This is a fantasy on the song "Bridgewater" from the Sacred Harp written for concert band.

Picc/2 fl/ob/bsn/3 cl/bcl/2 asx/tsx/bsx/3 tpt/2 hn/3 tbn/euph/tba/timp/sd/bd/glock/xylo/chimes/cymb/tri/tamb

On a Shape Note Song

If I hadn't become a musician, I often think that I would've eventually found myself involved in astronomy somehow.  I have always been fascinated with space and the new ideas and theories scientists discover.  As a musician, I am fascinated by ballet music and the interaction of music and dance.  Astral Dances is my homage to both of these interests, a "ballet of the stars" if you will.  This piece is in 3 movements

I. Dog Star Round

Sirius, or the "Dog Star" due to it's prominence in the constellation Canis Major is actually a binary star with Sirius A being the brighter star and Sirius B being a white dwarf.  There are other irregularities in their orbit that may indicate the presence of a brown dwarf in the Sirius system as well.  This dance depicts an irregular round dance as the dancers approach the Dog Star, continue their dance in the system, and eventually move through until the bright star fades into a point of light. 

II. In the Light of Dead Stars

The stars in the night sky are so incredibly far away we can't even comprehend the distance.  In fact, many of them have already gone nova and died, but the light of a youth is just now reaching us.  The offstage trumpet in this movement represents this distance, and feel free to experiment with placement of the soloist to achieve the best effect.  This is a sort of requiem for the long dead stars as people dance under the night sky.

III. Shift the Light Fantastic

Most of the stars and galaxies are moving away from one another faster than the speed of light. Some scientists theorize that at eventually the universe will begin to rapidly collapse back into itself, forming a singularity, which will begin the whole process again.  The title is a combined reference to the 17th century cliché “Trip the light fantastic”, which means ‘to dance lightly', and a "Red Shift", which is a phenomenon that occurs when light waves become elongated due to high velocity departure of the source…in this case, the stars in the galaxies.  This movement depicts a rapid and continual spinning away, creating a vast expanse with a few objects occasionally speeding by. It finally arrives at a new beginning…similar in many ways, but not quite the same.

Tai Livingston

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