Spin, Span, Spun
for chamber orchestra
duration: 12’30”
I. Spin
II. Span
III. Spun
Instrumentation:
2 Flutes (II = Piccolo)
2 Oboes
2 Clarinets in Bb
2 Bassoons
2 Horns in F
2 Trumpets in C
Timpani (w/ paper)
2 Percussion:
1 = Suspended Cymbal, 2 Tom-Toms, Vibraslap, Snare Drum, Xylophone, Flexatone
2 = Suspended Cymbal, Glockenspiel (w/ bow), 2 Tom-Toms, 2 Wood Blocks, Flexatone, Guiro
Strings
About the work
Spin, Span, Spun was commissioned by Orchestra of St. Luke’s for the 2023 DeGaetano Composer’s Institute. It was first performed by Orchestra of St. Luke’s, conducted by Brad Lubman, on July 25th, 2023.
Program Note
When I first encountered the poems of Jean Gallagher, I immediately felt a resonance with my own work. While writing in a thoroughly modern voice, Gallagher engages with (or as she would say, collides with) old stories and artifacts (often quite old, as with her poem “To Noah, from Wife, Some Years After”). I see my work too as a collision between old compositional ideas (such as those of Vivaldi and Haydn) and my contemporary ears. In the case of “Spin, Span, Spun” I am colliding with Gallagher's motion-filled poem “Spin” as well.
All recordings are short excerpts. Please contact me for a perusal score and audio if you are interested to hear more.