[#21] December 16, 2019
2015 | Wind Ensemble | Grade 4 | 5’- 10’ | Tone poem
Winner of the 2015 ABA Sousa/Ostwald Award, Aaron Perrine’s “Only Light” is our Composition of the Week.
A wonderful 8 minutes, reflective work, “meant to convey a sense of hope and healing”.
Only light was commissioned by the University of Iowa Symphony Band (Dr. Richard Mark Heidel, Director) in 2014.
The instrumentation includes contrabass clarinet, double bass, piano, and a large percussion section (6).
Only light’s melodic material comes from “Beneath a Canvas of Green” a large-scale work by the composer, written for wind ensemble as well.
“Aaron Perrine creates vividly colorful and rhythmically infused layers of music, inspired by the soundscapes and unparalleled allure of the natural world.”
He has received degrees from the University of Iowa, the University of Minnesota and the University of Minnesota, Morris.
His music has been performed by some of the leading ensembles and soloists across the United States and beyond. He is a two-time winner of the American Bandmasters Association Sousa/Ostwald Award for his compositions (Only Light in 2015 and Pale Blue on Deep in 2013).
Another one of his compositions—Temperance—recently won the 2017 CBDNA Young Band Composition Contest. His music for winds has also been featured at the 2017 CBDNA National Conference, multiple regional CBDNA Conferences, The Midwest Clinic, The Western International Band Clinic, and at numerous all-state, state conference and honor band concerts.
In addition to composing, Perrine is an active conductor and educator. He has conducted a variety of honor bands, with his most recent appearance being the 2018 All-Iowa 8th Grade Honor Band. Future conducting engagements include the 2021 South Dakota All-State Band. He is currently on the faculty at Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa.
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