Strut

From Wind Repertory Project
Libby Larsen

Libby Larsen


General Info

Year: 2002 / 2008
Duration: c. 8:00
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Cost: Score and Parts - Rental


Instrumentation

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

  • Bass Drum
  • Bee-Bee Shaker
  • Bongos
  • Castanets
  • Chimes
  • Claves
  • Hi-Hat
  • Marimba
  • Ride Cymbal
  • Snare Drum
  • Suspended Cymbal
  • Tom-Tom
  • Triangle (medium)
  • Vibraphone
  • Wood Blocks (high and medium)


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

When Timothy Mahr invited me to compose a work for the St. Olaf Band, a work to celebrate 100 years of the Department of Music at St. Olaf College, I was immediately honored and intrigued with the possibilities that music offers a composer to “honor” music making and the tremendous talent and vigor of St. Olaf’s professional and student musicians over the past century. For some reason, the phrase “strut your stuff” exploded into my mind and I recognized that this new work, Strut, had to spring from that inspiration.

‘Strut.’ What a word! Writers such as Dickens, Shakespeare, and Nabokov employ the word ‘strut’ to capture the essence of their subjects. Traced back to its Old High German roots its meaning is “to stand out, project”. Traced to its old Norwegian roots, its meaning is “obstinate resistance.” Traced to its American English roots, its meaning is “to display one’s ability with a certain attitude.” The Webster’s New Twentieth Century Dictionary defines the word ‘strut' as “to walk with a lofty, proud gait;” while the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language states, “IDIOM: strut (one's) stuff. Slang: To behave or perform in an ostentatious manner; show off.”

‘Strut’ is a noun: a dance, a brace, a support; a verb with many synonyms including swell, bulge, thrust forth, stick out, contend, strive, quarrel, and bluster as well as exult, swagger and “to stand erect at one’s full height.” One might say that precision is the full height at which a world class concert band stands. I took this to heart and build the music of Strut around the idea of the ability of the band to play precisely within an unerring beat while rarely hearing it articulated. The conductor holds the beat and the ensemble must feel it and its subdivisions exactly in order to realize the precision and flow of the music.

All of these meanings -- nouns, verb, and attitudes -- are at the heart of this new celebratory work for the great and renown St. Olaf Band. All that remains is for the band to do what it does so well -- strut its stuff.

- Program Note by composer


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project


Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources

  • The Horizon Leans Forward…, compiled and edited by Erik Kar Jun Leung, GIA Publications, 2021, p. 383.
  • Larsen, L. (2008). Strut: For Concert Band [score]. Oxford University Press: [s.l.].
  • Libby Larsen website Accessed 7 October 2018
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