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for concert winds, brass, piano & percussion grade 2 Emerging Series JODIE BLACKSHAW ..into the blue stretch of light....into the blue stretch of light.. FORWOODWIND, BRASS, PIANO& PERCUSSION JODIE BLACKSHAW INSTRUMENTATION E LECTRONIC T RACK A UDIENCE P ARTICIPATION F LUTE O BOE B ASSOON B ♭ C LARINET 1 B♭ C LARINET 2 B ♭ B ASS C LARINET E♭ A LTO S AXOPHONE B ♭ T ENOR S AXOPHONE E ♭ B ARITONE S AXOPHONE B♭ T RUMPET 1 B♭ T RUMPET 2 H ORN IN F E UPHONIUM T UBA P IANO T IMPANI G LOCKENSPIEL X YLOPHONE + W IND C HIMES B ASS D RUM , W HIRLY G ONG , W HIRLY S USPENDED C YMBALS , C RASH C YMBALS ©2022 ColourFULL Music. All rights reserved. International rights secured. jodieblackshaw.comi Australia hosts 14 of the 21 species of cockatoo (Cacatuidae family). From the common Galah to the majestic Major Mitchell to the loud and obnoxious Sulphur crested, cockatoos are indeed part of our life here in Australia, and they are more human like than perhaps you first thought. Cockatoos mate for life, live for up to 100 years, use their feet as we use our hands (it is believed all cockatoos are left-footed) and depending on the breed, are equally at home in city or regional areas. But what do we know of the cockatoo that is the faunal of the Australian Capital Territory, the Gang Gang Cockatoo (Callocephalon fimbriatum)? Outside of basic information about nomadic lifestyle, breeding cycles and that familiar, creaky-door call, it seems, very little. In 2005 the NSW Department of Planning and Environment listed the Gang Gang as vulnerable and in March 2022 the Commonwealth Threatened Species Scientific Committee changed the status to ‘endangered’. In a recent study, Professor Sarah Legge (College of Science, ANU) found that the species had declined by up to 70%. The 2019-2020 bushfires impacted the Gang Gang (as it did on much of Australia’s wildlife), but it is acknowledged that this shy and little-studied bird was in trouble well before the fires occurred. One of the main reasons for the decline is the reduction of appropriate breeding habitat. Gang Gangs don’t make nests out of twigs and feathers. Instead, they use a hollowed out, wide, aged, vertical branch of an old gum tree. The parents then chew bark with their strong beaks to make a padded base for their young ones. Chicks remain in the nest and fledge directly from the spout after approximately 10-12 weeks. Without these nesting sites (up to 30% were lost in the recent bushfires), the birds simply cannot procreate. “..into the blue stretch of light..” is inspired by the life cycle of the Gang Gang and other black cockatoos. When researching information for this piece, I happened upon a remarkable piece of footage taken by citizen scientists from the Canberra Ornithologists Group. The footage shows a juvenile male Gang Gang taking his first flight. I have since learned that this is (currently), one of only two Gang Gang fledging’s caught on camera. From here, my thoughts turned to nurturing, nesting and the enduring love and support offered by parents to their young ones. Hence the piece commences with small and still moments and develops to reflect the growth of the juvenile from their first flight into adulthood. A chance encounter renewed the Judith Wright poem “Black Cockatoos” to me and this flourished the ending of the work into a rousing soundscape. It is hoped the piece captures the wild nature of Australian cockatoos, their boldness, dignity and courage whilst celebrating the life of Jim and Nell Stenning and parents everywhere who encourage their children to fly. ii Scan here to watch the Gang Gang take its first flight Scan here to learn more including how you can help Scan here to donate to a current Birdlife fundraising campaign for the Gang Gang My sincere thanks to the Stenning family for making this project possible and to the enthusiasm and generosity of the students at Marist College, Canberra, whose ideas and willingness to be vulnerable helped to inform the material used in the work. Jodie Blackshaw Baranduda, Victoria, 2022 POETIC INSPIRATION Selected phrases from this poem by Judith Wright have been used throughout the score to insight visualization and emotional context. Connections to the phrases used are detailed on the designated webpage detailed at the top of this page. Excerpt from Black Cockatoos by Judith Wright So, when the long drought-winds, sandpaper-harsh, were still, and the air changed, and the cloud came, and other birds were quiet in prayer or fear, these knew their hour. Before the first far flash lit up, or the first thunder spoke its name, in heavy flight they came, till I could hear the wild black cockatoos, tossed on the crest of their high trees, crying the world’s unrest. Reprinted with permission by Meredith McKinney and Harper Collins Australia. iii EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES: To identify “teams” within the music, how they weave together and how and why they change with musical purpose. Identify the exact placement of beats 1, 2, 3 and 4 with precision and purpose. Confirm the identity of beats 1, 2, 3 and 4 and link the placement of these beats from the podium. ELECTRONIC TRACK(s) One electronic track is included with this piece (and can be downloaded via the QR code show below): • Coda Cockatoos Be sure to “Sound check” this track in the performance space with your band playing at mm. 57. Please note that the sampled sounds of the black cockatoos are meant to be really loud, that’s what they’re like in the bush! Additional short, sampled bird calls are also available via this QR code. Download the calls and place students on devices connected to amplifiers around your concert hall (see suggested set-up in diagram below). Assign one sampled track to each performer (up to 6). THE