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Climbing Parnassus

for wind ensemble

  • Year

    2008
  • Duration

    09:00
  • Level

    Professional
  • Perusal Score

    View

In Aeschulus, Creon speaks of “the double peaks of snow-clad Parnassus”—the ancient site of the Oracle of Delphi, and the mountain most sacred to Apollo. As the home of The Muses, Parnassus is the spiritual source of music, poetry, and art. Centuries ago, when Greek and Latin were an integral part of a Western education, the phrase “Climbing Parnassus” meant the pursuit of a career as a poet, writer, composer, or artist. Dreamlike and spacious, Climbing Parnassus presents an imagined chorale fragment, ascending and transforming through an expanse of sound.

Genres:   Winds

Subgenres:   Large Ensemble

Instrumentation

2Fl, AFl, Ob, EHn, 4Cl, BCl, CbCl, Bsn, SSax, ASax, TSax, BSax, PiccTpt, 2Tpt, Flglhn, 2Hn, 2Trb, Euph, Tba, Cb, 5Perc (bowCrot / bowMar / bowVibr / 2HBells)

Commissioned by

Kawasaki Univ. of Medical Welfare “Heartful Winds” – Toshiya IWATA
Nagoya Wind Symphony – Mamoru NAKATA
Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra
Wind Ensemble KANADE – Kotai YO

For the 2008 Japan Wind Ensemble Conductors Conference, Kurashiki, Japan

Premiered

World Premiere – March 16, 2008 in Kurashiki, Japan, conducted by Atsuhisa KONDO


Recorded on

  1. Climbing Parnassus

Recent Performances

  • April 27, 2012 - Temple University Wind Symphony at Temple Performing Arts Center, Philadelphia PA. Conducted by Emily Threinen.
  • February 26, 2010 - Kawasaki University of Medical Welfare Wind Orchestra "Heartful Winds" at Ford Center for the Performing Arts at Ole Miss, Oxford, MS. CBDNA Southern Regional Conference
  • April 23, 2009 - Indiana University Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, and Concert Band at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Bloomington IN. IU "SpringFest" composer-in-residence / Stephen Pratt, Jeffrey Gershman, Paul Popiels. Premiere of "Symphony No. 1, My Hands Are a City" and U.S. premiere of "Climbing Parnassus"