A Little R&R

I have been fortunate to have composed several works for Richard Stoelzel and Rex Richardson individually, but none for both of them to perform together. So when the call came to write a new work to feature the both of them, I was more than delighted to give it a shot.

“A Little R&R” (title suggested by Rich Stoelzel – more on that later…) is a little 10 minute “concertino” to highlight those qualities at which the two of them excel. It features technical “licks”, flugelhorn lyricism, soaring “big moments”, and piccolo trumpet wizardry as well. It also allows for some improvised call/response, to highlight the crossover necessities for many trumpet soloists in today’s era. Upon commencing this piece, I was unsure what title to give it. I received many suggestions, but once Rich suggested “A Little R&R”, I knew I had a winner. The “R’s” refer to the first names of the soloists, of course, but Rich’s suggestion is all the more significant, given that that is exactly what he will deserve after hosting and performing in the international trumpet conference (ITG), for which this piece was written. Jim Stephenson May 2, 2013 Instrumentation:

• Piccolo, flutes 1-2, oboes 1-2 (oboe 2 is optional), Bb clarinets (1 part-2 players), bass clarinet, alto sax 1-2 (doubling on soprano sax), tenor sax, baritone sax, horns 1-2, trumpets 1-2, trombones 1-2, bass trombone, euphonium, tuba
• Percussion: 5 players, (6 if possible)
• Xylo., glock, crotales, marimba, chimes, vibes, snare drum, bass drum, temple blocks, drum set, triangle, sleigh bells, splash cymbal, 2 sus. cymbals, 4 toms, closed hi-hat.