36 Blocks
General Info
Year: 2018
Duration: c. 12:30
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Morningtide Music
Cost: Score and Parts - Unknown
Instrumentation
Full Score
C Piccolo I-II
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
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-III
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
Piano
Timpani
Percussion I-VI, including:
- Bass Drum
- Chimes
- Glockenspiel
- Marimba
- Snare Drum
- Suspended Cymbals (4)
- Tam-Tam
- Tom-Toms
- Vibraphone
- Woodblocks
- Xylophone
Narrator (optional)
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
On May 31 and June 1, 1921, an angry white mob launched attacks in the black community of Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma. No one is entirely sure of all of the inciting action, but the next morning, the ruins of approximately thirty-six blocks of, at that time, the wealthiest black community in the United States smoldered as hundreds of black men, women, and children were injured or killed and thousands were detained.
As a student in Oklahoma, I never heard about this dark part of Tulsa's history. The Race Riot Commission, formed in 1996 to investigate the events of the massacre, did not release its report until 2001, after I entered college out of state. Not knowing, however, is not an excuse. We must all do our part to recognize injustice and to attempt to make things right for future generations. Today, this tragic series of events is finally being both acknowledged and remembered by some, while others continue to deny, minimize, or ignore the massacre of 1921 and the tremendous loss to Tulsa.
36 Blocks was commissioned by the Bixby High School Wind Ensemble in Bixby, Oklahoma, and was premiered at the 2019 Oklahoma Music Educators' Association Convention on January 18, 2019, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. At the premiere, 36 Blocks was performed along with "Recipe for a Massacre", a poem by Quraysh Ali Lansana. This piece is influenced by ragtime, gospel piano, 1920s jazz, and the spiritual "Hold On Just a Little While Longer". The last chord remains unresolved, but it is my ultimate hope that I can eventually revise this measure and add a final resolution when reconciliation is achieved at last.
- Program Note from score by composer
Media
- Audio: Bixby High School Wind Ensemble (Bixby, Okla.) – 18 January 2019
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- University of California Santa Barbara Wind Ensemble (Andy Radford, conductor) - 17 November 2022
- University of Tulsa (Okla.) Wind Ensemble (Andrew Anderson, conductor) - 28 February 2022
- Mid America Freedom Band (Kansas City, Mo.) (Lee Hartman, conductor) – 17 October 2021
- Bixby High School Wind Ensemble (Bixby, Okla.) – 18 January 2019
Works for Winds by This Composer
- ....red, white, and starry blue... (2021)
- 36 Blocks (2018)
- Boomtown (2018)
- Carol of the Bells (as arranger) (2021)
- Cha Cha Chopsticks (2016)
- flash, dash, DYNAMO (2019)
- Ghost Town Waltz (2018)
- Glitch (2020)
- Hullabaloo (2021)
- On a frozen lake (2017)
- The Purple Dragon (2013)
- Simple Gifts (as arranger) (2017)
Resources
- Perusal Score
- Tulsa Race Massacre – Accessed 10 December 2021