First Symphony, Movement 2 by James Barnes

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Southern Music - Grade 5
Composed during the summer and fall of 1974, Barnes’ First Symphony, op. 35 was his master’s thesis at The University of Kansas. It was premiered in the spring semester of 1976 by their Symphonic Band, Robert E. Foster conducting. The following year, the symphony was awarded the American Bandmasters Ostwald Composition prize, which led to a second performance (of only the first two movements) by the Northwestern Wind Ensemble at the American Bandmasters convention with Col. Jack Cline (U.S Marine Band) conducting. Following this performance, Barnes submitted the work to several publishers, all of which declined on the basis it was too long and difficult to be “marketable.” For this reason, Barnes set the work aside and there it remained until 2022, when an offer came from the Osaka Shion Wind Orchestra to record all nine of Barnes’ symphonies to help celebrate their 100th anniversary. Barnes seized the opportunity, engraving all four movements, with revisions and corrections, an effort that took seven days a week for two months to complete. As a result, after almost fifty years, all nine of the Barnes symphonies are finally available for performance.