BEACON

Commissioned by the Kenosha Community Foundation in celebration of several cultural pillars of the city of Kenosha, Wisconsin, BEACON is scored for wind quintet. Its pillars include the SculptureWalk in HarborPark, the Kenosha Symphony Orchestra, and fresh inc. summer music festival at UW-Parkside led by Fifth House Ensemble. While participating in the latter this past June, I toured the SculptureWalk and HarborPark in preparation for writing BEACON.  I was struck by the physical presence of the space. The sculptures, the lake, the lighthouse, and the museums created an impressive backdrop for what was a busy Saturday HarborMarket bustling with local artisans and passersby. BEACON seeks to reflect musically the charged dynamic between the cultural beacons of Kenosha and the landscape of the city itself. The dissonant, industrial quality of its opening music reflects the physicality of the city.  This is juxtaposed with a more lyrical, descending motive that slowly emerges from the previous texture. As the work progresses, the lyrical material gains prominence and is treated to several contrapuntal variations. The gradual accumulation of contrapuntal voices into a five-part fugato reflects the similarly steady accrual of cultural and artistic forces in Kenosha over the years.  Finally, a varied return of the opening leads to a coda in which the BEACON motive (B-E-A-C) bubbles to the surface as the work concludes.