Kick!

for string orchestra

(1996) Duration: 6:00

PURCHASE

Performance by the Indiana University Southeast 2006 Summer String Clinic Orchestra,
Orcenith Smith, guest conductor/clinician

In 1996, I was fulfilling a Meet The Composer New Residency in Louisville, Kentucky. One of the missions of my residency was outreach and education with the Jefferson County Public Schools. This took several forms: a program to teach composition to at-risk children (that served over 800 students over three years), a chamber opera for children (The Mousewife), a composition for young band (Pegasus, retitled Enter the Olympians when later published by Manhattan Beach Music), and a composition for young string orchestra – Kick!

In Kick! I wanted to create a work with a powerful sound that had limited technical demands. I used open strings and comfortable ranges, avoiding upper positions. The rhythmic language is straightforward, using simple rhythms and syncopations. Using only these tools, I tried to create sounds not so often heard at this educational level, such as the opening chord of GDFABbE. While the rhythmic language is more simple, the rhythmic combinations and phrase structures are less common.

Kick! has a basic ABA' form, with a propulsive beginning and ending surrounding a short, lyrical section in the middle. Within the "A" sections, several ideas intermingle: tutti block chords, a simple melody that is almost folk-like (m.5-11), more complex melodies with more subtle phrases (m. 38-47 and 52-65), and upward and downward pyramids, among other things.

Although the music has an aggressive, ritualistic quality, I also tried to capture some of the energy of popular music, especially music with a strong backbeat, or an emphasis on beats two and four. (See measures 3 and 5, for example.) The work also ends on a dominant 7th chord (slightly altered), something that doesn't often happen in traditional concert music, but that is common in "pop" music.

The premiere was given by Kimcherie Loyd conducting the All County Middle School String Orchestra in 1996.

– Steve Rouse