John Burge

Instrumentation: 2222/423/2Perc+Timp/Strings

Commissioner: The Kingston Symphony Orchestra through funding provided by the Ontario Arts Council.

Premiere: The Kingston Symphony Orchestra, Glen Fast, conductor, at the Grand Theatre, Kingston, ON, Marchc 1 1998.

Duration: 46 minutes

Movements:

1. Semplice – Moderato
2. Scherzo
3. Andante expressivo
4. Allegro marcato

Program note: John Burge's First Symphony is a traditionally conceived and executed work in four movements. It is subtitled, The Clarion, which is a term used for an ancient trumpet-like instrument. The reference will be obvious to the listener at the very beginning of the Symphony as two off-stage trumpets trade a short motivic idea back and forth. The actual pitches that the two trumpets play form the basis for much of the later motivic development in the entire work, thereby providing a constant thread that connects and unifies the piece.

This wok was commissed by the Kingston Symphony Orchestra with funding provided by the Ontario Arts Council and in 1998, was the fourth composition of John Burge's that the Kingston Symphony had commissioned and premiered. Previous collaborations included Burge's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1991), his cantata, That we may not Lose Loss (1993) and the orchestral tone poem, Snowdrift (1996). All of these compositions were conducted by Glen Fast, Music Director of the KSO and it is with much appreciation that John Burge dedicated his Frist Syphony to Glen.