DUALITY is composed for Rhett Bender and the Southern Oregon University Symphonic Band conducted by Cynthia Hutton.  DUALITY is a concerto for Alto Saxophone and Band in three movements, each of which reflects the title in different ways.  The first movement, Yin-Yang, presents musical ideas that seem to be opposing each other.  The opening melodic ideas are angular, aggressive and almost ugly; these quickly give way to melodic ideas that are far more lyrical and flowing, and beautiful.  These two ideas, the Yin and the Yang, continue to contrast and complement each other throughout the movement.  The second movement, Carousel of Past and Present, begins with a nostalgic evocation of past memories and then proceeds to become more and more dance-like which, to my mind, evokes a carousel and the reality of the present.  The third movement, Solo/Tutti, is a forthright exposition of the duality of soloist verses the tutti, or full ensemble.  Although the “tutti” has the strongest (and last) statement, the soloist gets the most to say through extended cadenza passages.

An orchestra version of the concerto was created in 2014 and also found on this page.

Parts are available upon request.