Music

Grade: 6
Duration: 6'20"
Instrumentation
Listen (excerpt)

Monkey (1997-98)

Available as a rental directly from the composer

Premiered November 24th, 1998, Las Vegas, Nevada
University of Nevada, Las Vegas Wind Orchestra
Thomas G. Leslie, conductor

Commissioned by Thomas G. Leslie and the Univ. of Nevada, Las Vegas, for the UNLV Wind Orchestra

World premiere recording by the same ensemble available from Mark Custom Recordings.

Monkey is the wildness of young monkeys, shrieking in unbridled pandemonium. The unsupervised frenzy-mongers eventually come face to face with the ominous threat of adult discipline.

They rebel.

Discipline fails.

The hour of scampering erupts. The mayhem escalates until young and old alike are indistinguishable. Simian hysteria overtakes all.

___

Monkey, commissioned by Thomas G. Leslie for the UNLV Wind Orchestra, was begun in summer of 1997, as part of my ongoing fascination with primal and visceral experience. Much of my music in the years immediately preceding this had been primal in nature, and Monkey was the natural, explicit culmination of this tendency. At least, I think this is the culmination. There may be more monkey madness lurking in the depths of my mind.

Note: no animals were harmed during the composition of this piece.

Orchestra

Band

Mixed