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SEVEN O'CLOCK SHOUT
VALERIE COLEMAN

VALERIE COLEMAN

Born in Louisville, Kentucky

Seven O’Clock Shout               

First performance by the Wichita Symphony.

 

Valerie Coleman is regarded by many as an iconic artist who continues to pave her unique path as a composer, GRAMMY®-nominated flutist, and entrepreneur. Highlighted as one of the “Top 35 Women Composers” by The Washington Post, she was named Performance Today’s 2020 Classical Woman of the Year, an honor bestowed to an individual who has made a significant contribution to classical music as a performer, composer, or educator.

The Philadelphia Orchestra commissioned Seven O’Clock Shout during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. It made its virtual premiere on July 6, 2020, by the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by its Music Director, Yannick Nézet-Séguin. In a now familiar collage format showing musicians in individual video boxes performing from the confines of their homes, you can view that performance on YouTube.

The Philadelphia Orchestra performed the work in person on October 6, 2021, marking the return of live performance to Carnegie Hall.

On Her Website ValerieColeman.com, Valerie Coleman Provides the Following Background About the Work:

Seven O'Clock Shout is an anthem inspired by the tireless frontline workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the heartwarming ritual of evening serenades that brings people together amidst isolation to celebrate life and the sacrifices of heroes. The work begins with a distant and solitary solo between two trumpets in fanfare fashion to commemorate the isolation forced upon humankind and the need to reach out to one another. The fanfare blossoms into a lushly dense landscape of nature, symbolizing both the caregiving acts of nurses and doctors as they try to save lives, while nature is transforming and healing herself during a time of self-isolation.

It was suggested that a short work for a debut by multi-track recording could account for the ensemble performing together as if they were in the same room. One of the devices used to address this is the usage of Ostinato, which is a rhythmic motif that repeats itself to generate forward motion and, in this case, groove. The ostinato patterns here are laid down by the bass section, allowing the English horn and strings to float over it, gradually building up to that moment at 7 p.m. when cheers, claps, clangings of pots and pans, and shouts ring through the air of cities around the world! The trumpets drive an infectious rhythm, layered with a traditional Son clave rhythm, while the solo trombone boldly rings out an anthem within a traditional African call and response style. The entire orchestra ‘shouts’ back in response, and the entire ensemble rallies into an anthem that embodies the struggles and triumph of humanity. The work ends in a proud anthem moment where we all come together with grateful hearts to acknowledge that we have survived yet. another day

Seven O’Clock Shout is scored for two flutes, piccolo, oboe, English horn, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, a single trombone and tuba, timpani plus three percussionists, harp, and strings. The work lasts about six minutes.

Notes by Don Reinhold ©2021 with material from the composer’s website.

 

 

 

WSU SOM 2
SEVEN O'CLOCK SHOUT
VALERIE COLEMAN

VALERIE COLEMAN

Born in Louisville, Kentucky

Seven O’Clock Shout               

First performance by the Wichita Symphony.

 

Valerie Coleman is regarded by many as an iconic artist who continues to pave her unique path as a composer, GRAMMY®-nominated flutist, and entrepreneur. Highlighted as one of the “Top 35 Women Composers” by The Washington Post, she was named Performance Today’s 2020 Classical Woman of the Year, an honor bestowed to an individual who has made a significant contribution to classical music as a performer, composer, or educator.

The Philadelphia Orchestra commissioned Seven O’Clock Shout during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. It made its virtual premiere on July 6, 2020, by the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by its Music Director, Yannick Nézet-Séguin. In a now familiar collage format showing musicians in individual video boxes performing from the confines of their homes, you can view that performance on YouTube.

The Philadelphia Orchestra performed the work in person on October 6, 2021, marking the return of live performance to Carnegie Hall.

On Her Website ValerieColeman.com, Valerie Coleman Provides the Following Background About the Work:

Seven O'Clock Shout is an anthem inspired by the tireless frontline workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the heartwarming ritual of evening serenades that brings people together amidst isolation to celebrate life and the sacrifices of heroes. The work begins with a distant and solitary solo between two trumpets in fanfare fashion to commemorate the isolation forced upon humankind and the need to reach out to one another. The fanfare blossoms into a lushly dense landscape of nature, symbolizing both the caregiving acts of nurses and doctors as they try to save lives, while nature is transforming and healing herself during a time of self-isolation.

It was suggested that a short work for a debut by multi-track recording could account for the ensemble performing together as if they were in the same room. One of the devices used to address this is the usage of Ostinato, which is a rhythmic motif that repeats itself to generate forward motion and, in this case, groove. The ostinato patterns here are laid down by the bass section, allowing the English horn and strings to float over it, gradually building up to that moment at 7 p.m. when cheers, claps, clangings of pots and pans, and shouts ring through the air of cities around the world! The trumpets drive an infectious rhythm, layered with a traditional Son clave rhythm, while the solo trombone boldly rings out an anthem within a traditional African call and response style. The entire orchestra ‘shouts’ back in response, and the entire ensemble rallies into an anthem that embodies the struggles and triumph of humanity. The work ends in a proud anthem moment where we all come together with grateful hearts to acknowledge that we have survived yet. another day

Seven O’Clock Shout is scored for two flutes, piccolo, oboe, English horn, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, a single trombone and tuba, timpani plus three percussionists, harp, and strings. The work lasts about six minutes.

Notes by Don Reinhold ©2021 with material from the composer’s website.

 

 

 

WSU SOM 2