WHIRLY A Whirly is a non-melodic percussion instrument made from un-slotted (solid), corrugated (ribbed) irrigation pipe (don’t use pool hose – it’s too thick!). This pipe is made from High density polyethylene (HPDE) and is available from most hardware stores. Look for any of the following: solid drainpipe, unslotted draincoil or agricultural drainage pipe (unslotted). The best sounding pipe comes in a diameter of 65mm/2 ½ inch. Cut them into any length and be aware that the longer the pipe, the lower the sound. Short pipes (60cm/2 feet) or less tend to be too rigid to spin and hence don’t make a sound. Main speaker system to play “Coda Cockatoos” Student with device & amplifierfor antiphony Download all tracks including antiphonal birdcall tracks here: iv EMOTIONAL CONTEXT: Embracing the 21st Century Instead of providing more specific details for emotional context on the score and in parts by way of words and directions, I have instead created a webpage that provides links to YouTube clips and imagery. All parts contain the QR code printed here (and in your score) for easy access. There are three main sections of the work and each section is linked to informative videos and/or informative webpages. Students are invited to link a personal experience to the information provided to establish emotional attachment and relevancy. Strategies to transform these feelings and personal experiences into music making is designated by the ‘Teaching Performance through Composition’ symbol (shown here). Based on your school community, select what methodology is best for sharing/discussing student responses (you can also choose what will/will not be shared). This task is designed to couple information and imagery with personal experience to contextualise the meaning behind the work with the day-to-day life of your students. Contextualization that is hoped will influence their emotional and musical approach to the performance of this work. NOTE: Programme note is also available for download via this link in Word format at the bottom of the page. Dr. Jodie Blackshaw (b. 1971) grew up in the south-east of rural Australia and formed a very personal relationship with music early in life through the creative application of her imagination to musical colours and movement. Today, she continues to seek creative experiences for students through her teaching and composing so they, too, may enjoy the personal relationship she discovered in her formative years. In 2020 Blackshaw completed her PhD in Composition with Dr. Christopher Sainsbury at the Australian National University. In addition to composing and presenting music education/composition workshops, Blackshaw is passionate about fostering equality in repertoire selection. In 2018 she founded ColourFULL Music (www.colourfullmusic.com) to share diverse wind band repertoire in concert program format as created by leading conductors within the global wind music community. In 2021 Blackshaw launched the Teaching Performance through Composition series. This series is evidence-based and was developed as part of Jodie’s post-graduate studies into the compositional process and how best to apply that to an educational environment. In 2022 Jodie was proudly elected on to the Board of the World Association of Symphonic Wind Bands and Ensembles. To find out more please visit: www.jodieblackshaw.com: www.jodieblackshaw.com v TEACHING PERFORMANCE THROUGH COMPOSITION MATERIALS To help achieve the Educational Objectives, a full set of preparatory materials are included with this work. Use these to learn the material before you start learning the piece. These primarily provide your students with a harmonic foundation. Use the “choose your path” exercise to allow students to discover the impact of harmonic voicing and discover guide- tones. Here is what your students can learn in these preparatory materials: • Harmonic progression 1 – in various formats including a flex-scored composition that inspires the opening section. • Harmonic Progression 2 – moving from Concert F to Concert E b . • Rhythmic call and response in two groups - focus students on where to place the beat within a 4/4 measure. • Soundscape build – explore timbre and texture with this exercise to prepare your students for the ending of the work. CONDUCTING ADVICE FROM PROFESSOR CRAIG KIRCHHOFF: In conversation with my friend and colleague Prof. Craig Kirchhoff, we discussed “..into the blue stretch of light..” and how a conductor might address sections that require opposing instructions from the podium. For example, • At mm. 11, 14 and 19, the full ensemble is diminishing in dynamic whilst the percussion is intensifying. • Between mm. 29-51, upper woodwinds and trumpets are playing staccato sections, whilst mid-lower woodwind and brass are playing legato phrases. In cases such as these what does the conductor actually do? The simple yet effective advice from Prof. Kirchhoff is: In other words: • consider your own ensemble (there is no ONE WAY), • consider which section(s) can play independently (and take care of their own part). “..into the blue stretch of light..” calls for musical independence, more so than many other works written at this level. Why? Because much of the music is written in horizontal layers, rather than in a vertical unison mass. Herein lies a different kind of diversity, one of compositional approach. This may be disorientating for students at first, especially if they haven’t played music like this before. So! In rehearsal, have a verbal discussion with your students about what you are actually conducting at different times in the work. In the words of Prof. Kirchhoff: Always remembering the mantra, “Who can you trust?”. Many thanks for Professor Kirchhoff for granting permission to share such learned information as part of this score. Next >