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The next annual concert of the Irregular Resolutions composers was October 22, 2011.

Among others, the Avenue Winds played the two pieces below; take a listen to the recording, and feel free to grab a copy of the music.


Nebraska Waltz: Written for my mother! The first 50 measures or so are characterized by a very dignified waltz, but it is interrupted by a tornado.  (Hey, this is the sort of thing that happens in Nebraska.)  The flute takes us home in the tornado's aftermath, complete with birds at sunset and our dignity returned.

Miss Conduct: Colorful male characters such as Black Bart and Emperor Norton populate the early history of San Francisco.  However, one of the most remarkable personalities that emerged during this period was a woman.  Sylvia Conduct was the only child of ignoble shipping magnate Horace "Shanghai" Conduct.  She was the sole heiress to her father's fortune in 1895 after he died while attempting to escape a police dragnet at Fisherman's Wharf.  In the year following her father's death, she gradually sold off the shipping business (at a substantial profit) and then spent her money in every bar in San Francisco.  Sylvia argued that her early drinking binges - and buying multiple rounds of drinks for everyone lucky enough to be in the bar - were a direct result of her grief.  However, it was clear that she enjoyed her growing reputation as a big spender and bigger-than-life personality.  She had a considerable entourage of suitors; some were decidedly attracted to her wealth while others were dazzled by her nonstop wit and charm.  And, well, everyone likes a free drink.  During a sublime decade of parties and hangovers, everyone came to love "Miss Conduct."  Sadly, she was lost in the 1906 earthquake; her body was never recovered.  This piece is dedicated to the memory of Miss Conduct, happy times, silliness, friends, and parties that never seem to end. 

Nebraska Waltz (5min) mp3  Flute  Oboe  Clarinet  Horn  Bassoon  Full Score  

Miss Conduct (3min)   Flute  Oboe  Clarinet  Horn  Bassoon  Full Score