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"Sinfonia Sonora" was commissioned by Maestro Hermann Michael and the Phoenix Symphony. The title has a double meaning: Sonora, referring to the clear and sonorous nature of the music, as well, of course, to the vast Sonoran Desert of Arizona and northern Mexico. One might expect a work with such a title to be somehow evocative of the landscape, but while it may evoke the spirit of the desert, it is not purposefully descriptive of scenery, except in a very generalized sense, perhaps through its spare, somewhat austere textures.

"Sinfonia Sonora" is, despite its short length, first and foremost a symphony (my second), rigorous in its attention to logical structure and concerned with the effective presentation and development of its thematic material. It is in a single movement of five strongly characterized sections, and all except one share some thematic material. The first theme is heard in the high violins and flute and is followed by two thematic fragments, played by the oboe and English horn. A chorale-like idea in the low woodwinds completes the introduction of the thematic material. This is followed by an episode that develops the oboe motive, now played by the strings, but becoming more expansive and exhilarating in nature. The ensuing section serves as a scherzo, or interlude, and uses entirely new thematic material. Its dance-like nature suggests (but only suggests) the music of cultures that inhabited the region prior to the coming of the European but uses no actual indigenous musical material. This is interrupted by a stormy episode that continues to expand on thematic material introduced in the first section. It is brought to a climax by a huge, brassy version of the chorale-like idea. Following is a reiteration and expansion of the oboe motive as it was heard in the second section. The scoring in this section comes as close to opulence as anything heard in the entire piece. The work closes in the same somber mood in which it began, with a suggestion of soft colors of the desert at sundown.

"Sinfonia Sonora" is scored for a rather small orchestra by contemporary standards, as it was felt that extravagant scoring would be inappropriate in a piece attempting to evoke the spirit of the desert. No exotic percussion instruments are called for, and in fact, the ensemble is only slightly larger than the orchestra normally used by Brahms or Schumann.

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