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Commissioned by The Vancouver Island Symphony for flutist Paolo Bortolussi with generous assistance from the Canada Council for the Arts
20 Apr 2013, Port Theatre, Nanaimo, BC Paolo Bortolussi, solo flute; Vancouver Island Symphony Pierre Simard, conductor
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Ornithomancy, concerto for Flute Commissioned by the Vancouver Island Symphony, and dedicated to Paolo Bortolussi. Many thanks to the Canada Council for the Arts for their support of this project. Ornithomancy will be premiered April 20, 2013 by flute soloist Paolo Bortolussi and the Vancouver Island Symphony conducted by Maestro Pierre Simard. Instrumentation: Solo Flute, and Orchestra comprised of: Flute Oboe Clarinet in B-flat Bassoon Horn Trumpet in C Trombone Timpani Percussion (1 player) – Glockenspiel, Xylophone or High Woodblock (ad. lib.) Harp Piano Strings Program Note: Ornithomancy is a single movement work, duration approximately 15:00.Ornithomancy is the practice of divination by observing the activity and flight patterns of birds. Though I’m not convinced of their ability to predict the future, I have a long-held fascination with birds of all kinds. Their energy, flight and songs are beautiful and strange, and thus a fertile subject for a flute concerto. In keeping with the idea of bird-like flocking activities, rather than one extended cadenza, this concerto features various short solos and cadenza-like passages that includ soloistic playing from various members of the orchestra. Ornithomancy is a single-movement piece, about 15 minutes long, in three roughly equal sections. The first section is somewhat slower and more mysterious than the rest of the piece – in mood, it is somewhat sneaky, and the music is quite chromatic. The next section of the piece is fast and nervous (one might even say flighty), rhythmically punchy and precise. In the final section, there is a sense of sense of expansion, flight, and reverie.
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