by Adam Schoenberg
Disc: Migration
Recording: The University of Texas Wind Ensemble
Conductor: Jerry Junkin – Artistic Director, Jonathan Gunn – clarinet, Brian Lewis – violin
Publisher: Reference Recordings RR-150
Jerry Junkin and the University of Texas Wind Ensemble offer a program of four incredibly descriptive and challenging wind ensemble works that will leave the listener spellbound. Adam Schoenberg is the composer of the title work Symphony No. 2 “Migration”. The five movements – March, Dreaming, Escape, Crossing, and Beginning – are vivid musical depictions of people embarking on their journey to America. John Corigliano wrote his Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra in 1977. Craig Lewis has transcribed this Concerto for Clarinet and Wind Ensemble in 2015 and is featured on this recording. The slow movement (“Elegy”) in both settings include an extended dialogue between the clarinet and a solo violin. The Eyes of the World are Upon You (Jennifer Jolley) was influenced by the events of the August 1, 1996 mass shooting at the University of Texas. The work celebrates the lives of those who perished and those who survived. The powerful final composition is Intrada 1631 (after Juan Perez Bocanegro) by Stephan Montague. The tune takes its inspiration from as early South American liturgical chant composed by a Franciscan missionary priest.