Graffiti Mashup

Work Overview

Instrumentation: full orchestra
Commission: Vancouver Biennale, in celebration of the 2014–16 Open Air Museum installations, with partial funding from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Buschlen Mowatt Nichol Foundation (Canada)
Premiere: Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Bramwell Tovey, conductor, season-opening concerts, September 26 and 28, 2015. Orpheum Theatre, Vancouver, Canada
Duration: ca. 7 minutes

Instrumentation

3 Flutes (3rd doubling Piccolo), 3 Oboes (3rd doubling English Horn), 3 Clarinets in B♭ (2nd doubling Clarinet in E♭; 3rd doubling Bass Clarinet), 3 Bassoons (3rd doubling Contrabassoon), 4 French Horns, 3 Trumpets in C, 2 Tenor Trombones, 1 Bass Trombone, Tuba, Timpani, 3 Percussion (Marimba, Xylophone, Glockenspiel, 2 Crotales – D and E♭, Low Water Gong, Tam-tam, Snare Drum, Tenor Drum, Bass Drum, Tambourine, 2 Wood Blocks, 2 Cowbells, Slapstick, Rain Stick, Gourd Maracas, Plastic Maracas, Finger Cymbals, Small Triangle), Harp, Piano, Strings (min. 12.10.8.7.6)

Program Note

“Graffiti Mashup,” pays homage to OSGEMEOS’s Giants. The movement is a mashup of different musical elements that underlie the colorful street art – quotations of two Brazilian Tropicalia songs, references to hip-hop beats and licks; in general, a rhythmically robust movement. This music is loud, in-your-face, and chaotic – like a hip-hop version of Charles Ives – with elements gradually colliding with each other into a wonderful mess, creating a crazy club-like atmosphere for the orchestra.

GIANTS is the largest and first 360-degree mural created by the internationally renowned Brazilian street artists OSGEMEOS. The brightly coloured seventy-foot-tall mural has transformed the six industrial silos at the Ocean Concrete plant on Granville Island and has quickly become one of the iconic landmarks in a city skyline filled with glass and concrete architecture. The mural has become a focal point for the over ten million annual visitors to Granville Island and is now an undeniable icon of the city. More information about this artwork.

* italicized text is courtesy of the Vancouver Biennale