Program Notes

About the project

In June 2023, Dr. Melanie Brooks Dinh, Director of Bands at Winona State University, and I met to discuss the 47th Annual High School Honors Band Festival to be held at WSU in November 2024. I was invited to serve as composer-in-residence for the festival and compose a new work for concert band.

I mentioned a crazy idea that had been percolating in my mind for a few years – a piece combining traditional concert band and music technology that could be performed in real-time while not relying on a “click track,” giving the conductor and performers expressive freedom in the performance. Together, we applied for a Creative Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. In March 2024, our project was awarded $10,000, and the project became a reality.

The best way to describe re-synth is to call it a modern take on the classical “Concerto Grosso,” where the musical material is passed between a small group of soloists (concertino) and full ensemble (ripieno). In this work, the concertino, aka “Techs,” trigger samples of music originally recorded by members of the Symphonic Wind Ensemble as well as some “found sound” samples – birdsongs, cheering, etc.

The samples were recorded in April 2024 by principal players of all wind and percussion instruments (photos). Over three days, the students and I set up a portable recording studio in various rooms of the WSU music department. The students were given a set of scales and arpeggios in four modes – B-flat Lydian, E-flat Dorian, E-flat Phrygian, and B-flat Mixolydian. (Learn more about modal scales.) Along with the scales and arpeggios, the students also provided “crazy sounds” on their instruments. Samples from all the participants are included in the final composition.

I believe that all stakeholders should be involved as part of the process of composing a new piece. Because the work was planned to be in three movements, the students decided whether Dorian or Phrygian sounded “more minor” to their ears. Dorian won by about 13 percent.

On a quiet Friday afternoon the day after Independence Day, I sat at the baby grand in our living room and “noodled” on some thematic ideas for the three movements. The noodling led to changes not only in the order of the movements, but also the relative keys. Lydian, originally the last movement, swapped places with Mixolydian to become the first movement. 

The Lydian samples were recorded in B-flat. Lydian mode is based on the fourth note of a major scale. B-flat is the fourth note in the key of F. That's where the noodling took me and Lydian became the first movement.

The Dorian middle movement samples were essentially written in E-flat minor with the sixth note of the scale raised a half step. This movement decided to stay in the original key and position as the second movement.

The Mixolydian samples were recorded in B-flat. Mixolydian mode is based on the fifth note of a major scale – aka the "dominant." For reasons I'll never fully understand, a 3-2 (son) clavé rhythm took hold of this movement, and the B-flat Mixolydian scale decided to point to the key of E-flat. With all it’s joyful energy, Mixolydian had to be the final movement of the work. Even though the keys of the first and third movements are not as I originally envisioned, the melodies and the accompanying soloist loops still strongly reference their respective modes.

That’s a lot of music theory to digest! All in all, the noodling made for pleasant afternoon. When I was satisfied with an idea, I recorded it using the Voice Memo app on my phone. I recently listened to those recordings and was pleasantly surprised how well they matched the finished score.  

About the music

I. Lydian

The first movement opens with the sounds of local songbirds followed by sampled vibraphone, setting the tempo of the movement. The woodwinds play the gently rolling “A” theme that emphasizes the raised fourth of the Lydian scale. In a call and response between the ensemble and soloists, the listener might not be sure if they are hearing “real” or “sampled” clarinets in the first statement of the theme. However, when the theme repeats, the distinction is obvious.

The fluttering of wings as the birds fly away leads to the first solo section played by Techs. A marimba ostinato leads to overlapping entrances by samples of baritone sax, oboe, flute, alto sax, piccolo, bassoon, and finally trumpet each adding elements of the Lydian scale. As the soloists’ section ends, the sampled vibraphone reestablishes the tempo leading to a “B” theme based completely on ascending and descending B-flat Lydian scales. Each time the scales repeat more harmony is added, leading to a climactic restatement of the “A” theme. As the final cadence sounds, the birdsongs return bringing the arc of the first movement full circle.

II. Dorian

Three descending notes – F, B-flat, E-flat – on sampled bowed vibraphone serve as the transition from Lydian to Dorian. Now it is the brass family’s turn. A “real” muted trumpet is answered by its sampled companion as the unhurried Dorian “A” theme is introduced. When the theme repeats, horn and unmuted trumpets are echoed by their digital equivalents. Moving into the heroic bridge, we hear rapid arpeggios of sampled trombone and trumpet that would be nearly impossible to play acoustically. In the background is a flowing sample of a rain stick that is essentially unaltered from the original.

As the rain stick fades, we reach the second extended soloist section. This time, the entrances of the various soloists feel less metered, more aleatoric. Again, pitch, tempo, and even the direction of the samples have all been manipulated. In order, we hear oboe, tenor sax, tuba, alto sax, marimba, bassoon, flute, trombone, timpani, euphonium, baritone sax, clarinet, orchestral bells, bass clarinet, and piccolo! The feeling of uncertainty as the samples mingle together gives way to sampled chimes playing an ascending E-flat Dorian scale leading back to a restatement of the bridge. The rain stick makes a final appearance as the horn and trumpet samples echo the theme one last time.

III. Mixolydian

As the final chord of the Dorian movement fades, a sampled cowbell that will continue through the entire movement sets the up-tempo beat for the final movement. Sampled bassoon establishes the 3:2 (son) clavé rhythm, and it’s off to the races for the final rondo form movement – ABACADA.

We are now in the key of E-flat, where the B-flat Mixolydian scale fits perfectly as the fifth or “dominant” note. The first A section of the movement is played by the full wind ensemble while the Techs add flashes of color at key moments. 

As the A section ends, the soloists begin a contrasting B section keeping the rhythmic energy alive with four simple thematic “riffs”. The samples here are flute, tenor sax, wood block, and trumpet. The Techs are instructed to rotate a knob on their MIDI keyboard to increase and decrease the FX applied to each sample. This makes it impossible for two performances of this movement to ever be the same. 

A second full statement of the A theme by the full ensemble leads to section C. Here the four sampled riffs from section B are inverted and played by marimba, timpani, xylophone, and crotales. Again, the Techs have full control over the FX applied to their samples.

The final statement of the A theme leads to the D section, where section B and C section riffs play together. The wind ensemble joins the celebration playing the same riffs along with the Techs’ crazy jumble of FX laden sounds all leading back to the last few bars of the A section as the entire group accents the 3:2 clavé rhythm that started it all.

My sincere thanks to Caroline Kirk who graciously proofed my original draft of these notes. Her suggestions were insightful and invaluable.