New Era Dance
Aaron Jay Kernis (ed. Martin)
General Info
Year: 1992 / 2016
Duration: c. 8:00
Difficulty: VI (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Associated Music Publishers
Cost: Score and Parts - Rental | Score Only - $45.00
Instrumentation
Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II (also playing Police Whistles)
Contrabassoon (also playing Police Whistle)
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III-IV
B-flat Bass Clarinet I-II (also playing Police Whistles)
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet (also playing Police Whistle)
B-flat Soprano Saxophone
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
C Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Baritone I-II
Tuba
String Bass (2 preferred; also playing Police Whistles)
Piano/Keyboard (also playing Police Whistle)
Timpani (also playing Medium Bass Drum)
Percussion I-II-III-IV, including:
- Bongos
- Chimes
- Claves
- Conga Drums, medium and high
- Cowbells, high (2)
- Crash Cymbals (small and large)
- Flexatones (2)
- Glockenspiel
- Guiro
- Hand Crank Sirens (with stop mechanism) (2)
- High Triangle
- Kick Drum
- Large Bass Drum
- Large Tam-tam
- Marimba (2 if possible)
- Piccolo Snare Drum
- Pistol with blanks
- Police Whistles (2)
- Ride Cymbal
- Snare Drum
- Splash Cymbal
- Splashy Hi-Hat
- Suspended Cymbals (low, medium, and high)
- Thunder Sheet
- Timbales (medium and high)
- Tom-toms (4)
- Various Ratchets & Noisemakers (ala New Year’s Eve)
- Vibraphone
- Wood Blocks (medium and high)
- Xylophone
Optional pre-recorded audio cues
Program Notes
"New Era Dance is dedicated and written in celebration of a new era of leadership at the New York Philharmonic, in anticipation of the new millennium to come in the Year 2000, in hope for a time of imperative political and social change in this country." - Aaron Jay Kernis
New Era Dance was written in the summer of 1992: immediately following the Los Angeles riots. It is a "multi-layered, virtuosic work ... that is larger than life. The composer drew upon the pulsing, rhythmic music that blares on the streets of his neighborhood, the Washington Heights section of NYC: Latin salsa, street rap, gypsy-camp folk, disco and 50s jazz are also added to the tumultuous mix ... an explosion of New York exuberance." (The Times)
- Peter Stanley Martin, Autograph Editions, Series Editor
Media
Audio Sample: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, David Zinman, conductor
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- University of Arizona (Tucson) Wind Ensemble (Chad R. Nicholson, conductor) – 16 October 2019
- Mahidol Wind Orchestra (Nakhonpathom THAILAND), Thanapol Setabrahmana, conductor – 18 July 2016
- Rutgers University (New Brunswick, N.J.) Wind Ensemble (Kraig Williams, conductor) – 11 March 2016 (CBDNA 2016 Eastern Division Conference, New London, Conn.) *Premiere Performance*
Works for Winds by This Composer
- For Love of the Mountains (2016)
- New Era Dance (1992/2016)
- Overture in Feet and Meters (2000/2015)
- a Voice, a Messager (2010)
Resources
- Kernis, A.; Martin, P. (2016). New Era Dance : For Wind Ensemble [score]. Associated Music Publishers, Inc.: New York.