Duration: 9:00
Commissioned by the World Music Contest Kerkrade for the inaugural Youth Division Contest, 2026.
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Connections celebrates the telephone and its 150th anniversary in 2026. The music traces the history from early morse code and tuning forks through to landlines, phone boxes, operators, mobile phones and the future. Conversations and messages are shared around the band, and at its heart is a musical theme based on the telephone patent number US174465A, ‘Improvement in Telegraphy’, granted to Alexander Graham Bell on 7 March 1876.
1. Sound and Voice
The first movement features the race to file the patent, starting with harmonic telegraphy (or acoustic telegraphy), the predecessor of the phone. A morse code motif spells out ‘telephone’ and interactions between sections of the band represent the first long-distance telephone calls in 1876, initially one way then two way.
2. Dial 'O' for Operator
This is the era of the landline, phone boxes, operators (often contacted via ‘0’, the last digit on the rotary dial telephone) and DTMF (dual-tone multi-frequency), the sound of the push-button phone. Melodic dialogues are shared through the band, often as solos, and interspersed with ringing tones from around the world in the percussion.
3. Generations
The music shifts through the mobile phone generations starting with 1G, then 2G 1990s with texts, the first games, touchscreen, Bluetooth, Internet, downloadable content and emojis, 3G 2000s and cameras, selfies, apps, push notifications and smartphone, to 4G the era of 4K camera, video and WhatsApp, 5G and beyond. The more mysterious section which follows reflects research suggesting the future of phones may involve mycelium (the ‘woodwide web’), and incorporates sounds from a recording of fungi communication (by kind permission of the Unconventional Computing Laboratory, UWE Bristol). History then merges into the present, featuring echoes of earlier phone themes including morse code – now just ‘phone’ – alongside rhythmically inspired breakbeat variations driving the constant buzz of mobile phone activity. Generations becomes increasingly intricate, showcasing the versatility and complexity of our phones today, the ebb and flow of everyday communication, and a celebration of worldwide connections.
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Instrumentation:
Eb Soprano Cornet
Bb Solo Cornet
Bb Repiano Cornet
Bb Cornet 2
Bb Cornet 3
Bb Flugelhorn
Eb Solo Tenor Horn
Eb Tenor Horn 1
Eb Tenor Horn 2
Bb Baritone 1
Bb Baritone 2
Bb Trombone 1
Bb Trombone 2
Bass Trombone
Bb Euphonium
Eb Bass
Bb Bass
Percussion 1: indian bells, drum kit, triangle
Percussion 2: glockenspiel, timpani, vibraphone, wind chimes, concert bass drum, bongos, triangle
Percussion 3 (optional): tubular bells, glockenspiel, timpani, triangle, cymbals, bongos