Anti Fanfare

For wind ensemble minus brass. The inspiration for anti-Fanfare came during a lesson with Cynthia Johnston Turner where we were studying works for winds and percussion with atypical instrumentation. At the end of the lesson, we concluded that there was a gap in the repertoire for a short, exciting concert opener for woodwinds and percussion. I was particularly inspired by her “commission” that day: “You should write one, you know, an anti-fanfare.” anti-Fanfare opens with a typical fanfare motive, but listeners will notice that the similarities end there. The piece employs the full complement of the woodwind and percussion sections plus piano in contrast to centuries of brass/orchestral fanfares. The typical stately cadence has been replaced by a quick 3/4 meter, with the language of the piece inspired by the composer’s forays into contemporary jazz fusion and electronica.