PROGRAM NOTE:
Aurora Fanfare & Dance was composed for the Aurora School of Music Clarinet Ensemble, a group of talented, advanced high school musicians led by the clarinet faculty, Jennifer Magistrelli. Knowing their skill and musicianship from several past performances, I wrote this work with great enthusiasm and joy! It is celebratory and energetic with an array of influences including the music of Paul Hindemith, Francis Poulenc, Stevie Wonder, Mario Kart, and musical theater.
Aurora Fanfare & Dance opens with colorful juxtapositions. In the fanfare, sonorous harmonies mix with biting articulations and melodic fragments emerge out of abrupt, dynamic changes. The whole process culminates in a dense, syncopated chorale for the whole ensemble. Immediately following, the dance begins with a cheeky, upbeat bass clarinet solo. Before long, the whole ensemble jumps in, and the music continues with surprises, hijinks, acrobatics, and new tunes along the way.
