FACES for orchestra

FACES

a symphony in three movements

1. Face in the Abstract

2. Face in the Sky

3. Face in the Concrete

FACES consists of three movements that may be played individually, or as a three-movement symphony. The idea for the "Faces" symphony came to me as the result of a commission from the Windsor Symphony in 2006 for a composition inspired by the visual arts. I was particularly interested in the phenomenon of seeing faces in our environment: in the surfaces of trees and stones, the clouds, the earth. The overall idea that unifies all of the pieces is a desire to create music that is at once familiar but fresh, that summons up various images for each listener, and that creates a new, visceral listening experience.

Face in the Abstract was commissioned by the Windsor Symphony Orchestra as part of Oliver's Composer-in-Residency at the 2007 Windsor Canadian Music Festival. "Face in the Abstract" was premiered by the orchestra, conducted by John Morris Russell, on February 2, 2007. The recording, made by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, is included in the compact disc recording "Forging Utopia: Orchestral Music of John Oliver," released on Centrediscs and available from the Canadian Music Centre.

"Face in the Sky" and "Face in the Concrete" were commissioned by the New Westminster Symphony Orchestra and were premiered by the orchestra, conducted by Jin Jhang, on March 4, 2007 at Massey Theatre in New Westminster, BC, Canada.