Weird Birds
General Info
Year: 2010
Duration: c. 8:50
Difficulty: VII (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Unpublished
Cost: Score and Parts - Unknown
Instrumentation
Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
English Horn
Bassoon I-II
Contrabassoon
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
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-III
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
Piano
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV, including:
- Bass Drum
- Glockenspiel
- Marimba
- Ratchet
- Snare Drum
- Splash Cymbal
- Suspended Cymbal
- Tam-Tam
- Tom-Toms (4)
- Triangle
- Vibraphone
- Whip (optional)
- Wood Block
- Xylophone
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
My goal was to write a colorful piece that focused on soloistic writing. The quick tempo and busy flourishes sit in contrast to the broad melodies lines that rise and fall throughout. The title has no exact meaning, though it makes me think of these things: penguins, the Wright brothers, Charlie Parker, a loose flock of parrots that frequent my neighborhood, lovers on different continents, cloud-seeding, the National Science Foundation employees that work in Antarctica, crisscrossing jet contrails that glow orange in the evening sky, and other anomalies in life that seem quirky, beautiful, heartbreaking, and ominous.
- Program Note by composer
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- University of Nebraska Omaha Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Karen Fannin, conductor) – 6 December 2019 *Premiere Performance*
Works for Winds by This Composer
- Quasar
- Vapor Dance
- Water, Falling Upwards (2011)
- Weird Birds (2010)
Resources
- Perusal score
- Seth Shafer, personal correspondence, December 2019
- Seth Shafer website Accessed 7 December 2019