Update Title: 015FC104-E1B3-446D-B254-BDB284562EC2

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Meet the Orchestra is a composition designed to introduce children (and the child in all of us) to the instruments of the orchestra. The text is drawn from a book of the same title by Ann Hayes. Having read this story many times to my grandson, and calling to mind his enjoyment of the "March" from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker, I decided to combine both of these sources into a set of variations for orchestra and narrator.
The first section of Meet the Orchestra introduces the four families of instruments: percussion, strings, brass and woodwinds. Each family offers a variation of the theme. What follows are nine variations starting with the double bass and finishing with the piccolo. Some variations feature solo instruments while other employ entire sections. In each case, the instruments display their unique characteristics using material sometimes directly and at other times remotely derived from the theme. The narration makes use of Ann Hayes' colorful descriptions to enhance the mood of the music.
The finale begins with the composition's only literal presentation of the theme. At first, French horns and oboes share a melancholy statement. Almost immediately, a solo trumpet bursts in brightly setting the familiar march tempo. The intensity builds as the brass section, enhanced by the percussion, creates the solid foundation upon which the remainder of the work is built. The strings add the next layer recapitulation the material from the violin variation. The tutti is completed by colorful cascading woodwind lines reminiscent of the last variation. With the entire orchestra combining on the thematic triplet figures, the piece comes to a powerful conclusion. Composed and premiered in 1995, Meet the Orchestra was revised during the fall of 1997. --Edward P. Mascari

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