James Beckel (b. 1948): From the Earth to the Moon and Beyond

Born in Marion, Ohio, Beckel was principal trombonist of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra from 1969 to 2018. He received a Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University, and has been a member of the music faculty at DePauw University since 1971. His horn concerto, The Glass Bead Game, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1997.

In 2018 Beckel was asked by the Boston Symphony’s music librarian, Wilson Ochoa, to write a new narrated work for orchestra. The result was From the Earth to the Moon and Beyond,  in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing (July 20, 1969). Nine musical organizations, including the United States Air Force Band of Mid-America, the Colorado Symphony, Orchestra Iowa, and the Bozeman Symphony, joined together to commission the work.

The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra gave the premiere on July 3, 2019. There followed performances by the Boston Symphony and the rest of the commissioning orchestras.

Program Notes by Charley Samson, copyright 2022.