Latest News, composition Jesse Strickland Latest News, composition Jesse Strickland

Afton Water Premiere

I'm excited to share with all of you a brand new world premiere! This is a choir piece I wrote back in 2019 for a commission that fell through. I liked the project enough that I went ahead and finished it. Fast forward to now, it received its world premiere back in December by the Armstrong Youth Chorus in Oklahoma under the direction of Mark Jenkins. Hope you enjoy!

Click here for the sheet music!

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Latest News, Most Popular, composition Jesse Strickland Latest News, Most Popular, composition Jesse Strickland

Trappist-1: Percussion Quartet No. 1

The official video of my first Percussion Quartet!

The official video for my first Percussion Quartet is live on Facebook! Thanks to my friend Chase Banks and his wonderful team of percussionists for an excellent performance!

The piece itself is called Trappist-1, which refers to a Star System 29 light years from earth. It has 7 planets that all orbit their star closer than Mercury does to the sun. In order for this system to not collapse, the planets orbit each other in a very mathematical way, most of them orbiting their neighbor planet at a ratio of 3:2. In music, the 3:2 ratio is a Perfect 5th, and if you assign the outermost planet as C, then follow the ratios, you end up with a Cmaj9 chord - which is the basis of the piece. In addition, each planet was given a leitmotif, with each motif being proportional to the orbital period of the planet, using musical characteristics that match what we know about each planet. So, go check it out!

Interested in performing this piece? Score and Parts available here.


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Latest News, composition Jesse Strickland Latest News, composition Jesse Strickland

World Premiere - Clarinet Sonata No. 1

Brand new chamber work for clarinet and piano.

Last week, Steven Christ (Clarinet) and Annie Tindall-Gibson (Piano) premiered my first clarinet sonata at the University of South Carolina. The piece was commissioned by Steven Christ, and we’ve been collaborating on this project since late 2016 - so it was exciting to see it finally all come together.

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Latest news, composition Jesse Strickland Latest news, composition Jesse Strickland

Ireland Premiere

On tour with the South Carolina Concert Choir in Ireland!

I’m with the South Carolina Concert Choir over in Ireland for two weeks. The most exciting part about that, is that Hymn of Habakkuk - a choir piece I wrote back in 2014 - is getting its European premiere! It is being performed in three different cathedrals in three different cities. Which is very exciting. Below is the video of the performance in Galway. Thanks to the Concert Choir for their hard work on this piece. Y’all sound great. And yes…that is me on the right side of the screen.

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