Search - William Roper (tuba); Dorothy Stone (flute); Erika Duke-Kirkpatrick (cello); Zela Terry (cello); Lesa Terry (violin); Alex Cline (percussion); Joseph Mitchell (percussion) :: If I Ran The Circus

With "If I Ran The Circus" composer William Roper, presents a program of varied compositions. Included are three programatic works. Two of these works deal with violent death - "Three Guys On A Hilltop-The Ascension", a trio for flute, percussion and tuba, is a description of the Crucifixion. The other "Poem for Emmett Till", for solo cello, depicts the life and 1955 murder of Emmett Till. The more impressionistic "Darkest Night-Balthazar Joins the Sacred Company", for tuba and prerecorded sound, describes the meeting of the three kings as they prepare to follow that famous star. Perhaps obsessed with the idea of sudden death, Roper also presents an elegy dedicated to the astronauts of the space shuttle Challenger. "Throttle-Up!-In Memorium 51L", is for violin, cello and glockenspiel. Roper presents a final piece for solo tuba, "Images of Issey Miyake", the result of a commission from the Gloria Newman Dance Company. Roper has enlisted the talents of some of Los Angeles' finest new music musicians including flutist Dorothy Stone and cellist Erika Duke-Kirkpatrick of the E.A.R. Unit, percussionists Alex Cline and Joseph Mitchell, the sisters Zela Terry (France) on cello and Lesa Terry on violin. Roper does the performing duties on tuba.