Shimmering Blue
symphony orchestra
(duration ~ 5:00)
Now available from Rimshot Music
Shimmering Blue is a response to an invitation by the WASO’s artistic administrator Nick Bailey to compose a short concert opener for the West Australian Symphony Orchestra’s 75th birthday celebrations.
In keeping with the spirit of the occasion, the work is optimistic in nature & is fuelled by a persistent rhythmic impetus in 6/8. Stylistically it draws upon my experiences as a film composer & also early compositional experiences writing fanfares for circus. The language is brash, playful & unashamedly melodic. Tonally it revolves around the use of “blues” notes & scales. Shimmering Blue is the description used by my father to describe the tone of the WASO’s principal clarinettist of the 1940’s Percy Newton.