BandQuest New Release: Pop! by Tawnie Olson

“Pop! is a delightful musical journey for the players and the audience. This artistically constructed exercise in acceleration, tension, crescendo and their oppositional counterparts begins with melodic fragments that gradually combine to reveal the full “tune.” Every player has chance to shape his/her own part in the “popping away” sectional climax, which allows for individual creativity through mild aleatory. Students will be excited by the easily distinguishable parallels between the exergy of corn popping and the progression of this music.” -Thomas C. Duffy BandQuest Series Editor

Throughout the past year, Tawnie Olson has been in residence with the 8th grade band under the direction of Susan Oakley at E.C. Adams Middle School in Guilford, CT. The students had a rich experience working with Olson, and the collaboration gave students a chance to interact and create with a living composer. This piece was premiered by the 8th grade band on June 12, 2018.

BandQuest® is a series written especially for middle-level bands by world-class composers. The series is commissioned and published by the American Composers Forum (St. Paul, MN), an organization that has supported the creative spirit of today’s composers since 1975 by linking communities with composers and performers, encouraging the making, playing, and enjoyment of new music. All pieces are published by ACF and distributed exclusively by the Hal Leonard Corporation, the world’s largest music retailer. This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.