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Christopher Cerrone

Groundswell

version for tuba and piano

(2022)

Duration	8'
Commission	Commissioned by Music Academy of the West
Premiere	June 13, 2023; Music Academy of the West, Santa Barbara, CA; Joshua Williams, tuba • Yu-Ting Peng, piano
Publisher	PSNY

Media

Program Note

I began composing Groundswell when I met tubist Joshua Williams in a practice room at the Mannes School of Music in New York, where I teach. I was struck by his talent and virtuosity and by how a tuba can fill a room—how it can shake our bodies—with its huge sound.

During our meeting, I asked Joshua to play a single C on his tuba, swelling from pianissimo to forte. As he did, I mindlessly laid my foot on the sustain pedal of the piano, as I am wont to do. I was shocked at how the tuba swell activated the strings of the piano, causing them to ring sympathetically.

I looked over at Joshua, laughed, and said, “Well, now we have the opening of the piece.”

The music that emerged after this meeting features different swells from the tuba and a silent part for the pianist who has to carefully depress the pedal in time so that the tuba can sympathetically activate the strings.

As I continued to write the piece, I began to think about the orchestral nature of the tuba: We usually think of the tuba as the bass of a large ensemble, blending the strings, percussion, and winds. Something about tuba and “just piano” began to feel off to me. So, in order to solve this issue, I began thinking of ways to transform the piano—and the pianist—into an orchestra. I placed blu-tack putty on the piano’s highest strings to create a percussive drum sound; I asked the pianist to vocalize various sounds to imitate the brass; and finally, I asked them to pluck strings inside the piano to imitate string pizzicato. All of this creates a highly virtuosic and balletic piano part, making the work very much a concertante duo, rather than a piece for tuba and accompanist.

The title Groundswell refers to both the sense of seismic force that the tuba conveys and also the fast accumulation of activity that happens in the piece as it grows increasingly intense. It was commissioned by the Music Academy of the West and is dedicated to Joshua Williams and Yu-Ting Peng.

– Christopher Cerrone

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Types of Products

Full Score/Performance Score (price reflects 4 copies) (Digital)

Full Score/Performance Score (2 required for performance) (Print)

Full Score/Performance Score (includes 3 copies) (Digital)

Full Score/Performance Score (includes 3 copies) (Print)

Choral Booklet (Digital)

Choral Booklet (Print)

Full Score in 3 volumes (Print)

Anthology edition (Print)

Choral Score (includes 4 copies) (Print)

Full Score/Performance Score (4 required for performance) (Print)

Full Score/Performance Score (4 required for performance) (Digital)

solo part and piano reduction (Digital)

solo part and piano reduction (Print)

Full Score/Performance Score (6 scores required for performance) (Digital)

Performance Score (includes 4 scores) (Print)

Choral Scores (Digital - Bulk Purchase for Performance) (Digital)
This price covers the minimum cost of digital copies for performance.

Choral Score Set (Digital)

Choral Score Set (16 copies) (Digital)

Choral Score Set (License for 16 copies) (Digital)

Full Score/Performance Score (5 scores required for performance) (Digital)
Pricing reflects cost of 5 digital scores.

Full Score/Performance Score (8 scores required for performance) (Print)

Full Score/Performance Score (5 copies required for performance) (Print)

Vocal Score - single copy (Digital)

Vocal Score - license for single copy (Digital)

Vocal Score Set - 16 copies (Digital)

Vocal Score Set - License for 16 copies (Digital)

Vocal Score Set - 16 copies (Print)

Score (Digital)

Score (Print)

Volume 1 (Print)

Volume 2 (Print)

Full Score/Performance Score (price reflects 5 copies) (Digital)

Full Score/Performance Score (6 scores needed for performance) (Print)

Full Score/Performance Score (price reflects 6 copies) (Digital)

Full score and Solo Part (Digital)

Full Score/Violin Part (Digital)

Full Score/Violin Part (Print)

Conductor Score (Print)

Score and part (Print)

Score and part (Digital)

Choral Score Set - 16 copies (Print)
Includes 8 copies of the soprano/alto part and 8 copies of the tenor/bass part.

Piano Reduction and solo parts (Digital)

Chamber Ensemble Score (Print)

Choral Score Set - 20 copies (Print)

Full Score (4 needed for performance) (Print)

Parts (Mov. 11 only) (Print)

Full Score (3 scores needed for performance) (Print)

Full Score (3 scores needed for performance) (Digital)

Full Score/Performance Score (2 required for performance) (Digital)

Piano reduction and solo part (Print)

Study Score in Two Volumes (Print)

Video and instructions (Digital)

Piano/Vocal Score (Digital)

Piano/Vocal Score (Print)

Choral Score Set (40 copies) (Print)

Score and Parts (Digital)
Score and part PDF files are delivered via email upon receipt. Any electronic files associated with the work are included with every purchase.

Full Score (Digital)
A PDF file of the full score is delivered via email upon receipt.

Soprano/Alto Part (Print)

Choral Score Set (License for 50 copies) (Digital)

Full Score (Print)
A print edition of the score ships to the customer's address upon receipt.

Tenor/Bass Part (Print)

Parts (Digital)
A PDF file of the part(s) is delivered via email upon receipt.

Parts (Print)
A print edition of the part(s) ship to the customer's address upon receipt.

Solo Instrument Score (Digital)
A score PDF file is delivered via email upon receipt. Any electronic files associated with the work are included with every purchase. An email containing a link to download the electronic files is sent to the customer's email address.

Full Score/Performance Score (Digital)
The full score serves as a performance score for all players. A score PDF file is delivered via email upon receipt. Any electronic files associated with the work are included with every purchase. An email containing a link to download the electronic files is sent to the customer's email address.

Score and Parts (Print)
A print edition of the score and part(s) ship to the customer's address upon receipt. Any electronic files associated with the work are included with every purchase. The email containing a link to download the electronic files is sent to the customer.

Solo Instrument Score (Print)
A print edition of the score is shipped to the customer's address upon receipt. Any electronic files associated with the work are included with every purchase. An email containing a link to download the electronic files is sent to the customer's email address.

Full Score/Performance Score (Print)
The full score serves as a performance score for all players. Print edition(s) of the full score/performance score are shipped to the customer's address upon receipt. Multiple copies are included if the work has more than one player. Any electronic files associated with the work are included with every purchase.

Choral Score (Digital)
A PDF file of the choral score is delivered via email upon receipt. The set is priced to allow multiple copies of the PDF to be printed for performance by the purchasing organization only.

Study Score (print) (Digital)

Study Score (print) (Print)

Choral Score Set- 8 copies (Print)
Minimum order quantity is 8 copies. Single copies are not available.

SATB choral score (Print)

Vocal Score (Digital)

Vocal Score (Print)

Choral Score (Print)

Full Score and Solo Part (Print)
A print edition of the score and solo part ships to the customer's address upon receipt.