Life in Exposition of Water
Performance Details
JBD MusicWorks has partnered with the Pennsylvania Philharmonic, a 501(c)3 nonprofit orchestra, to present Life In Exposition of Water. In a typical year, the Pennsylvania Philharmonic presents over 60% of its performances in schools to children in grades 3-8. In addition to premiering the work in 2023, the Philharmonic’s in-school programming for the 2023-2024 school year will be built around Water’s music and message of appreciation for the delicate balance between humanity and our planet. This program will be presented to over 15,000 children in live performances, classroom sessions, and virtual programming.
The mission of the Pennsylvania Philharmonic is to introduce young minds to quality classical music and bring an enriching musical experience to communities around the state. The Philharmonic’s approach is unique among professional orchestras. They believe music education and the arts are fundamentally important and beneficial to the lives of all people and use the symphony concert experience as a catalyst for academic advancement, creativity, joy, and personal growth.
Life in Exposition of Water premiered July 13th at the Hill School in Pottstown, PA. Additionally, the Philharmonic will include Water as part of their 2023-2024 educational outreach to children in schools throughout the area. In all, the anticipated reach of Water will be nearly 16,000 people including 15,000 students and 1,000 performance attendees.
The music
On an implicit level, Water reminds us that humans have not mastered the power of water. The forces of a symphony orchestra are perfect because the orchestra has the range of expression to convey both vulnerability and awe, just as we experience extremes of flood and drought in the music. The history of civilization is the history of our attempts to domesticate water, and this piece takes several opportunities to celebrate the works of man (aqueducts, dams, irrigation, waterworks) that have given us better, longer lives.
Water begins in the Prelude with the sound of raindrops. Lyrical clarinet solos, elegant harp cascades, and stirring brass chorales introduce the scope of the topic, underpinned by panoramic views of great bodies of water from around the world. In the Watercolors movement, music that might be more expected in a dance club plays against images of water droplets bouncing in time, like a dazzling fountain show. Glacial Melt and Drought, presented as one continuous idea, recalls earlier themes in frozen, parched, extended fashion. Poignant visuals remind us of the extremes of existence and the staggering variety of climate on Earth. Water Dance is a lively rhythmic outburst with shifting rhythm and a bright language reminiscent of Copland’s Appalachian Spring period.
Finally, Ocean is a dazzling orchestral tour-de-force, switching between grandeur and upheaval. In between sets of movements, narration hints at the debt we owe the planet and our linkage to the land and its bounty. Aimee Lilly provides the narration backdrop for this work with video by Daniel Campione.