memory of Lara Bamett, the late wife of the primary patron of the concerto, and someone known personally to Frank Ticheli as a student in one of his classes in the 1980s. At its core is a melodic setting of Sara Teasdale’s poem, A Little While.

A little while when I am gone
My life will live in music after me,
As spun foam lifted and borne on
After the wave is lost in the full sea.
A while these nights and days will burn
In song with the bright frailty of foam,
Living in the light before they turn
Back to the nothingness that is their home.

Ticheli set the verse, word for word, to a melodic line for solo flute. He then removed the text, in a style similar to the final movement of Alban Berg’s Lyric Suite. As the solo melody unfolds, a new idea emerges in the ensemble: a paraphrase of the main theme from Debussy’s La fille aux cheveux de lin (The Girl with the Flaxen Hair), the dedicatee’s favorite piece. Debussy’s own melody is woven into the texture of the work, always as a subtle accompaniment to the soloist.

The conclusion serves as a bright and joyous contrast to the second movement. It alternates between motives of ebullient dance-like energy and carefree lyricism. With a pervasive sense of optimism, soloist and ensemble share the spotlight for the finale.

- Program Note from The Virginia Wind Symphony concert program, 21 December 2017


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • Rainbow City (Seattle, Wash.) Concert Band (Stephen Kennedy, conductor; Sarah Bassingthwaighte, flute) — 17 November 2023
  • Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, Penn.) Wind Ensemble (George Vosburgh, conductor; Delia Zaleski, flute) - 11 February 2023
  • United States Navy Band (Washington, D.C.) I (Kenneth C. Collins, conductor; Brittany Marod, flute) - 19 December 2022 (2022 Midwest Clinic)
  • George Mason University (Fairfax, Va.) Wind Symphony (Mark Camphouse, conductor) – 8 October 2019
  • University of Miami (Fla.) Frost Wind Ensemble (Jeffrey Summers, conductor; Trudy Kane, flute) – 24 March 2019
  • Cornell University (Ithaca, N.Y.) Wind Symphony (James Spinazzola, conductor; Juliana Pepinsky, flute) – 2 March 2019
  • Dallas (Tx.) Winds (Jerry Junkin, conductor; Marianne Gedigan, flute) – 13 November 2018
  • University of North Texas (Denton) Wind Symphony (Eugene Migliaro Corporon, conductor; Jim Walker, flute) – 8 November 2018
  • University of Texas, Arlington, Wind Symphony (Douglas Stotter, conductor; Terri Sanchez, flute) – 2 April 2018
  • University of Houston (Tx.) Wind Ensemble (David Clemmer, conductor; Jim Walker, flute) – 23 March 2018 (CBDNA 2018 Southwestern Conference, Houston, Texas)
  • University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) Concert Band (Courtney Snyder, conductor) – 16 March 2018
  • The University of South Carolina (Columbia) Symphonic Winds (Cormac Cannon, conductor) – 23 February 2018 (CBDNA 2018 Southern Conference, Tampa, Fla.)
  • Texas A&M University (College Station) Wind Symphony (Timothy Rhea, conductor; Leslie Daniel Newman, flute) – 23 February 2018
  • University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) Concert Band (Courtney Snyder, conductor; Amy Porter, flute) – 22 February 2018 (CBDNA 2018 North Central Conference, Kalamazoo, Mich.)
  • Virginia Wind Symphony (Norfolk) (Frank Ticheli, conductor; Jim Walker, flute) - 21 December 2017 (2017 Midwest Clinic)
  • University of Texas (Austin) Wind Ensemble (Jerry Junkin, conductor; Marianne Gedigian, flute) – 10 December 2017
  • Arkansas State University (Jonesboro) Wind Ensemble (Timothy Oliver, conductor; Tara Schwab, flute) – 9 November 2017
  • University of Kansas (Lawrence) Wind Ensemble (Paul Popiel, conductor; Jim Walker, flute) – 8 November 2017
  • Medalist Concert Band (Minneapolis, Minn.) (Frank Ticheli, conductor; Jim Walker, flute) – 11 August 2017 *Premiere Performance*


Works for Winds by This Composer

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