Ticheli, Blue Shades
Frank Ticheli (b. 1958) comes out of a strong band tradition in Texas. After finishing high school in Richardson, Texas, he studied theory and composition at Southern Methodist University. (That was before Professor Carol joined the faculty there.)
Ticheli writes for many different ensembles—orchestra, chorus, solo works—but works for wind band stand out. That owes something, surely, to the fact that compositions for wind bands get played. As Carol noted last week writing about John Mackey, the band world is a great place for composers because bands regularly perform (and commission) new works. The Dallas Winds, with whom we have a long relationship, plays some of the most innovative and interesting new music—works by composers like Corigliano, Mackey, Maslanka, and Ticheli.
You will likely find the works of Ticheli and other composers for wind ensemble to be somewhat challenging but still engaging and accessible. And isn’t that what we ought to expect from new music: forms that are intelligible and sounds that strike us as musical? We want to be drawn into a work of art, to discover beauty in something new and unfamiliar, and not be left merely puzzled or, worse, assaulted. (We can rejoice that the 1970s are over!)
What else draws composers to the wind world? Ticheli says:
There is a sort of youthfulness and energy about it, as well as an excitement about commissioning new music that seems to be lacking in other media. I think my rhythmic language resonates well in the wind medium. There’s a precision in wind articulation that appeals to me. They can be so expressive and beautiful, but also raucous, free-wheeling, jazzy. And most of all, I am attracted to the rich variety of colors that a large group of wind instruments can offer.
Blue Shades, written in 1997, illustrates all that.
