First Light

First Light2020-06-16T02:51:45+00:00

Project Description

Wind Ensemble
2016
8 min.
Grade 6

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Preview Score

 

 

Instrumentation

Picc Fl-2 Ob-2 B♭Cl-3 BCl CbCl Bsn Cbsn ASx-2 TSx BSx | Hn-3 B♭Tpt-4 Trb-3 BTrb Euph Tuba | DB Pno Perc-3

  • Piccolo
  • Flute (2)
  • Oboe (2)
  • Clarinet in B♭ (3)
  • Bass Clarinet in B♭
  • Bassoon
  • Contrabassoon
  • Alto Saxophone (2)
  • Tenor Saxophone
  • Baritone Saxophone
  • Horn in F (3)
  • Trumpet in B♭ (4)
  • Trombone (3)
  • Bass Trombone
  • Euphonium
  • Tuba
  • Double Bass
  • Piano
  • Electric Organ
  • Required Percussion (3 players)
    • Bass Drum
    • Chimes
    • Crash Cymbals
    • Orchestra Bells
    • Sizzle Cymbal
    • Snare Drum
    • Suspended Cymbal (lg)
    • Tom Toms (sm, med, lg)
    • Vibraphone
    • Xylophone
For wind ensembles and concertos, please use one player per part. For symphonies and concert pieces, more players may be used as desired. David’s full statement.

Commissioned by

The United States Air Force Academy Band, Shanti Simon, cond.

Premiere

10 February 2017 by the United States Air Force Academy Concert Band, Shanti Simon, cond., Boulder, CO

Program Note

First Light has two characters. They are marked in the musical score as “unforgettable wounds – darkness,” and “perseverance – first light.” It has been my long personal experience that no real change, no transformation, occurs without crisis. We don’t move if we don’t have to. This is as true on the societal and environmental levels as it is on the personal. We are facing huge crises in our society and in our world, with every aspect of human darkness rising to the surface. It is my faith that we, with imagination, work, and perseverance, are at the edge of a profound transformation – a movement into light.

(November 2016)

Further Reading

Maslanka Weekly: Best of the Web – No. 72, Life

5 November 2019|0 Comments

Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature three of David’s compositions that focus on the spirit of life and living: Unending Stream of Life, Traveler, and “Movement 4” from A Child's Garden of Dreams.

Maslanka Weekly: Best of the Web – No. 69, Dream Space

15 October 2019|0 Comments

Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature three of David’s compositions (of which there are literally dozens to choose from) that explore a vast array of dream space: A Child's Garden of Dreams, Traveler, and California.

Maslanka Weekly: Best of the Web – No. 48, Water Music

20 May 2019|0 Comments

Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we continue to look at more of David's music that uses water as a symbol or motif: A Child's Garden of Dreams, Sea Dreams: Concerto for Two Horns and Wind Ensemble, and UFO Dreams: Concerto for Euphonium and Wind Ensemble, Movement II - "The Water is Wide."

Maslanka Weekly: Best of the Web – No. 39, Dreams & Meditations

18 March 2019|0 Comments

Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature three compositions that specifically mention "dreaming" or "meditation" in their title: A Child's Garden of Dreams, Movement I, Sea Dreams: Concerto for Two Horns and Wind Ensemble, Movement III, and Recitation Book, Movement I, "Broken Heart: Meditation on the chorale melody Der du bist drei in einigkeit."