Through the Looking Glass

From Wind Repertory Project
Jess Langston Turner

Jess Langston Turner


Subtitle: Fanfare for Wind Band


General Info

Year: 2008
Duration: c. 2:48
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Bluejay Way Music
Cost: Score & Parts - $120.00


Instrumentation

Full Score
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
B-flat Soprano Saxophone
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
Bass Trombone
Euphonium I-II
Tuba
String Bass
Harp
Piano
Timpani Percussion I-II-III, including:

  • Bass Drum
  • Chimes
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Glockenspiel (or Orchestra Bells)
  • Marimba
  • Snare Drum
  • Suspended Cymbal
  • Xylophone


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

The composer writes:

"When I began composing Through the Looking Glass I knew that I wanted to write a piece that was fantastical in nature -- a piece that would transport us into an imaginary land where anything is possible. I chose the title Through the Looking Glass because just as Alice's doorway to Wonderland was her "looking glass," this fanfare is a doorway to a world of musical landscapes." "The piece is constructed of two different elements: a pervasive rhythmic pattern and an entire pitch vocabulary of only five different notes that are arranged in many different ways -- sometimes in long angular lines and other times in massive blocks of sound. Underneath all of this is the driving rhythmic impetus that propels the piece forward. These combined elements are meant to convey the imagery of colorful and fantastical shapes and images hurtling past the listener as he or she is transported to a new musical world where anything is possible."

Through the Looking Glass is composed to be a concert opener, bringing the audience into the musical world created by the concert they are about to hear. In this way, this piece acts in a similar manner to the looking glass through which Alice was able to gain access to her wonderland. The entire three minutes of the piece consists of only five different pitches which are constantly reconfigured into running passages, ostinati, and thrilling fanfares.

Through the Looking Glass was premiered by the Bob Jones University Symphonic Wind Band on May 2, 2008, with Dr. Dan Turner conducting.

- Program Notes by Jess Langston Turner


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • University of Manitoba (Winnepeg, Can.) Wind Ensemble (Jacquie Dawson, conductor) - 14 October 2023
  • University of Minnesota (Minneapolis) Maroon Campus Band (Rose Craig Tyler, conductor) - 20 April 2023
  • Illinois State University (Normal) Symphonic Winds (F. Mack Wood, conductor) - 31 March 2023
  • University of Texas (Austin) Symphony Band (Clifton Croomes, conductor) – 28 March 2022
  • California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Wind Ensemble (Nicholas P. Waldron, conductor) – 8 March 2020
  • University of Chicago (Ill.) University Wind Ensemble (Nicholas J. Carlson, conductor) – 23 February 2020
  • Hoover (Ala.) High School Symphonic Winds (Jeff Fondren, conductor) – 20 February 2020 (CBDNA 2020 Southern Division Conference, Natchitoches, La.)
  • Texas Tech University (Lubbock) Symphonic Band (Sarah McKoin, conductor) – 19 February 2020 (CBDNA 2020 Southwestern Division Conference, Norman, Okla.)
  • Texas Community College Band Directors Association (TCCBDA) Symphonic Band - 15 February 2020 (2020 TMEA Conference, San Antonio)
  • University of Georgia (Athens) Hodgson Symphonic Band (Emily Mariko Eng, conductor) – 10 February 2020
  • Baylor University (Waco, Texas) Symphonic Band (Isaiah Odajima, conductor) – 7 February 2020
  • Texas Tech University (Lubbock) Symphony Band (Eric Allen, conductor) – 24 November 2019
  • University of Texas, Arlington, Wind Symphony (Douglas Stotter, conductor) – 18 October 2019
  • Virginia Tech (Blacksburg) Wind Ensemble (Derek Shapiro, conductor) – 13 October 2019
  • University of Iowa (Iowa City) Concert Band (Eric Bush, conductor) – 10 October 2019
  • University of North Carolina, Greensboro, Wind Ensemble (Kevin M. Geraldi, conductor) – 8 October 2019
  • University of Arizona (Tucson) Wind Symphony (Chad Shoopman, conductor) – 26 September 2019
  • University of Minnesota (Minneapolis) Symphonic Band (Jerry Luckhardt, conductor) – 5 March 2019
  • Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (Parkland, Fla.) Wind Symphony (Robert Carnochan, conductor) - 20 December 2018 (2018 Midwest Clinic)
  • Brooklyn (N.Y.) Wind Symphony (Jeff W. Ball, conductor) – 29 November 2018 (NYSSMA Conference, Rochester, N.Y.)


Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources