ORCHESTRAL » Frenergy

Instrumentation:  2 2 2 2/ 4 3 3 1 / tmp + 3 perc/ pno/ hp/ strings
Duration: 5’

Programme Notes

The bulk of the musical material found in this piece comes from sketches for my Triple Concerto. These sketches were to be part of the proposed final movement for the concerto, a fast-paced scherzo to bring the piece to a wild close. However, for various reasons, this ending did not make it to the final draft. Not one to waste, I decided to mount this music on its own for orchestra.

The title comes from an amalgamation of the words “frenetic” and “energy” which were the two qualities I desired for the ending of the concerto. The tempo for this short concert opener is brisk and the pacing of melodic ideas is often a bit frantic as befitting the title.

It begins with a thunderous introduction by the percussion who establish the infectious 6/8 pulse. After an orchestral tutti, the winds introduce a chromatic melody that is quickly tossed back and forth from pairings of instruments. This quirky little melody often complements an ostentatious tune frequently performed by the brass. The third melody, introduced by a solo flute, is perhaps the most substantial tune of the piece and is strongly characterized by the 6/8 lilt of the piece.
A harmonically restless string passage leads into a return of the opening material and the piece concludes with a full force orchestral tutti along with the pounding drums of the opening.


Audio Samples

Frenergy

Frenergy on YouTube as performed in Providence, Rhode Island by the

All Eastern Division Orchestra.


Premiere

March 20, 1998
EDMONTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Conductor: Grzegorz Nowak
Winspear Centre
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada

Subsequent Performances

ST. LOUIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
December 3,4,5, 2009

Conductor: Peter Oundjian
ALLENTOWN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
November 14,15,2009

Conductor: Diane Wittry

 
FORT WAYNE PHILHARMONIC
March 15, 2009

Conductor: Bradley Thachuk
Fort Wayne, Indiana
USA
ALL EASTERN DIVISION ORCHESTRA
March 12, 2009

Conductor: Alexander Jimenez
FORT WAYNE PHILHARMONIC
November 3, 2008

Conductor: Bradley Thachuk
Fort Wayne, Indiana
USA
DETROIT SYMPHONY CIVIC YOUTH ORCHESTRA
November 1, 2008

NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE ORCHESTRA
May 8, 2007

Conductor: Alain Trudel

PETERBOROUGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
February 10, 2007

Conductor: Michael Newnham
FORT WAYNE PHILHARMONIC
May 3,4, 2006

Conductor: Bradley Thachuk
Fort Wayne, Indiana
USA
WINNIPEG SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
February 22, 23, March 3, 22, 30, 2006

Conductor: Michelle Moore
Centennial Concert Hall
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Canada
EDMONTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
September 5, 2005

Conductor: Timothy Vernon
Hawrelak Park
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada
EDMONTON YOUTH ORCHESTRA
May 15, 2005

Conductor: Michael Massey
Winspear Centre
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada
SUDBURY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
April 2, 2005

Conductor: Victor Sawa
Fraser Auditorium
Sudbury, Ontario
Canada
CALGARY PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
January 2004

Conductor: Rosemary Thomson
University of Calgary
Calgary, Alberta
Canada
CALGARY PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
April 5, 2003

Conductor: Rosemary Thomson
Jack Singer Concert Hall
Calgary, Alberta
Canada
FORT WAYNE PHILHARMONIC
April 2003

Conductor: Bradley Thachuk
Fort Wayne, Indiana
USA
TORONTO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
February 26, 27, 2003

Conductor: Keri-Lynn Wilson
Roy Thompson Hall
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
ROYAL CONSERVATORY ORCHESTRA
November 2002

Conductor: Rennie Regehr
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
ROCHESTER PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
September 29, 2001

Conductor: Jeff Tyzik
Rochester, New York
USA
SCARBOROUGH PHILHARMONIC
October 23, 1999

Conductor: Jerome Summers
Scarborough, Ontario
Canada
VANCOUVER SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
May 1999

Conductor: Jeff Tyzik
Orpheum Theatre
Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada
EDMONTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
February 1999

Conductor: Grzegorz Nowak
Winspear Centre
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada
 

Reviews

 


Score/Parts Rental

For more information on score and parts rental for Frenergy, contact Ana-Maria Lipoczi at the Toronto rental department of the Canadian Music Centre.
View score sample PDF icon [1.23 MB]