Product Description
This piece was commissioned by the Falkirk Tryst Orchestra, a community orchestra based in central Scotland, in 2003. It received its first performance under the baton of Mr. Robert Tait in Falkirk Town Hall on 14th May, 2004.
I had been approached after friends of the conductor, who were familiar with my 2001 stage musical John Paul Jones, suggested that I might enjoy the particular challenge of writing for an orchestra consisting primarily of school-aged and older amateur players, and that I might be able to contribute meaningfully to the orchestras expanding repertoire of
new works.
The piece is essentially an instrumental medley of songs from the musical. However, whereas the theatre orchestra employed for the premiere production of John Paul Jones consisted of sixteen players, the present commission called for entirely new arrangements for full symphony orchestra (with adjustments for the specific forces available to the orchestra in question, e.g. four clarinets, euphonium reading from the treble clef etc.).
The songs appearing in the present medley are Yes Sir, Captain Jones, Song to Me, The Drunkard, Freedom Arise! and A Russian Misadventure. Since 2004, the work has enjoyed a number of subsequent performances and is included in the UK's National Association of Youth Orchestras database of currently available works.
The full score is available as a separate volume.
This product was created by a member of ArrangeMe, Hal Leonard's global self-publishing community of independent composers, arrangers, and songwriters. ArrangeMe allows for the publication of unique arrangements of both popular titles and original compositions from a wide variety of voices and backgrounds.