Contents: 1. A Convict Dreams of England, 2. Silver Moon on Bushranger Bay, 3. Merry-Go-Squares, 4. The Sydney Blues News , 5. Not Just Another Day
Performed by Continuum Sax
Contents: Strollin Along, Three Dogs Barking, Quick Let’s Tidy Up , Sleeping Chilli , Rikitiki Plop, The Tripod Waltz, Two Lumps Thanks , Grooveitis, Hop, Skip and Woops , Mexican Wave, Let’s Keep Together , Smoothie , Pudding, A Little Bit Of Shuffle
Contents: Captain Fred , Rikitiki Plop , Doodly What's It , Lookin' at Cha Cha Cha , Slinkissimmo , The Little Rag Rag , Three Out of Four
Contents: Leap Frog, The Accidental Spy, Tree Fellas of Sherwood , The BIG Test, The Tricky Finish, Trickie Dickie, Triple Treat , Three Blind Rats , Tiptoe Through the Paddock , Old Blue, The Lonely Hiccup, David and his Big Friend , Cha Cha No. 1
Rock Me! captures the relentless driving energy, rhythms and beats found in many forms of rock music. A rapid and unwavering tempo, a gradual increase of the musical density and the exploration of an extensive range of colourful dynamics is vital in the performance of this piece. At times the saxophonist must simulate various other instruments including didgeridoo, electric bass, drum kit, distorted guitar and occasionally even acoustic saxophone.
Performed live by Grainger Wind Symphony
The title of this piece refers to the height at which spacecraft orbit the Earth, and by extension what the planet looks like from up there. Pictures of Earth taken from space certainly conjure feelings of majestic elation to my mind and I have attempted to capture that feeling in this piece of music. 300 Kilometres Above was written as a companion piece to 90 Minutes Circling the Earth, which I wrote around 10 years earlier. I think the two pieces have something on common despite being written a decade apart. This newer meditation was commissioned by Reed Music with assistance from the Music Board of the Australia Council for the Arts.
Performed live at Melba Hall by Grainger Wind Symphony
I have long been a fan of Warner Brothers cartoons and their music scores from the golden age of the 1950s and 60s. To the Rescue! is my response to an imagined cartoon-like scenario of a rescue with lots of hair-brained schemes, much ridiculous activity but little actual rescuing.
Musically, the piece is full of animated running semiquaver passages, replete with percussion effects straight out of cartoon-scores and lively, exaggerated pastiche elements. In the dying stages of the piece, the full forces of the concert band finally come together as one, and perhaps in a concerted last-ditch effort, a serious rescue attempt is indeed mustered! PS
