I. Mist

  II.  Fury

 III,  Prayer

 IV.  Steamboat

Reflections on the Mississippi (2015) for tuba and symphonic band was commissioned by the University of Michigan Symphony Band, Michael Haithcock, music director. The world premiere was given by the University of Michigan Symphony Band, conducted by Michael Haithcock, with Carol Jantsch, tuba, at the University of Michigan, Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan on February 6, 2015.

This concerto, composed in memory of my father, Willis Daugherty (1929-2011), is a musical reflection on family trips during my childhood to the Mississippi River near McGregor, Iowa. In July and October 2012, I returned to the Mississippi River to make two road trips along the “Great River Road” from McGregor to Hannibal, Missouri. I explored small river towns and snapped photographs of scenic river vistas. Local boat owners also guided me to the secluded wildlife havens and murky backwaters of the Mississippi River. All the while, I was collecting sounds, musical ideas and an emotional framework for my tuba concerto.

Reflections on the Mississippi is 22 minutes in duration, and in four movements. Movements 1 and 2 are performed without pause and movements 3 and 4 are performed without pause.

In the first movement, “Mist,” I reflect on sunrise as seen and heard through a misty haze over the Mississippi River. After an opening ripple, the tuba intones a mystical melody that ascends through shimmering chords. An ostinato is introduced in a musical canon by percussion, piano, and tuba, followed by a dark second theme that rises from the depths of the brass section punctuated by woodwinds. At the end of the movement, the ostinato returns in the timpani and is combined with the misty opening melody of the tuba.

The title of the second movement, “Fury,” recalls the turmoil of the Mississippi River in the fiction of William Faulkner and in the history of the “Great Mississippi Flood” of 1927. Like the jarring time shifts in Faulkner’s 1927 novel, The Sound and the Fury, the music I have created consists of dissonant harmonies, turbulent polyrhythms, and clashing 3/4 and 5/4 time signatures performed simultaneously.

In “Prayer,” the third movement, I meditate on the calm mood of the Mississippi River seen from a high vista, overlooking the water as far as the eye can see, as sunset turns into a clear and starry night. Glockenspiel, vibraphone, chimes and piano echo like distant church bells. While the tuba plays a lyrical, soulful melody. In a musical flashback, I evoke material from the first movement to remind us of the timeless currents of the Mississippi River.

The final movement, “Steamboat,” conjures up colorful tales from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain (1835-1910). Traveling down the Mississippi River, I have composed lively music that follows the gambling steamboats from Twain’s hometown in Hannibal, Missouri, to the final stop in New Orleans. Much as the tuba plays a central role in Zydeco and “second line” music of New Orleans today, the tuba soloist in my concerto leads a “second line” of syncopated rhythms that propel the concerto to a virtuosic conclusion.

Michael Daugerty is a contemporary American composer known for his bold and eclectic compositions. Born on April 28, 1954, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Daugherty’s works often draw inspiration from pop culture, history, and everyday life. With a Grammy-winning repertoire, he had made significant contributions to the world of classical music, seamlessly blending traditional and modern elements in his compositions. Daugherty has held academic positions and received numerous awards, solidifying his reputation as a prominent figure in contemporary classical music.

Program note and composer biography adapted by Elisabeth Jackson from that provided by the composer