The Celebration
A Symphonic Jubilee
The Celebration!
(A Symphonic Jubilee)
is a symphonic suite in five movements
Enjoy a video of The Celebration! on YouTube.
You can listen to a performance and follow the score.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8t5-ck7qHI0
Individual movements and their length:
1. The Invitation! (2:30)
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2. Valse Memoiré (Past Times, Absent Friends) (5:30)
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3. The Life of the Party! (3:00)
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Hear this movement on YOUTUBE!
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4. Audrey and Cary (A Fantasy in Tango)
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proceeds without pause to
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5. Jubilation! (The Grandé Finalé) (6:56)
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“Thanks for ‘The Celebration!’ Your music was perfect for the CRSO
and for our audiences! It is so happy and bright - just like you are. You and your music brought great joy to all concerned. Gee, that is what
it is all about - isn't it. I hope that the future gives me other opportunities
to conduct your music. Warm greetings and thanks to you!”
Henry Charles Smith
Grammy award winner
Conductor, Trombonist
Linda says: “Henry is a wonderful conductor and a marvelous human being.
I am honored and grateful to have had the opportunity to work with him.”
Program Notes
The Celebration! (A Symphonic Jubilee) is a suite in five movements, each with a different style and personality although there are common structural, rhythmic, and harmonic threads throughout. The commission said that the music was to be "peppy, tonal, and tuneful." It certainly achieves that goal. Each movement also highlights different instruments of the orchestra, from the piccolo to the percussion. Overall it was intended to reflect the special occasion both in the titles and in the music itself. It becomes a celebration of music, life, friends, love, joy, and the glory of that most marvelous musical instrument of all, the orchestra.
It opens with "The Invitation" to celebrate being invited and the giddiness at the beginning of any party. Next comes “Valse Mémoire,” a pause for remembrance when absent friends are recalled, and past times are honored. And, of course, every celebration has to have “The Life of the Party!,” probably resulting in a lampshade on somebody's head! No party is complete without “Audrey and Cary,” evoking both mystery and glamour. And, of course, everyone comes together at the end to join in the celebration by offering their own “Jubilation” to the occasion, and a toast to the future.
The Celebration! was commissioned by the St. Cloud Symphony in Minnesota, with additional funding by Clinton Lee, President of its Board of Directors. It was premiered on April 16, 2000 as part of their 25th anniversary celebration under the musical direction of Lawrence Eckerling, conductor. It has enjoyed numerous performances throughout the USA since its premiere, including Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Ohio, California, and Oklahoma. The Cedar Rapids Symphony's used this as the featured work for their 80th Anniversary Celebration, “American Extravaganza” concert.
Performance History
The Celebration! (A Symphonic Jubilee) was commissioned by the St. Cloud (MN) Symphony and premiered on April 16, 2000 as part of their 25th anniversary celebration under the musical direction of Lawrence Eckerling, conductor. It has enjoyed numerous performances throughout the USA since its premiere, including the DeKalb Symphony in Atlanta, Georgia, under the direction of Thomas Anderson, the Kona (Hawaii) Association for the Performing Arts under the direction of Ken Staton, the Prairie Wind Ensemble in Champaign, Illinois under the direction of Kevin Kelly, the Greenville Symphony Orchestra in Pennsylvania under the direction of Michael Gelfand, the Columbus, Indiana Symphony under the direction of David Bowden, in Ohio.
The Celebration! was performed by the Bartlesville Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Lauren Green on a concert with the Canadian Brass. This gala concert celebrated the Oklahoma Centennial, the 50th anniversary of the Bartlesville Symphony, and the 30th anniversary season of Maestro Lauren Green as their conductor.
Orchestra Iowa chose this suite as the finalé for their 80th Anniversary Celebration, "American Extravaganza" concert.
On November 12, 2022, the suite was performed by the Franklin & Marshall Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Brian Norcross.
The Celebration! will also be featured on the January 27, 2023 PMEA District 10 Festival Orchestra program in Pennsylvania.
Adaptations and other editions:
The suite has most often been performed in its entirety, but individual movements are also available and appropriate for performance as standalone pieces. Additionally, the third movement, “The Life of the Party!” has been adapted to euphonium quartet for the North Texas Euphonium Quartet, for saxophone quartet, and for piano duet.
Instrumentation
Perusal scores are available to interested conductors.
Please contact the composer to request a score.
Piccolo (doubling as 2nd flute)
2 Flutes
2 Oboes
2 Clarinets in B flat
2 Bassoons
4 Horns in F
2 Trumpets in C
2 Trombones
Tuba
Harp
Piano
Timpani
Percussion: (3 players)
Glockenspiel (Orchestra Bells)
Cymbals - Crash and Suspended
Snare Drum
Tom Tom (medium to high pitch, like the one on a trap set.)
Castanets, Claves, Cowbell, Maracas, Ratchet, Sandpaper Blocks, Triangle
Violin I
Violin II
Viola
Violoncello
Contra Bass
Duration: Approximately 18 minutes
Copyright © 2000, by Linda Robbins Coleman. All rights reserved.
Published by Coleman Creative Services.
This music is licensed through Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI)