Premiere Information: Eastern Standard (Heidi Lucas horn; Zach Collins, tuba; Jacob Ertl, piano), International Horn Symposium 2015, Los Angeles, CA
From the composer, Anthony O'Toole:
"Jam-Bourrée" was written in February of 2015 for the Eastern Standard Trio and is scored for horn, tuba, electric Piano, and percussion. The genesis of the piece came from a rather terrible musical pun I thought of that I had put in a sketchbook of ideas dating back to the summer of 2012.
A pure expression of my tendencies towards polystylism in my music, this composition fuses together a repetitive jam figure first heard in the electric piano and the musical style of the French Baroque dance.
The modal harmonic vocabulary of the jam is derivative of jazz/funk/fusion music. The Bouree makes uses of the sonic trademarks of Renaissance and Baroque music; notably the Passamezzo Antico and the Andalusian Cadence (also modal).
As the piece progresses the jam figure becomes less dominant, and the bourree becomes the dominant style. Then as the piece fades away the jam takes over again. With lots of overlap in style and harmonic languages.
This piece, too me, is very special and important in my canon of over 100 works. Not only because it is written for such immensely talents musicians not because it is for my former teachers, but because this piece took one night to write. Often as a composer you struggle with finding that starting point, that 'inspiration.'
Seldom is a piece easy to pull out of one's mind but occasionally (in my experiences) the music just appears! So "Jam-Bourrée" is very special to me, for a multitude of reasons.
About the composer (from his website):
anthonyotoolemusic.weebly.com/biography.html
Anthony O’Toole holds a BA in Music Theory and Composition from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a MM of Composition from George Mason University where he was recognized by the university as a distinguished graduate for his achievements as a composer and musician. Since he began writing in his teens he has composed more than 100 works over the last 10 years and has written for virtually every major idiom and instrument.
Mr. O’Toole is primarily self-taught as a composer but credits his mentors, Jack Stamp and Mark Camphouse as being pivotal to his development as a composer and musician. Anthony has also had the opportunity to learn and engage with many respected composers such as Richard Danielpour, Dana Wilson, Frank Ticheli, Cindy McTee, George Crumb, Ryan Nowlin, Drew Hemenger, George Crumb and others.
His music has been commissioned and performed by musicians and ensembles all around the world. Mr. O’Toole’s music for wind band has been performed and recorded by some of the finest bands including the United States Coast Guard Band, The Kansas State University Wind Ensemble, ‘The President’s Own’ United States Marine Band, The University of North Texas Wind Symphony, The Singapore Wind Symphony, The Alabama Winds and others. His piece “Fanfare to ‘The Hammer’” is featured in the 10th edition of the GIA Publications series ‘Teaching Music Through Performance in Band’; which features a recording by the UNT Wind Symphony an in-depth analysis of the work. Hammer also appears in the ‘Sourcebook for Wind Band and Instrumental Music’ by Russ Girsberger, Frank L. Battisti, and William Berz.
He has received numerous awards for his compositions including the Grand Prize in the 2012 Garritan Composition Contest, and Second Place in the 2014 Van Galen Prize for wind chamber music. In 2014 Mr. O’Toole was inducted into the Sigma Alpha Iota Music Fraternity as an honorary member for his musical contributions. He is also a member of Phi Mu Alpha Music Fraternity, ASCAP and The American Composer’s Federation. Anthony currently resides in Long Beach, CA where he fulfills his commissions for new works and does orchestrations and arrangements as a freelance writer; he also serves as Composer-in-Residence for the Carson Symphony Orchestra and Staff Arranger for the Southern California Brass Consortium.
