Spindrift Commissioning Guild Project for 2006

Enchanted for oboe and chamber orchestra

About the project

Back in 2005 the Concord Ensemble played a wonderful concert on the First Parish Summer Series, a Friday noon concert series that now extends from May to October. I was in the horn section and many of the players and the conductor Alan Yost are friends from the Concord Orchestra. The concert went so well that we repeated the concert as a benefit for the Orchestra in September.

Instrumentation
solo oboe, flute, clarinet, bassoon, 2 horns, trumpet, harp, strings
Also available for oboe and piano

Duration
12 minutes

Commissioned by
Spindrift Commissioning Guild
Written for Veronica Kenney and the Concord Chamber Ensemble, Alan Yost, conductor

Premiere
Friday August 11, 2006
Veronica Kenney, oboe soloist
First Parish Summer Series, First Parish Unitarian, Harrington Road, Lexington, MA USA

I had always wanted to write a piece for our oboist Veronica Kenney and when I spoke to Alan about the 2006 concert, he liked the idea too. The goal of the piece is to write something that reflects Veronica's beautiful, expressive playing and that the loyal fans of the concert series will enjoy. The premiere will be Friday August 11 2006 and the program will repeat on Sunday September 17 2006 in another benefit for the orchestra. Save the dates!

Downloads

See Enchanted in the Music Catalog.

Join the project

This project is completed.
Read about the Guild.

Guild members

The following friends and supporters have contributed to support the composing and performance of Enchanted for oboe and chamber orchestra:

Veronica Kenney
Carson P. Cooman
Grant and Betsy Anderson
Barbara Marden
Anonymous - 3

My thanks to everyone who is supporting Enchanted!

Progress reports

Composer's comments while writing the music:

About the concerts

Alan Yost, the conductor, and Edie Epstein, the president of Concord Orchestra, organized a beautiful pair of concerts. The first was August 11, part of the First Parish Summer Series, a Friday noon series, where I frequently record or participate musically. We had a very large audience who liked the whole program. Then we repeated the program on September 17, as a Benefit Concert for the Concord Orchestra. We had a great audience, with cookies and tea, and again the music was well received.

The program had several fine soloists. Siri Smedvig, concertmaster of Concord Orchestra, played Mozart's Concert in G and Epp Sonin sang Barber's moving Knoxville: Summer of 1915. And Veronica Kenney was the oboe soloist in both performances of Enchanted.

Here's a link to an mp3 of the September performanced of Enchanted.

Feedback

Several oboe players commented to me that i should do a piano reduction and that many performers, who don't have a chamber orchestra handy, would want it for recitals. That's next...

I've particulary enjoyed the approval of my oboe player friends. The First Parish concert organizer and oboist, Nancy Burdine, and Epp Sonin, oboe-player-turned-soprano soloist, both commented on the beauty of the oboe writing. Veronica's mother, who heard her practicing during a visit, declared that "the composer really understood the oboe." I was very pleased and gratified. Of course, it all came together because of Veronica's expressive playing and Alan's inspiring conducting and the talents of the whole ensemble. We all had a lot of fun bring the music to life.

I want to thank the generous guild members who supported this project. I am very grateful.