Description
The Initiation is a 24-minute orchestral piece that was commissioned by Women in the Arts/National Women’s Music Festival. Nan Harrison Washburn conducted the National Women’s Music Festival Orchestra for the premiere on July 2, 2016 in Middleton, Wisconsin.
The piece is about a vision quest, and the sometimes frightening risks we must take in order to understand what our lives are about. I was especially inspired by watching documentaries about mountain climbers. The three movements are called Trepidation, Dawning, and Deliverance. The first movement is about starting out on the journey, the second is about overcoming our fears and the dawning realization that the universe is supporting our journeys. The third movement is about finding our way home after our long journeys.
When you make your payment, you will receive a link to download the pdf files for the conductor’s score and parts. You can download them right away from the web page that comes up to confirm your payment or you can download them from the links that will come in your confirmation email.
Your payment represents a rental of the score for one performance. If you plan to perform the piece more than once, please pay for multiple copies of the score. The performing rights for this piece are handled by BMI.
Perusal Score: If you would like a perusal score, you may purchase one by clicking here>>
Audio Clips: You can listen to a two-minute excerpt of the second movement and a 3-minute excerpt from the third movement on my Vimeo channel.
Full Recording: You can listen to an audio recording of the full piece performed by the Michigan Philharmonic and conducted by Nan Washburn in 2019 by clicking on the links below:
Instrument List: 2 Flutes (1 Piccolo), 2 Oboes (1 English Horn), 2 Clarinets in Bb, 2 Bassoons, 2 Horns in F, 2 Trumpets in C, 1 Trombone, 1 Bass Trombone, 1 Tuba, Timpani, Percussion 1 (Suspended Cymbal, Crash Cymbal, Tambourine, Tam-Tam), Percussion 2 (Snare Drum, Bass Drum), Chimes, Marimba, Pianoforte, 2 Violins, 1 Viola, 1 Violoncello, 1 Contrabass
Thanks Leslie D. Judd, Susanne DiVincenzo, Kaia Skaggs, and Martha Richards, for helping me create this new engraving for my online store.
