Eosphorus: The Morning Star
Duration: 7'00"
Instrumentation:
1 Piccolo, 2 Flutes (1° dbl. Piccolo 2, 2° dbl. Alto Flute), 2 Oboes, 1 English Horn, 2 Bassoons, 1 Contrabassoon, 1 Eb Clarinet, 6 Bb Clarinets, 1 Bass Clarinet, 1 Soprano Sax., 1 Alto Sax., 1 Tenor Sax., 1 Baritone Sax., 4 Bb Trumpets, 4 Horns, 2 Tenor Trombones, 1 Bass Trombone, 1 Euphonium, 2 Tubas, 1 String Bass, 1 Timpani, 4 Percussion
Program Notes:
"When o'er the eastern lawn,
In saffron robes, the daughter of the dawn
Advanced her rosy steps, before the bay
Due ritual honours to the gods I pay."
- Homer's Odyssey
Eosphorus (pronounced ee’ – ahs – fer – uhs) was an ancient Greek deity, personifying the morning star and the daughter of the dawn. Her sighting in the eastern sky would herald the coming of Helios, who brought light to the day with his golden chariot of the sun. Over the horizon in the early morning hours, Eosphorus humbly shines, and as the dawn slowly subsides to the majestic sunrise, she struggles to continue illuminating the eastern sky. After one final attempt to retain her place in the heavens, Eosphorus loses her primacy in a blaze of glory, as the sun’s light overwhelms the little star. Slowly she retreats until at the end of the next night she would eventually and inevitably herald the return of Helios. Like Eosphorus, this work flows from chaos into order with intersecting and fluid lines that usher in the fanfare of the sun, until Eosphorus, conceding defeat, fades back into the abyss.
Perusal Score
Awards:
Finalist, 2024 RED NOTE New Music Festival Composition Competition
Selected Performance, 2014 Society of Composers, Inc. Region V Conference
Winner, 2012 National Band Association's Young Composer Mentor Project
Selected Performance, 2012 UAHuntsville New Music Festival
Honorable Mention, 2011 Truman State University / MACRO Composition Competition
Selected Performance, 2011 15th Biennial Festival of New Music at Florida State University
Selected Performance, 2010 Iowa Composers Forum Fall Festival
Performances:
Arkansas State University Wind Ensemble (Timothy Oliver, conductor) - 28 September 2017; Jonesboro, AR
Western Michigan University Wind Symphony (Scott Boerma, conductor) - 28 March 2014; Kalamazoo, MI
Arizona State University Wind Ensemble (Jennifer Climer, conductor) - 25 June 2012; Tempe, AZ [Video of Performance on YouTube]
U.S. Army Materiel Command Band (CWO Peter Gillies, conductor) - 9 February 2012; Huntsville, AL
Florida State University Wind Orchestra (Ryan Scherber, conductor) - 26 February 2011; Tallahassee, FL
Florida State University Wind Orchestra (Ryan Scherber, conductor) - 29 January 2011; Tallahassee, FL
Iowa State University Wind Ensemble (Michael Golemo, conductor) - 16 October 2010; Ames, IA
University of Missouri-Kansas City Wind Ensemble (Joseph Parisi, conductor) - 28 April 2010; Kansas City, MO