(live recording of a rehearsal) Erik Gratton, flute; Roger Wiesmeyer, oboe; Lee Levine, clarinet; Radu Rusu, horn; Gil Perel, bassoon, Nov. 2005
MP3 recording WAV recording
In 1990 I wrote several works for my friend Fred Robinson who was the
composer/arranger at Warner Robins Air Force Base in Georgia. Among these was a
work for jazz band (The Popular Music of Planet X), a movement for brass
quintet, and a short woodwind quintet. The Air Force didn�t seem to appreciate
the effort, and the score and parts were returned. (When you bomb with the Air
Force�.you REALLY BOMB!)
In 1991, all of my scores were thrown into the landfill by my landlord as I was
led off to five years in prison for LSD. I didn�t get back to composition until
2003. By then I had collected many scores from several musicians in pristine
condition, as they had never been performed. Then in 2004 I went back to most
of these scores, and I completely rewrote this woodwind quintet. My uncle,
David Vanderkooi, lives in Nashville, and at the memorial service there for my
mother Frances Westman in 2005 I met his friend oboist Roger Wiesmeyer.
He was kind enough to get other members of the Nashville Symphony together to
perform Elements of Wind and Wood that November. However, I was unable
to get to Nashville for either rehearsals or performance. I was sent a sample
recording of a rehearsal to review. It was significantly too fast in the second
and third movements, but I used Sonar to slow down the music and make a fresh
recording. As there was a mistake in the horn part in the first movement, the
recording was not together for a bit in that movement.
Unfortunately, Roger�s laptop was stolen after the performance, and it held the
only copy of the recording of the performance. As a result, all I have for now
is the digitally massaged rehearsal tape posted here. I am hoping that a
woodwind quintet will perform and record this piece before too long so that I
can present a more polished version, as well as a video.
Sometimes life is not so easy.