A MAP Commission Comes to Life

MAP makes its 爱丽丝·塔利庄园 debut May 4 with Norris’ piece and other works

苏珊·杰克逊

It was a rainy March Saturday when Marcus Norris arrived at Juilliard to begin his 音乐 Advancement Program (MAP) composition residency. Norris is the third MAP composer in residence, following Valerie Coleman and James Lee III. The first order of the day was a lively Q&A with Catherine Birke, the MAP’s music director, and several dozen orchestra members, followed by Danny Felsenfeld’s class for MAP composition students. The students soon overcame their shyness, and the conversation ranged from Debussy to anime music, with questions along the way about Norris’ experience orchestrating for Beyoncé and the ensemble he founded, 南区交响乐团. Then Norris entered the orchestra room, and Birke led the 90 young musicians in the piece Norris wrote for them, For All That Comes Next.

The students’ excitement was palpable as they performed—leaning in to the snaps that are part of it and cheering on the multiple soloists, many of whom were required to improvise. “It was really inspiring hearing them play it,诺里斯说. “The students seemed so curious and excited to try new things. The cliché is that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. But these young kids are the opposite of that—they’re hungry and interested and curious, and that can’t help but rub off on everyone around them. I loved how they weren’t averse to doing new things or uncomfortable things. “即兴表演? 我们来试试!’”

When Norris received the MAP commission, he realized that the challenge would be to create a piece that “a) works with with such a large number of people and b) is manageable for these musicians but c) still is super rewarding and sounds great when they play it,他说. He sent an early draft to Birke, who told him it worked well, but wondered if he could go bigger in some sections. She said, “‘We have a ton of trumpets, can we give them some more playing time?’”于是，他照做了.

“作为一个年轻的作曲家, you learn to do the most with the least, so my first version was more economical in the orchestration,诺里斯说. “But this is such a large group that I figured, even if the writing style is age-appropriate, let’s swing for the fences! And it was amazing to hear them play it.”