Florida native Roger Zare (b. 1985) is an American composer whose works span multiple genres and have won many awards. He has completed numerous residencies with organizations around the world. His love of science is often evident in his music, and it has led to collaborations with CERN, among others. After childhood studies on violin and piano, Zare studied composition at the USC Thornton School of Music, Peabody Conservatory, and the University of Michigan. He is currently on the composition faculty at Illinois State University. See more about him at his website, Wikipedia, FJH Music, New Music Chicago, the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music, and the Bowdoin International Music Festival.
Zare wrote Three Ostinatos in 2015. It was premiered by Matthew Sisia and the Oyster Bay High School Wind Ensemble that year. Zare re-worked Three Ostinatos into a flex version in 2020. His program notes:
Each movement of Three Ostinatos is based on a different repeated rhythmic pattern that spans the entire movement. The first movement moves like clockwork at a walking pace. Long melodies arc high above a mechanical ostinato that gradually transforms as the music proceeds. The euphonium and tuba are showcased with solos as the music eventually comes full-circle, returning to the opening at the close. The middle movement is haunting and lush, cast in a slow and cantabile 7/8 meter. The main melody is first played by a solo clarinet, who is joined by piccolo and vibraphone before the whole ensemble joins in. After an expansive climax, a solo horn gives a nostalgic return to the main theme. Closing the work is a quick polymetric celebration, overlaying melodies and rhythms in 5/8, 7/8, 3/4, and 3/2 and bringing the work to an energetic close.
The flexible instrumentation version was arranged as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and allows this piece to be performed by as few as six musicians.
Listen and follow the score to the flex version here:
Learn more about the piece at Zare’s website, the Wind Repertory Project, J. W. Pepper, Murphy Music Press (Flex and Full versions), and Blue Dot Collective.