Looking Up in Perfect Silence at the Stars

for Chamber Orchestra (2023)
ca. 16 minutes duration

Instrumentation: 2 Fl., 1 Ob./E.H., 1 Cl. (Bb), 1 B. Cl., 1 Bsn. / 1 Hn., 1 Tpt. (C), 1 Tbn., 1 B. Tbn. / 2 Perc. (Vib., B.D., S.D., Sus. Cym.) / Pno. / Strings

The title of Looking Up in Perfect Silence at the Stars is adapted from Walt Whitman’s poem “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer.” Premiered in 2023 by The Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra, Todd Craven, Music Director, and included again in 2026 as part of their Echoes and Encores: Best of OCCO concert at the Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts in Winter Park, Florida. The timing of the planned premiere coincided with the tailing off of the COVID-19 pandemic and influenced my choice of theme. I tried to capture in music the range of emotions that occur when truly contemplating both the beauty of the night sky and our deep connection to everything we see there.

Delivery & Rights Note: Upon purchase, you will instantly receive a high-resolution PDF package containing the full conductor’s score and a complete set of 18 parts, formatted for immediate printing. Purchase grants unlimited, perpetual performance rights to the buying ensemble. All we request is a courtesy notification of your performance dates so we can help promote your concert.