Blue Blendure (2020)

For Adaptable Winds


Grade: 4Duration: 7:455 parts + percussion

Score sample here.

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In my senior year at Wayne State University, I made the decision to add a jazz minor to my degree. Due to the fact that I declared it so late, I had a very high course load of jazz classes throughout that year, essentially turning me into a pseudo-jazz major. The harmonies and compositional styles of jazz that I learned have proven to be fascinating to me, and oftentimes as I write, I find myself leaning ever so slightly towards devices inspired by jazz.

The word “blendure” is a fancy term for a blend or a mixture. Blue Blendure is a great mixing, so to speak, of several jazz styles and the classical music idiom. In writing the piece, I sought an opportunity to let my leanings towards jazz influences truly be heard in a dedicated work. In addition to the mixing of musical styles, we see the mixing of instruments and instrument families in this adaptable arrangement, creating several opportunities for unique tonal combinations.

This work for adaptable winds is meant to work for groups as small as 8 players, with 13 being the ideal minimum number to allow all preferred instruments to be covered and allow for multiple players on each wind part.