MOXIE

MOXIE, for orchestra (2015) Kristin Kuster was one of ten composers asked to write a new piece of music to celebrate the Baltimore Symphony's one-hundredth anniversary. Baltimore's audience was asked to submit ideas for the pieces, and the idea that Ms. Kuster chose was to honor the Baltimore Symphony's much loved music director, Marin Alsop. For her piece, Ms. Kuster uses "Marin" as a cipher, assigning a different chord to each letter of the name. Moxie is a bright, celebratory piece that starts with impetuous rhythms and big, blocky chords. The opening rhythms eventually break down and become irregular. The chords become more atmospheric while a recurring melody layers over itself. Soon the woodwinds play cascading scales while the melody continues. The blocky chords return, as do the opening rhythms, leading up to a smashing end. Orchestra Instrumentation: 3.2.2.2/4.3.3.1/timp. 3 perc/str Orchestral performance parts are available via rental: https://justatheorypress.com/collections/kristin-kuster/products/moxie