NEW BEGINNING        

PROGRAM NOTE
New Beginning was commissioned to celebrate the opening of a new auditorium at Frontier Regional High School in South Deerfield, Massachusetts.  The Frontier Regional High School Wind Ensemble premiered the work under the direction of Karen Atherton.  

New Beginning owes its existence to Ms. Atherton, band director at the school.  In discussing the commission the idea of incorporating the school’s alma mater came into being.  The song, Alma Mater, is paraphrased canonically in the opening wistful section, beginning in the basses.  After a subtle statement in the middle section it is heard once again in the upper-woodwinds and percussion at the end, in counterpoint with an original melody.  The composition on a whole reflects the exhilaration one feels in shedding old ideas, habits, and baggage.  To begin anew is a right, cherished by all…it gives us hope.

INSTRUMENTATION
2.picc.1.3.bcl.1/2.1.1.1/2.4.3.1.1/timp/4perc/db

DURATION
3 minutes

COMMISSIONED BY
The Frontier Regional High School Wind Ensemble, Karen Atherton, conductor, South Deerfield, Massachusetts.