As there have been many films made up from the two Alice in Wonderland books (normally both rolled up into one film) but no significant “stand-alone” music inspired by the literature that I could find, I decided to retell the story without the need of video, with the wind orchestra’s own sound and spatial vicinity, with a “surround sound” feel. To do this I felt I needed to create different groups of instruments to represent the characters, such as the White Rabbit, the Caterpillar, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, the White Knight and so on. The Alice group stands in the middle of the audience so the audience are in the story and moving with Alice, feeling what she feels. The other groups stand at the corners of the audience and represent other characters at different times, moving in and out of the story, with their own motifs. The main orchestra is the background to the evolving story, with the two movements of the composition telling the story of the two books. The linear form of the books helped me to create a structure that never has any repeating sections, and so the music is constantly changing and developing.

Copyright Tierney Kirby 2012

Alice's Adventures Through Sound and Space: In Wonderland (Movement 1), In Mirrorland (Movement 2)

Live recording of Ronald Binge's Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra. Free Lunchtime Concert, University of Sheffield. Performed by Tierney Kirby and accompanied by Sam Giles. 13.12.12