Consortium
Our Project...
One of the greatest artistic contributions a band program can make is through supporting the creation of new band literature. In coordination with the opening of our new Performing Arts Center and CTE Facility at Bainbridge High School (scheduled for the fall of 2020), the Bainbridge High School Band Program is planning an ambitious commission project with composer Shelley Hanson, of Macalester College, in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Dr. Hanson is well known for her symphonic settings of folk music. Bainbridge Island, Kitsap County, and the greater Northwest are culturally vibrant, deep in histories of different peoples. Our mission with this project, is to support Shelley in researching and creating a brand new piece for the wind band idiom, that will not only provide our students with a once in a lifetime experience working with a renown composer through the creation of a new piece of music, but one that will also bring the stories of our region to other students, directors, and concert goers from around the globe, for years to come.
The Bainbridge High School Wind Ensemble performed Professor Hanson's "Volver a la Montaña," in for winter of 2017, and is planning to perform her "Seis Manuel," in the winter of 2018. Both are masterpieces of the wind band world.
About Dr. Shelley Hanson
Dr. Hanson's compositions have been performed throughout the United States, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Australia. Also a conductor, record producer, and clarinetist, she and her band, Klezmer and All That Jazz, have performed her Concerto for Klezmer Band and Orchestra with the Minnesota Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and many other groups. Klezmer and All That Jazz recorded traditional and her original music for the award-winning audio book version of the classic Yiddish folk tale The Dybbuk. Principal Clarinetist of the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra, she has recorded orchestral and chamber music for Virgin Records, Teldec, Innova, and others, and was a soloist for the soundtrack of the feature film Out of the Wilderness. After receiving a PhD in Performance, Music Theory, and Music Literature from Michigan State University, Hanson conducted university orchestras and wind ensembles for 15 years.
Project Timeline
This is a multi year project that will almost certainly continue to evolve over time. Currently, we are envisioning a 3-4 movement symphonic suite totaling 9-14 minutes in overall length. The first movement is tentatively scheduled for a fall 2018 premier. The following movements will premier closer to 2020. The entire suite will be premiered in the fall of 2021.
Join us!
The Bainbridge High School Band Boosters are looking for partners to make this project a reality. That’s you!
The following is a vague peak into what Shelley and I have discussed thus far. Everything is subject to change.
Mvt 1
Tiako Fanfare
[grade 2.5 - 3]Ready for preview in 2018-19!
(Plans are more solid for this movement)Mvts 2 & 3
Lyric and/or Advanced Middle Mvts
[grade 2.5 and/or 5]Premiering in 2019 or 2020.
Drawing on our regionally appropriate folk traditions - or original content.Mvt 4
Exciting Finale!
[grade 3]Premiering in 2020 or 2021.
- Movements II & III could be combined. That and all other details displayed here are subject to change.
- Join the consortium for $150 per movement, or contribute $450 to support the whole project.
- [Once the details are worked out a bit more, I will activate some actual payment stuff here]
Perks for Joining Us...
- Each contributing director, school, or booster group will have their name printed in the score of each movement they support.
- An advanced set of score parts for each movement before they become commercially available (over a $100 value each).
- Each contributing program will have the rights to their own premier performance, before the work is commercially available.
- The possibility to have Dr. Hanson come and visit your campus to work with you and your students! (Extra expenses wouldn't be covered by the consortium - Dr Hanson will be coming to Seattle a few times during the project, so it wouldn't be prohibitively expensive to arrange a side trip to your campus!)