Glenda Bates, D.M.A.
Composer, Arranger, Director
Mealtime at La Honda, a Suite for Woodwind Quintet
Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn
This suite is dedicated to all the campers and my fellow staff at Hayward la Honda Music Camp! I composed this suite based on the sounds and songs that we hear together as a whole camp at mealtime, a thrice daily ritual.
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We of course couldn't be together this year due to the pandemic, but we hosted a series of masterclasses online followed by a virtual campfire where this video was premiered. July 2020.
The melody from movement three is the not-so-happy birthday song that is a camp tradition. The kids go all our for every time, with the banging on tables, screaming, and ironic gloom singing, and there are birthdays at least every couple days.
The last movement's primary melody is the blessing we sing before each meal, with a different staff member conducting each time.
Spacewalk Blues
For Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, and Vibraphone
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Based on the feeling of walking on the moon, or another low gravity planetary object, where each step is a joyful and mesmirizing bounce. This is a minimalist piece designed to allow the improvisers to open up, and to allow the audience to reach a meditative state.
My first arrangement of this song was for Chamber Jazz septet - Soprano voice, flute, oboe, clarinet, double bass, drums
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I also created and performed an Oboe Quartet Arrangement (Oboe, Violin, Viola, Cello) for a GroupMuse in San Francisco.
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Live concert recording at Spectrum NYC, 2017.
