Commission: Singapore Wind Symphony
Instrumentation: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, soprano sax, alto sax, tenor sax, baritone sax, 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in Bb, 2 trombones, bass trombone, euphonium, tuba, grand piano, string bass, timpani, percussion 1 (5-oct marimba, vibraphone, tubular bells), percussion 2 (glockenspiel, sizzle cymbal), percussion 3 (hi-hat, crash cymbal, triangle, medium tom, snare drum, kick bass drum, f# crotale, xylophone), percussion 4 (suspended cymbal, tam-tam, concert bass drum, 5 woodblocks, low tom)
Duration: 9 minutes
Program Information:
diver[city] is a play on the word ‘diversity’–a word commonly used to describe my hometown of Singapore. While the idea of racial harmony is not new in Singapore, the recent Freddie Gray protests in Baltimore (a city I called home for 2.5 years), prompted me to think more globally about racial discrimination, and other types of discrimination–gender, age, religion, disability etc. Discrimination exists because people tend to see differences more than they do similarities. What if we all identify with our similarities and learned about our differences? What would that world be? In diverse[city], I describe a utopia where numerous diverse musical motifs that are first introduced in the beginning, evolve organically throughout the piece to create a new, cohesive musical landscape. Together, we make a better world if we all stand together as one.
Premiere:
December 2015 | Singapore Wind Symphony, dir. Adrian Tan | Singapore