composer
General: Vanessa Lann was born on April 6, 1968 in New York.
Education: Vanessa Lann has been a composer and pianist since the age of five. She studied composition with Ruth ...
related works
Rise : for two bassoons and chamber orchestra / Vanessa Lann
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Bassoon and large ensemble
Instruments:
2fg-solo 2fl(picc) 2ob 2cl 2h 2tpt timp str
Kentavros : for wind ensemble, piano and double bass, 1991 / Calliope Tsoupaki
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Large ensemble (12 or more players)
Instruments:
fl sax-a sax-t sax-b1330 pf cb
Toccata e Canzone : for violin, organ, timpani and string orchestra / Olga Victorova
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Large ensemble (12 or more players)
Instruments:
vn-solo org timp str
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Large ensemble (12 or more players)
Instruments:
fl(pic) ob cl(cl-b) perc g man hp pf vl vla vc cb
composition
Dancing to an orange drummer : for ensemble, 1993 / Vanessa Lann
Description:
The title Dancing to an Orange Drummer comes from the expression "moving to the beat of a different drummer." The piece was inspired by the challenge of moving to a new country (in this case, the Netherlands), and for the composer this meant feeling, and enjoying, the very different beat and energy of new people, places and customs. Lann uses two contrasting elements that gradually merge: simple melodies in the brass begin the work, against a repeated rhythmic pattern in the other instruments. The two groups do clash with each other, but eventually the brass instruments take over aspects of the rhythmic pattern, while the others imitate the brass melody. This climaxes in a new unity in orchestral sound by the end of the piece. The original big band version of this work was written in 1993 for the Dutch ensemble De Ereprijs; the version for symphony orchestra was completed on request of the Boston Pops Orchestra on the occasion of their performance in May 2015 in Symphony Hall (Boston, USA).