Solstice for Trombone and Orchestra

Cindy McTee musically turns the lights on and off

Comments (0) By Dusti Rhodes Thursday, Jan 10 2008

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Composer Cindy McTee was inspired by a coincidence. “[Last summer] I was talking with a friend about the various ways in which ‘shadow’ might be expressed musically in my new trombone concerto,” says McTee on her Web site. “She reminded me that it was June 21 — the day of summer solstice when shadows are at their shortest.” The University of North Texas music professor says this led to the ups and downs of Solstice for Trombone and Orchestra, a piece commissioned by the Houston Symphony. McTee uses slower rhythms and lower notes in the piece to represent dark shadows, which are interrupted with faster tempos and high notes to depict light. See if you can hear the difference when Solstice is performed along with Mozart’s Linz Symphony, Haydn’s Symphony No. 83, La Poule (“The Hen”) and Mahler’s Rückert Lieder, a set of five songs for voice and orchestra. 2:30 p.m. Jones Hall, 615 Louisiana. Additional performances are at 8 p.m. on Thursday, January, 10 and Saturday, January 12. For tickets and information, call 713–224–7575 or visit www.houston-symphony.org. $26 to $103.
Thu., Jan. 10, 8 p.m.; Sat., Jan. 12, 8 p.m.; Sun., Jan. 13, 2:30 p.m., 2008