Urban Sprawl

Description

Flute, Piccolo, Oboe, English Horn, Clarinet in Eb, Clarinet in Bb, Bass Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn in F, Trumpet in C, Trombone, Percussion, Drum Set, Piano, Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola, Violoncello, Double Bass — After spending months looking, my wife and I bought a home in the suburbs. While looking, I increasingly became intrigued by the overall “funkyness” of the insides of a number of houses we were shown by our realtor. From the crazy wallpaper, to the downright hideous paint colors, to the do-it-yourself projects gone wrong, to the fresh smells of wacky tobacky, some of these homes were real “standouts.” After seeing so many of these homes, I began to imagine who these current homeowners were. I started picturing them moving about their homes, doing these crazy projects, and dancing a quirky new dance I called the “urban sprawl” (think Nixon dancing in “Nixon in China”). Urban Sprawl is a 6½-minute funky, jazzy, kitschy, and hopefully fun ode to “Suburban Life” (which was the working title). The work was written for and premiered by Alarm Will Sound at the 201111 Mizzou New Music Summer. Urban Sprawl grew directly from the composer's months-long search for a new home. In looking over many prospects, he began to wonder about the variety of home owners and their approaches to their wildly different dwellings, resulting in this "funky, jazzy, kitschy, and hopefully fun ode," as he describes it. Dur.: 6'30"