What We Will Be: A Piece for Tiered Orchestra

 
The Ensemble seeks to connect and inform all people who are committed to ensemble music education for youth empowerment and social change.

What We Will Be: A Piece for Tiered Orchestra

03-28-2018
What We Will Be
Composed by Danielle Williams, Winner of the 2015 El Sistema Massachusetts Composition Competition
This piece, composed for tiered El Sistema-style orchestra and optional choir, is meant to capture this spirit by empowering young musicians to be self-driven leaders and artists through music-making.Prepared with the goal of performance without a conductor, students are challenged to collaborate as teammates to bring this piece to life. It begins as if at the start of a concert when the orchestra members are all chatting, fiddling on their instruments, and preparing for the tuning note. This tuning ‘A’ can be played by a flute, oboe, or concertmaster. Though the audience may believe the orchestra is merely tuning, the music quickly blossoms into a harmony of open 5ths, out of which a rhythmic motive appears, played by the keyboard percussion. Listeners will suddenly realize that the piece has grown out of this simple yet fundamental note, just as all musical knowledge begins with the learning one’s first note.

Instrumentation: Flutes 1 and 2 (Can be doubled by Oboes), Clarinets 1 and 2, Alto Saxophone 1 and 2, Trumpets in Bb 1 and 2, Trombone, Tuba, Snare Drum
Triangle, Bass Drum, Crash Cymbal, Xylophone, Marimba, Violin 1, Violin 2, Violin Beginner Level, Viola 1, Viola Beginner Level, Violincello 1, Violincello Beginner Level, Double Bass, Unison Chorus (can be sung by choir or orchestra musicians).

If any organization or orchestra is interested in seeing the full score, simply email the composer at DanielleWilliamsMusic@gmail.com. There is no cost to request the full score and parts from the composer.

Here is a video of the premier performance of the piece:

Date Published: 28 March 2018