Cacti and other pleasures | large ensemble music by Frank A. Wallace

I recently came across a few older, less-than-perfect-videos of some of my large ensemble music. It’s a pleasure to reacquaint myself with old friends, and inspires me to share them with you and dream of new works. Here’s one:

Keene State College guitar ensemble rehearses Spring Symphony with the composer conducting

 
My most recent guitar ensemble piece is Cacti, commissioned by Arizona State University Phoenix, Glendale Community College, and Arizona School of the Arts. The three ensembles joined forces on April 7, 2018 to give the debut of the work under the direction of conductor Charles Hulihan. Chuck, Frank Koonce and Josh Pierce conspired to have me visit the previous fall to teach, perform and conduct some other ensemble pieces.

“Each piece composed by Frank Wallace that I have had the opportunity to see has been a joy… I am very happy to find, throughout his music, that he seems to be one of those guitar music creators who really has something new to say.” – Uros Dojcinovic, Soundboard, on Random Act for cello and guitar

I have also been commissioned to write mandolin orchestra music by Das JugendZupfOrchester des Landes NRW, Christian de Witt, director and Robert Margo for the Providence Mandolin Orchestra, Mark Davis, director; and guitar ensemble pieces  Higfor Timberlaneh School and the NH All State Guitar ensemble. Larger chamber works of four or more have been written for Fabian Hinsche, the Hartt School 50th Anniversary concert and a tribute concert to my work in 2007 for the BCGS.

My goal in writing these works is to bring joy to the performers, conductor and audience, but also to challenge. Challenge all the particpants to broaden their interests outside arrangements of standard classics and popular music. It seems to me there is a move to make classical music more “accessible,” more appealing to a general audience. In the “good ol’ days,” the great classical composers either wrote for an erudite noble class, or an elite business class who found prestige in going to concerts — after all, the populous could not afford it. Aside from any social issues, the musical result was unquestionable.

But let us not forget a fundamental drive to create and explore new ideas. We must support the creative act itself with money, interest, exposure and opportunity. My friends at ASU, GCC and ASA are model proponents of new music and give regular stimulation to their students through intense involvement with the creative act. We must not simply “have a good time.”

Our art and craft require enormous amounts of skill and devotion. It’s not always easy and first impressions of something new are frequently not accurate or sustained. Large ensembles must rise to the task of performing sophisticated, detailed and even complex scores.

To watch continuous play of all available videos of these works, go to my YouTube playlist Large Ensemble Works with Guitar. Several selections are provided below. To purchase any of these works, please select from this list at Gyre Music.

New England Quintets | performed by the Providence Mandolin Orchestra, Mark Davis conducting

La Perla del Pico | performed by Duo Alterity and friends at the Hartt School

Un Establo de Oro | rehearsal video of Fabian Hinsche and friends

Changes Upon the Guitar | debut at the Hartt School