Semiquincentennial Spangles
(2026) 7 min.
4 Trumpets, 2 Horns, 2 Trombones, 2 Tubas, Organ
Premiere
March 8, 2026
Performers
Graydon Beeks, Conductor; John Aranda, Dave Scott, Tim Hammon, Jon Kang, Trumpet; Adrian Dunker, Ryan Vickrey, Horn; Phil Keen, Daniel Ridgeway, Trombone ; Cody Kleinhans, Stephen Klein, Tuba And Euphonium. Juhee Willow Lee, Organ
Instrumentation
4 trumpets, 2 horns, 2 trombones, 2 tubas, organ
Notes
“The Anacreontic Song” was written around 1776 for a club of amateur musicians in London. Its melody was subsequently used to set a variety of lyrics, including drinking and patriotic texts. Among the patriotic lyrics that were set to the tune is “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which became the national anthem of the United States of America in 1931. Celebrating the 250th anniversary of the tune and the Declaration of Independence, Semiquincentennial Spangles is a set of five variations on the melody, using only the eight different pitches of the familiar tune.
Each melodic fragment is harmonized by its own notes, yielding a range of sonorities.
The piece is fairly consonant in the beginning, but becomes progressively more richly dissonant as more
pitches are incorporated into the texture, perhaps reflecting the current state of our complex world.
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