Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

Work Overview

This fanfare was written for the opening of the Ian Potter Southbank Centre - the new home of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. Written for 23 brass and percussion players and fixed media, the work was written specifically to take advantage of the layout and acoustic properties of the Hanson Dyer Hall - the main recital venue within the new conservatorium. Titled The Building Revealed, this fanfare is dedicated to MCM's Director of 10 years, Prof Gary McPherson, who has been a wonderful advocate for music at the University of Melbourne. The premiere performance was given by the MCM's brass and percussion ensembles on 1 June 2019 for the official opening of the building.

Work Details

Year: 2019

Instrumentation: 13 brass: 4 horns in F, trumpet in D, 2 trumpets in C, flugelhorn in Bb, 2 tenor trombones, bass trombone, euphonium, tuba, percussion (10 players: timpani, 2 crotales, 2 glockenspiels, 2 handbell players, cymbals, percussion (egg shaker, triangle), tam tam), Fixed Media (optional).

Duration: 3 min.

Difficulty: Advanced

Dedication note: Dedicated to Gary McPherson

Commission note: Written for the MCM brass and percussion ensembles

First performance: by Joel Brennan — 1 Jun 19. Melbourne Conservatorium of Music brass and percussion ensembles, Hanson Dyer Hall, Ian Potter Southbank Centre, Melbourne

The composer notes:
This work was written in a site–specific manner to feature the opening of a new recital hall. The spatial, balcony and offstage position instructions can naturally be adjusted to suit different venues. The 4 stereo fixed media cues are optional. The piece is designed to be able to work without them (though the cues are available on request if desired). Additionally, instruments such as handbells could be substituted for others (such as vibraphones or tubular bells) if not available.