High wire : chamber ballet in five movements for multiple woodwind player (piccolo, Eb clar., alto sax., bass clar.) and piano and written report High wire : a tonal and serial composition

High Wire is a chamber ballet in five movements for multiple woodwind player (piccolo, Eb clarinet, alto saxophone, bass clarinet) and piano. It was inspired by Frederick H. Graham's Wait For The Muncie Boys: Indiana's Early Circuses, and was first performed, with choreography by Michele Kriner, at a concert of the Middletown Arts Project on January 26, 2003. The work is somewhat unusual in that it is both tonal and serial. It evokes popular musical styles of the turn of the twentieth century, with particular reference to circus music, and yet it is based on a twelve-tone series and generally adheres to strict serial techniques. The genesis of the work, the relationship of the music to the choreography, and the way in which two rather different musical sensibilities are reconciled are discussed in the written report that serves as an introduction to the score. A recording of the first performance is included in the side-pocket.