INTERSTICES 11/5

FIRST PRIZE WINNER. Bruce Faulconer composed INTERSTICES 11/5 in 1977-78 as a part of his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree. The piece won the Elkhart Indiana International Composition Competition (a national award) in 1979, and the Elkhart Indianna Orchestra premiered the composition in Elkhart, May, 20, 1979, with Michael Esselstrom, conducting the orchestra. At this time, Faulconer was also beginning a composer in residency through a Post Doctoral Fellowship at The Ohio State University in Columbus, and he attended the premiere with his music colleague, Professor Gregory Proctor of OSU. INTERSTICES 11/5 is written for a medium size orchestra with woodwinds in pairs, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones timpani, percussion, celeste, harp, and strings. The piece is written in a 20th century neoclassical style, with a symmetrical cell set forming the tonality of the work. The cells of this harmony and melody are known as Z cells, and are formed with interlocking tritones, a half step apart (C, F#, F, B, and their axis of symmetry, D, Eb, G#, A). Also, the two Z cells together form an octatonic scale. See the Dissertation Abstracts at Harvard University Press, 1978 for a discussion of the theoretical process. The difficulty level is suggested for performance by High School, College, and Professional Chamber Ensembles.