Draw Me the Sun

Greg Simon

General Info

Year of Published: 2018
Publisher: Title Publisher
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Duration: c.
Cost: Score and Parts - $120.00   |   Score Only - $20.00

Instrumentation

Player 1: Xylophone & Glockenspiel
Player 2: Vibraphone 1
Player 3: Vibraphone 2
Player 4: Glockenspiel & Crotales
Player 5: Marimba 1
Player 6: Marimba 2
Player 7: Marimba 3
Player 8: Marimba 4
Player 9: Timpani
Player 10: Drum Set
Player 11: Triangle & Bongos & Temple Blocks & Suspended Cymbal & Slapstick
Player 12: Tambourine & Log Drum & Cabasa & Snare Drum & Chimes & Brake Drum & Bell Tree
Player 13: Splash Cymbal & Suspended Cymbal & Tam Tam & Bass Drum & Sizzle Cymbal Player 14: Piano

Program Notes

“‘Draw me the sun,’ said the star. And the artist drew the sun. It was a warm sun.” The original Draw Me the Sun, for chamber orchestra, was written for Alarm Will Sound in 2013. This version was commissioned by Dave Hall, my amazing friend and colleague at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, for his tremendous percussion ensemble. The story of Draw Me the Sun starts in 2013, when my stepson Leo was just seven years old. One day I asked him to tell me a story; he launched into a vivid, colorful tale of a young artist who, with his paintbrush, slowly draws the world into existence. Later I would find that this story comes from Draw Me A Star by the American author Eric Carle, but Leo’s telling of the story was so full of life and passion that it became his own. With “Draw Me the Sun,” I wanted to capture the childlike wonder and exuberance of the story and of its 7- year-old narrator. The piece starts with a simple, diatonic idea - a blank musical canvas, perhaps - upon which every gesture is built. The music is colorful, fiery, and acrobatic. As I was composing the early versions, it reminded me more and more of the artist drawing the sun: a vivid, glowing orb in which a mélange of intricately woven colors resides. The artist covers the blank canvas in colors warm and cool, delicately intertwining them to reveal the sun - full of energy, flourish, and life.

Works for Percussion by this Composer

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