Big Bend Portrait
(1982)
Commissioned by the National Park Service, this music was composed for Oxymora (an improvisatory ensemble of oboe, mandolin, guitar and bass) and the Shenandoah Conservatory Cantus Singers. The music was recorded by the Park Service, but ultimately rejected by Big Bend National Park (a desert park full of majestically bleak landscapes and untamed beauty) for being too stark and wild.
Instrumentation
Oboe
Mandolin
Guitar
String Bass
Percussion
SSA Chorus
Premiere
Shenandoah Conservatory, Winchester VA, September 2008 Mark Kittlaus, director; music performed by Shenandoah Conservatory students
Commission
National Park Service