1 arranger, 4 ensembles, 4 new works, 10 days
By Rob Hubbard
Posted on Wed, May. 11, 2005
Twin Cities jazz pianist (and attorney) Larry McDonough has been busy as an arranger, of late. Tonight's concert by the St. Paul Central High School Orchestra will kick off a 10-day stretch in which McDonough will have four new arrangements premiered by four different school ensembles.
At tonight's concert at Central, McDonough will debut an original composition called "A Rose for Two." The work grew out of the Fingersteps Project, in which compositions are based on melodies written by children with disabilities with adaptive computer equipment. McDonough's daughter, Rosie, is one of the composers.
But jazz is more McDonough's genre of choice, and the three other new pieces will reflect that. On Thursday, Central's Jazz Ensemble will present McDonough's arrangement of Rodgers & Hammerstein's "My Favorite Things" in 5/4 time. Then, May 18, the Minnesota Youth Jazz Band will perform McDonough's big band arrangement of "Namekagon," an original composition that he performed as a solo piano piece on his latest CD, "Tuscarora."
McDonough's quartet of premieres concludes with an arrangement of Bobby Timmons' "Moanin'" for the Lake Forest Central Sixth Grade Jazz Band in Felton, Del., on May 20.
