Instrumentation: Orchestra 2222-2231-tp-2-pn-str
Difficulty: High School, University
Duration: 2’00”
Flourish (2007) was originally premiered for tuba ensemble in 2004. Three years later, I was programming an orchestra concert and in desperate need of an opener. Several friends suggested that I revisit this work and expand it for orchestra—a process that took me less than 48 hours out of necessity. As Bernstein would say, “to achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan, and not quite enough time.”
I hope to have a wind ensemble rendition of this piece in the future, although I’d be competing with Ralph Vaughan Williams and Malcolm Arnold as far as titles go in that department. Who knows? Maybe in a few years’ time I’ll need to write a band opener in a hurry.