INSTRUMENTATION :

Score in C

[Instruments that sound at the octave or double octave are notated at their written pitch; Harmonicas are always notated at concert / sounding pitch regardless of the specific tuning of each instrument]

2 Flutes (2nd doubling Piccolo)

2 Oboes (each doubling A Harmonica)*

2 Clarinet in B-flat (each doubling A Harmonica)* Bassoon (doubling G Harmonica)*

Contrabassoon (doubling G Harmonica)*

4 Horns in F (3rd and 4th each double G Harmonica and D Harmonica)*

2 Trumpets in C

2 Trombones

Tuba

Percussion (3 Players)

Total requirements:

Harmonicas in D and A,* Chimes, Vibraphone, Crotales (full lower octave), Almglocken (C4, D4, G4, A4), Bass Drum, Snare Drum, 2 Suspended Cymbals (high, low), 2 Sizzle cymbals, 2 China Cymbals, 4 Triangles (high, med.), Woodblock, Cabasa, Rainstick, Thunder Sheet, Bongos, Guiro, Tuned Gong (C#), Piece of Paper

Percussion 1:

Sizzle Cymbal, 2 Suspended Cymbals (high, low), 2 Triangles (high, med.), Woodblock, Bass Drum, Piece of Paper

Percussion 2:

Vibraphone, Sizzle Cymbal, China Cymbal, Cabasa, Rainstick, Almglocken (C4, D4, G4, A4), Crotales (full lower octave), Thunder Sheet (shared with Perc. 3), Tuned Gong (C#4)

Percussion 3:

Chimes, Bongos, Guiro, Snare Drum, D Harmonica, A Harmonica, 2 Triangles (high, med.), Thunder Sheet (shared with Perc. 2), China Cymbal

Piano (with preparation)

Harp

Strings

*Total Harmonica Requirements: 5 A Harmonicas, 4 G Harmonicas, 3 D Harmonicas (note: all harmonicas should be Hohner Blues Band Harmonicas (10 holes), or similar, using Richter tuning)

Duration: ca. 15 minutes

The inspiration for this work came from my standing in a forest near my house on a late afternoon. As I stood there amidst the trees – these magisterial, quiet, monumental, and seemingly wise beings – I felt their imposing yet comforting presence and listened to all the motion and movement that seemed to inhabit the “quiet” that surrounded me. It reminded me of a visit I made to my friend’s property in Vermont a few years prior, on an invitation to come and see the trees that were so dear to him, hoping they might inspire a musical composition. This has all been a starting point that unlocked my imagination in surprising ways, creating within and between spaces of stillness and motion and listening and singing In the work, players perform rustling, feathery sounds, the conductor “paints” gesturally through the ensemble in a music filled with entwining, chorale-like singing, meditative stillness and vibrantly charged musical textures woven through it all.

In Between II (2023) was co-commissioned by the Oberlin College & Conservatory for the Oberlin Sinfonietta, Timothy Weiss, Director, and co-commissioned by the New England Philharmonic, Tianhui Ng, Music Director. In Between II is dedicated to Michael Sporn, in memory.

In Between II is a full orchestral expansion of In Between (2022) for ensemble which was commissioned by the Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition for the Grossman Ensemble, and was dedicated to the Grossman Ensemble, conductor Timothy Weiss, and director and founder Augusta Read Thomas, with admiration and gratitude.