John Harbison

G. Schirmer Autograph Edition-Composer John Harbison writes: 'Rubies is a version of Thelonious Monk's 'Ruby My Dear' which he composed while still in his teens. When I was invited by the Seattle Symphony to make a short piecereflecting my first musical passions my thoughts were of Bach and Monk. Since I had recently made some Bach-like chorale preludes I chose to make a version of Monk's tune first in a chamber-musical contrapuntal manner then inthe grand orchestral style I had always heard lurking there.' Dur: 5:30 (Recorded live by the Rutgers Symphony Band - Peter Stanley Martin guest conductor).

Score-This piece for dancers and winds suggests to the composer “an imaginative vision of ancient worlds.” It was commissioned by a College Band Directors National Association consortium of 14 wind ensembles and concertbands and was first performed by the North Texas Wind Symphony on February 20 1997 under the direction of Eugene Corporon. Performance materials available on rental. Duration: ca. 18 minutes.