Local Group vs. The Virgo Supercluster

for Orchestra
2222 4221 timp 3P hrp. str.

Audio

Score

Notes from the composer

Local Group vs. The Virgo Supercluster was composed from February 2-15, 2005 and was premiered on April 26, 2005 by Lawrence Golan and the Lamont Symphony Orchestra at the University of Denver.

In recent years, I have settled into a routine: I compose from a little before sunrise until about noon; then, I eat lunch and retire to my couch for a short nap, often leaving the television on. On one such occasion, I was watching a program on astronomy and cosmology while I fell asleep. As I awoke, I heard a scientist on the program discussing the grouping of galaxies into larger structures or clusters. He mentioned that the galactic cluster called the Local Group, which includes the Milky Way, would eventually collide with a larger galactic group, the Virgo Supercluster. In the hypnagogic, half-asleep state at the end of my nap, this provided fertile material for my aural imagination. The soundscapes of Local Group vs. The Virgo Supercluster are an attempt to recreate this experience.

Awards

Special Recognition (Top 7 entries) from New York Youth Symphony/First Music 23.

Performance History

Premiered April 26, 2005.
Lamont Symphony Orchestra.
Lawrence Golan, conductor

June 1, 2006.
Lamont Symphony Orchestra.
Lawrence Golan, conductor.