Full Circle

for Symphony Orchestra
(2019)

Commissioned by the Boston Landmarks Orchestra
 Christopher Wilkins, conductor
in Collaboration with Devin Ferreira, Chanel Thompson, choreographer,

and the Youth of Camp Harbor View Boston

Instrumentation: 2(II+picc).2.2(II+bcl).2.-4.3.3.1.-hp.pno/cel.-timp.drum set.perc(2).-strings

A collaboration between Jake Gunnar Walsh and Devin Ferreira, Full Circle was  written for the Boston Landmarks Orchestra in participation with the youth of Camp Harbor View, Boston.  The orchestral music for the work was generated from recordings of Devin’s original Hip-Hop music which was transcribed, arranged, and orchestrated by Jake in three movements.  Our goal was to express the style and sounds of Hip-hop using the vibrant instruments of the symphony orchestra. Recordings of Devin's BeatBoxing were transformed from vocal sounds to orchestral percussion, plucked pizzicato strings, and low brass. Some of Devin's tracks that featured expansive chords on the synthesizer are now played by the vast full string section. Colorful bursts from the woodwinds and mallet percussion take the role of the various high frequency electronic components of Hip-hop music, and the full orchestral brass acts as both the powerful horns section and the hardcore bass drop that characterizes so much Hip-Hop music today. At a glance, Hip-hop and classical music might not seem to have that much in common--and yet, in the compositional process we found more similarities between the two styles of music than meets the eye and ear.