Flying Jewels
General Info
Year: 2021
Duration: c. 10:25
Difficulty: V+ (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Murphy Music Press
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - unknown | Score Only (print) - $65.00
Instrumentation
Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II (II optional)
English Horn (optional)
Bassoon I-II
Contrabassoon (optional)
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet (optional)
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Piano
Harp
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV, including:
- Bass Drum
- Bongos
- Cabasa
- China Cymbals
- Claves
- Crash Cymbals
- Crotales
- Glockenspiel
- Guiro
- Marimba
- Ride Cymbal
- Sandpaper Blocks
- Sizzle Cymbal
- Splash Cymbal
- Suspended Cymbal
- Tambourine
- Tam-tam (medium)
- Triangle (medium)
- Vibraphone
- Vibra-slap
- Wind Chimes (metal)
- Wood Block (small and medium)
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
Flying Jewels is a symphonic poem for wind ensemble that attempts to capture the joyous and hopeful spirit of a famous essay [Joyas Voladoras] by the late author Brian Doyle (1956-2017). The essay asserts the connection that all people and creatures share; we all have one heart that carries us through life’s struggles, victories, and simple pleasures. My composition deals with the themes of Doyle’s essay by depicting the heart rhythms of different creatures through various metric/tempo modulations and relationships.
First is the hummingbird, flitting about with bright flourishes from woodwinds and metallic percussion at superhuman speeds. A reptile’s three-chambered heart is heard next with nods to the triple-meter dances of the Caribbean. At the center of the work is the human heart, which is a simple tune that slowly builds to a cadence at the heart rate of a blue whale: four giant chords that resound under the ocean depths. Finally, the work recapitulates each idea while gaining speed to combine all of the tempi in an exuberant and ecstatic finale.
This work was commissioned by the United States Air Force Band, Washington, D.C., Col. Don Schofield, commander and conductor.
- Program Note from score
Awards
- NBA/William D. Revelli Composition Award, 2022, winner
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Indiana University of Pennsylvania (Indiana, Penn.) Wind Ensemble (Timothy Paul, conductor) – 21 March 2026 (CBDNA 2026 Eastern Division Conference, Amherst, Mass.)
- University of North Texas (Denton) Wind Orchestra (Andrew Trachsel, conductor) – 27 February 2026 (CBDNA 2026 Southwestern Division Conference, Denton, Tx.)
- Appalachian State University (Boone, N.C.) Wind Ensemble (John Stanley Ross, conductor) – 20 February 2026 (CBDNA 2026 Southern Division Conference, Tampa, Fla.)
- California State University, Long Beach Symphonic Band (Adam Friedrich, conductor) - 1 May 2025
- University High School (Fresno, Calif.) Wind Ensemble (Randall Cornelison, conductor) – 14 March 2025 (2025 Sutherland Wind Festival (Fresno, Calif.))
- Southeast Missouri State University (Cape Girardeau) Wind Symphony (Jim Daughters, conductor) - 26 February 2025
- Rutgers University (New Brunswick, N.J.) Wind Ensemble (Kraig Alan Williams, conductor) - 7 December 2024
- Cincinnati (Ohio) Wind Band (Jim Daughters, conductor) - 2 February 2024
- Youth Performing Arts School (Louisville, Ky.) Wind Ensemble (Kevin Callihan, conductor) - 20 December 2023 (2023 Midwest Clinic)
- Indiana Wind Symphony (Carmel) (Jay Gephart, conductor) - 1 October 2023
- University of Utah (Salt Lake City) Wind Ensemble (Darrin S. Thiriot, conductor) - 22 March 2023
- West Virginia University (Morgantown) Wind Symphony (Scott C. Tobias, conductor) - 6 December 2022 (Pittsburgh, Penn.)
- University of North Texas (Denton) Wind Symphony (Eugene Migliaro Corporon, conductor) – 7 April 2022
Works for Winds by This Composer
Adaptable Music
- Lookfar (Adaptable Band) (2020)
- March Tumbao (Flex instrumentation) (2020)
- Menlo Park, 1879 (Flex instrumentation) (2020)
- Zephyrus (Flex instrumentation) (2019)
All Wind Works
- All Dark Is Now No More (2014)
- Atomic Time (2023)
- Auto '66 (2011)
- Big Four on the River (2014)
- Bright Window (2005)
- Call to Commitment (2021)
- Codex Gigas. See: Symphony No. 1
- Dymaxion (2021)
- E Ala Ē: Arise and Awaken (2024)
- Fallingwater at Twilight (2023)
- Flaxen Tresses (2025)
- Flying Jewels (2021)
- From the Shaken Tower: Symphony for Percussion and Winds (2014)
- Ghosts of the Old Year (2016)
- Heartland Verses (2019)
- The Hour of Pearl (2026)
- I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold (2017)
- Lookfar (Adaptable Band) (2020)
- March Tumbao (Flex instrumentation) (2020)
- Menlo Park, 1879 (Flex instrumentation) (2020)
- Message from Arecibo (2023)
- My Lyre Within the Sky (2025)
- Octarine Spark (2009)
- Pale Blue Dot (2025)
- Pavillons en L'Air (2009)
- Pulsing Onward
- The Road Is Life. See: Symphony No. 2
- Scala Enigmatica (2016)
- Sinfonietta No 1 (2004)
- Sinfonietta No 3 (2010)
- Sky Above Clouds (2025)
- Swing Landscape (2018)
- Symphony No. 1 (2020)
- Symphony No. 2 (2024)
- Tesseract (2023)
- Three Summits (2023)
- Troublesome Fire (2022)
- Two-Lane Blacktop (2013)
- Unseen Wings (2026)
- Urban Light (2021)
- With Soul Serene (2019)
- Zephyrus (Flex instrumentation) (2019)
Resources
- Doyle, Brian. "Joyas Voladoras." The American Scholar, 12 June 2012. Web. Accessed 18 January 2022
- "FLYING JEWELS for Wind Ensemble by James David (USA, 1978)." WASBE. Web. (Featured as WASBE’s Composition of the Week, 16 January 2020). Accessed 16 January 2023
- James M. David website. Accessed 18 January 2022
- McCutchen, Matthew. "James David's Flying Jewels with the NBA's 2922 William D. Revelli Memorial Band Composition Contest." NBA Journal, Winter 2023, pp. 34-37.
- Perusal score