The Owl

(for brass quintet and three percusionists)

The Owl is an experimental early work for brass quintet and three percussionsts after texts by Native Americans completed in 1975. It has never been performed.  It lasts about 10 minutes.

The work uses 24 special effects that are described in an accompanying 8 page booklet.  These range from the trombone being played with bassoon reeds, to a twirling gong attached by a long rope to the ceiling and swinging  across the stage like a pendulum.  The twirling creates subtle variations in the audible overtones and the pendulum swing creates a slight doppler effect.  There are also specially designed tubes to modulate the frequencies of the brass instruments and the player's singing voices.

A high resolution PDF of the score can be downloaded by clicking here.  (75 megs) This is a graphic score and should be printed on large paper trimmed to 24 x 17.7 inches (or 61 x 45 cm.)  It can be read on a medium or large sized desktop monitor if zoomed, and is easier if the monitor is rotated to portrait orientation.  A PDF handbook containing the performance directions can be downloaded here

Here is a sample page from the score. Click to open the page in full resolution which can be zoomed to see the full detail: