Wind Ensemble & Concert Band

Chamber Works

Diversity

for woodwind quintet
Duration: c. 4'
September 2011

state finalist in the 2012 National PTA Reflections Contest

Perusal score (viewable, not printable)

I wrote Diversity for the National PTA Reflections Contest. The theme I had to exemplify was "Diversity Is…." I composed Diversity for woodwind quintet, as a challenge for myself to learn the rich histories of those five instruments, each of which is given a movement to be featured.

The first movement, Call to Prayer, has the oboe playing a Muslim call to prayer. Eagle's Cry is a flute feature, relying heavily on Native American flute technique. Fanfare shows the broad European history of the horn, drawing mainly on the styles of the great Romantics. The bassoon feature, Tango-Fugue, portrays a Latin tango style. New Orleans Blues shows off the influence the clarinet has had on the evolution of jazz. In the sixth and final movement, The Culmination of Diversity, every instrument plays a motif from their earlier feature. This represents that today, society is based on the support of many different backgrounds and cultures. Diversity is life.