Black Box/Little Black Box (2018)
Unlike choral singers who can see all parts in their sheet music, instrumentalists constantly have to tangle with deciphering everyone else’s part in the ensemble. Multi-rests on the page essentially function as “black boxes,” keeping the musicians in the dark of the full picture of the music. Black Box is a piece that exploits this feature, deceiving the musicians with misinformation and guarded truths. It also raises ethical concerns over the hierarchical power structure of a traditional ensemble (the “master-to-puppet dynamics” of the “composed-conductor-orchestra-audience chain of communication,” as the composer Andrew Norman calls it), given that the score in the director’s hands contained the only pathway to the so called “truth.”
Unlike most band works, which present a final product in the form of a single stage performance, the real magic of this piece exists in the day-to-day rehearsal process in the classroom. Think of this piece more as a series of lesson plans, a living document that suggests a piece of music rather than presenting students with a steadfast version (or “truth”) of it. It is an experiment, one that will involve lots of mistakes, confusion, and false starts. Your most important weapon is to rethink your role with your ensemble. Your role as the band conductor should be minimized in favor of your role as the band teacher, where asking insightful questions and prompting frequent student discussion will be encouraged above all else. This is not simply a piece to be “played” (although a stage performance is of course still a part of the process!), but a piece to be decoded. In the process, I hope students will unpack ideas about truth, misinformation, and their role as a cog in the vast machine of the wind ensemble.
Black Box is written for high school concert band (Grade 3 - 3.5)
Little Black Box is written for middle school concert band (Grade 1.5 - 2)
Commissioning body:
Scott Crecelius, Band Director, Larson Middle School (Troy, MI)
Melissa Hardwick, Band Director, Fremont Middle/High School (Fremont, IN)
Eric LaNoue, Band Director, International Academy Okma Campus (Bloomfield Hills, MI)
William Vliek, Band Director, Fowlerville High School (Fowlerville, MI)