SYZYGY (flex version)

Adaptable Wind Parts:
Instrumentation:
This piece is written in three parts (1-3), and you are free to assign players to any part, as long as all
three parts are covered somewhere in the ensemble. For example, this piece could be performed with
just three flutes.
With that being said, much of this piece uses canonic writing, and I believe it sounds best when the
registers are clearly defined between the three parts. For example, having Part 1 played by mostly
higher instruments, Part 2 by mid-range instruments, and Part 3 with low register instruments will
result in the clearest counterpoint. In addition, balancing the part assignments with regards to the
number of players on each part—as well as the characteristics of the instruments assigned to each
part—will ensure that the counterpoint comes through clearly.
Therefore, these are some recommended part assignments:
Part 1: Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Trumpet
Part 2: Alto Sax, Tenor Sax, Horn, (+Clarinet)
Part 3: Bass Clarinet, Bassoon, Baritone Sax, Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba (8vb)
Optional Percussion Parts:
Timpani
Glockenspiel
Xylophone
Crash Cymbals
Bass Drum
These percussion parts are optional, and you can use one, some, or all of them. You are also welcome to
have your percussionists play any of the three concert-pitch wind parts on various mallet instruments.
Duration: 1.5 minutes
Transposed Score
Program Notes:
“Sygyzy” is a term used in astrology to describe interesting configurations of three or more celestial
bodies, such as the sun, earth, and moon. My piece begins with every instrument playing the same
melody together, as if they’re planets in alignment. Afterward, the band is divided into three groups
and their entrances on this same melody are staggered. (The fancy musical term for this sort of writing
is a “canon”—think Row, Row, Row Your Boat.) By both aligning and staggering the melody in various
ways, I hope to represent different formations that celestial bodies can create while in orbit, from
perfect eclipses to zigzag-like formations.
Syzygy was commissioned by Sam Fritz, director of the Center Grove Middle School Bands, and Ashley
Carney, director of the Zionsville Middle School Orchestras, as part of a group commission with the
Blue Dot Collective.