A landmark moment in American music came during the Sunday afternoon concert of the Glens Falls Symphony. Joan Tower's new composition, MADE IN AMERICA, saw its world premiere.
It will soon be taken up by more than 60 other small orchestras around the country. The project...is the largest consortium commission in the history of American orchestras.
One of today's most widely performed composers, Tower has a well-established style - propulsive rhythmic landscapes with vibrant orchestration. MADE IN AMERICA hewed closely to that model but with an added element. Fragments of the melody of "America the Beautiful" are subtly woven throughout the piece. The familiar tune gave a thread of beauty, possibly hope, to Tower's tense and edgy sounds...The score's feeling of industry and striving made it very American.
— Joseph Dalton, Albany Times Union
Joan Tower
MADE IN AMERICA
Duration: 14'
2(2pic).222/2210/timp.perc/str
Glens Falls Symphony/Peltz
2 October 2005; Glens Falls, NY
World Premiere