Odds and Unevens

From Wind Repertory Project
Olin Hannum

Olin Hannum


Subtitle: A Short Transformation for Wind Ensemble


General Info

Year: 2018
Duration: c. 5:10
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Murphy Music Press
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $150.00   |   Score Only (print) - $30.00


Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon (div. a2)
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III-IV
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III-IV
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV-V, including:

  • Chimes
  • Crotales (both octaves)
  • Glockenspiel
  • Suspended Cymbal
  • Vibraphone
  • Xylophone (3.5 octaves)


Errata

In Parts:

  • Chimes/Suspended Cymbal, m. 157-167: Should be played on Suspended Cymbal instead of Chimes


In Score and Parts:

  • Chimes/Suspended Cymbal, Suspended Cymbal, m. 142: Add a tremolo on the whole note
  • Timpani, m. 159: Remove the flat symbol from the D
  • Timpani, m. 161: Remove the flat symbol from the D


Program Notes

For a while I had been fascinated by our willingness to raise our chances of attaining goals without being able to guarantee anything. We expend tremendous effort to make us more likely to find success, while maintaining a collective understanding that all aspirations are a roll of the dice to a certain extent.

Want to open a great restaurant? Roll the dice. If you’ve gone to culinary school, studied business management, and/or apprenticed at other establishments in the past, maybe the dice have a higher chance of coming up positive, but it’s never a guarantee. The same stands for any complex pursuit; engineer, composer, teacher. Climb a mountain, be drafted into the NBA, become a grandmaster. We can be pointed toward a path that will increase our odds, but nothing is a sure thing.

It’s crazy to me that we’re all casually content with that dynamic. It’s crazy to me that we are all satisfied to walk through the world with this weight of uncertainty looming over us, following us around like a cartoon rain cloud.

I had been wanting to write a piece that reflects that tension for some time. The bump that the piece needed was a conversation I had with a friend of mine in the spring of 2018 in which it was remarked that it’s hard to find interesting, specifically modern, quality literature under around eight minutes long. This piece was written to help fix that, or at least that’s a goal.

- Program Note by composer


Dedicated to my wife and best friend in the world, Megan Hannum, who has always encouraged me to take chances and roll the dice.

- Program Note from score


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • Julien Winds (Dubuque, Iowa) (Rob Stull, conductor) - 5 November 2023
  • Central Michigan University (Mount Pleasant) Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Christopher C. Chapman, conductor) – 26 November 2019
  • Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association All-Southern 2019 High School Wind Ensemble (Chris Chapman, conductor) – 27 January 2019
  • Portland (Ore.) Wind Symphony (Chris Chapman, conductor) – 29 October 2018 *Premiere Performance*


Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources