The Soul Has Many Motions (2013) John Mackey

Commissioned by a consortium of student music organizations at The University of Texas in recognition of Richard Floyd's tireless and passionate advocacy for music education in the State of Texas:
Kappa Kappa Psi, Mu Phi Epsilon, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Sigma Alpha Iota, Tau Beta Sigma, and The University of Texas Student Music Educators Association

Premiere May 3, 2013, The University of Texas Wind Symphony, conducted by Scott Hanna.

I. Violet Crown Fanfare
II. Night on Fire (also available separately)
III. Unquiet Spirits
IV. The Ringmaster's March (also available separately)

In physics a motion is a change; in geometry a motion is a transformation. These four songs, written on the occasion of Richard Floyd's retirement from the University Interscholastic League, celebrate that moment of change and transformation by evoking many kinds of motion, of bodies and of the soul. "Violet Crown Fanfare" captures the movement of the heavens and the optimism of the wide-open West; "Night on Fire" suggests the wild dancing of a nomadic camp; "Unquiet Spirits" is a waltz full of longing and an otherworldly sweetness. The final movement, "The Ringmaster's March," is a riotous Ivesian circus parade, a joyful noise in honor of a man who has always been at the center of the show.

This work may be performed as a complete four-movement suite, or with single or multiple movements excerpted.