PHOTINUS.
Opus. 55
Instrumentation: Solo Percussion (The Setup)
Duration: ~10 Minutes, One Movement
Commissioned By: Harrison Honor
Scroll down for program note, recording, perusal score,
purchase options, and commissioner biography
PROGRAM NOTE.
PHOTINUS, written for percussionist Harrison Honor, is a tribute to the sounds of summer and the magic of bioluminescence. This piece uses a unique percussion instrument setup invented by Sam Solomon for ease of performance and cohesion of instrumental timbre, and borrows inspiration from traditional Ghanaian drumming rhythms and field recordings of cicadas in various parts of their life cycle. The title Photinus refers the Rover Fireflies, a specific genus of firefly. I’ve always been endlessly fascinated with these tiny beacons of light, and misnamed them “thunder bees” as a small child. This piece was dreamed up in the summer of 2015, in Manhattan, where I was so starved for sounds of nature that the first arcing drone of the late-summer cicadas made me actually laugh with joy. Many thanks to Harrison for endlessly championing my works and inviting me into his world of metals, skins, and woods for this piece.
Details // Concert Prep
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PDF Score + Part(s) sent via email within 2-3 business days. I’m excited to connect with you!
Purchase is for one copy only, just for you! Please don’t share or else I’ll be sad when I see it in my google alerts ; - )
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I want to meet you! Purchase of this pdf in the 23/24 season comes with a 30 min zoom session, if you’d appreciate that during your rehearsal process. You’ll receive scheduling instructions in the delivery email with your music.
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I’m excited to help promote your concert(s) on social media and include it on the website!
If you already have a concert date in mind, you’ll receive instructions on sending me concert info in the delivery email with your music.
recording.
COMMISSIONER biography.
Harrison Honor is a Percussionist, Timpanist, and Educator based in Boston and New York City. An accomplished orchestral performer, Harrison has performed with the orchestras of the Metropolitan Opera, Boston Pops, Sarasota, New Haven, and New Jersey. He was a Percussion Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center in 2018 and 2019, and has recently performed as Principal Timpanist with the Mistral Music Orchestra conducted by Sir Simon Rattle. Equally engaged with contemporary music, Harrison has appeared as a soloist in the Juilliard Orchestra’s Focus Festival, and the Boston Symphony’s Prelude Series. He has curated multiple solo and chamber recitals in New York and Boston, and is actively working on new percussion commissions from Juilliard Composition students.
A devoted educator, Harrison serves on the Faculty of New England Conservatory’s Preparatory School in Boston. Harrison received his Masters of Music from the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Daniel Druckman and Markus Rhoten, and completed his undergraduate studies at New England Conservatory with Daniel Bauch. He is currently pursuing his Artist Diploma at Juilliard.