Melting Pot Overture

(2121;222;timp 3 perc. strings; piano; narrator; optional tuba) This overture was composed for the York Junior Symphony and premiered at the Eastern Regional MENC Conference. It is divided into three sections each based upon different poetry with a common theme the unity of people on earth. The work uses folk songs from different ethnic origins in combination with each other to create a composition reflective of the title. A slow introduction leads into a spirited allegro after the narrator speaks the ending of Emma Lazarus poem The New Colossus which appears on the pedestal of the statue of Liberty. This is followed by a slow section where the composers poem Im From America is spoken over the music. The final section is also a spirited allegro where the composers poem We Are One is spoken among a set of variations on a Quapaw Indian Song.