Dream Elegy

Jonathan Bailey Holland

General Info

Year: 2015
Duration: c. 7:40
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Klangfarbe Music
Cost: Score and Parts - $25.00

Instrumentation

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

Glockenspiel

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

The year 2014 marked the deaths of Jordan Baker (Houston, Tx.), McKenzie Cochran (Southfield, Mich.), Yvette Smith (Bastrop, Tx.), Eric Garner (Long Island), Michael Brown (Ferguson, Mo.), John Crawford Jr. (Beavercreek, Ohio), Dante Parker (San Bernardino, Calif.), Ezell Ford (Los Angeles, Calif.), Kajieme Powell (St. Louis, Mo.), Akai Gurley (New York), Tamir Rice (age 12, Cleveland, Ohio), and Rumain Brisbon (Phoenix, Ariz.), all of whom were unarmed, and all of whom were shot by police or security personnel. With the increasing frequency of these shootings, and the lack of accountability or condemnation of those guilty of committing these acts (and all the other similar incidents that didn’t receive national attention), I felt moved to compose a work for those who were killed, and those who felt powerless against the “authorities” who were/are able to commit such acts without consequence, in the name of safety.

The fact that these events occurred during the second term of the countries first African American president only amplifies their significance. The dreams being elegized include Langston Hughes’s deferred dream from his iconic poem Harlem, Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech, and those of the victims of all of the incidents that spurred the Black Lives Matter movement.

- Program Note by composer

Media

(Needed - please join the WRP if you can help.)

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Indiana University (Bloomington) Concert Band (Jason S. Nam, conductor) – 8 November 2022
Eastman School of Music (Rochester, N.Y.) Wind Orchestra (Luke Camarillo, conductor) - 17 October 2022
University of Cincinnati (Ohio) College-Conservatory of Music Wind Symphony (Laura Reyes, conductor) - 1 October 2021
Charles River Wind Ensemble (Newton Centre, Mass.) (Matthew M. Marsit, conductor) - 7 November 2020
Boston (Mass.) Conservatory Wind Ensemble (Eric Hewitt, conductor) – 24 February 2017 *Premiere Performance*

Works for Winds by This Composer

Resources

The Horizon Leans Forward…, compiled and edited by Erik Kar Jun Leung, GIA Publications, 2021, p. 360.
Jonathan Bailey Holland, personal correspondence, April 2017
Jonathan Bailey Holland website Accessed 24 February 2017