Double Aviary (Symphonic Winds)

Double Aviary, Griffin Candey (2023)
for solo tenor saxophone and symphonic winds

Double Aviary (2023) a tenor saxophone concerto commissioned by Matt Salvaggio and the Cleveland Repertory Orchestra with saxophonist Andrew Hosler, follows an arc of climate disaster and renewal through a simple lens: shore birds.

Bird populations are a core indicator of shoreline health. Because of their rich infrastructure of marsh plants, algae, and insects, shorelines attract a tremendous array of birds, all of whom play important roles in maintaining watershed biodiversity. Any number of human impacts—erosion, deforestation, chemical waste—can upset the natural equilibrium of a shoreline, threatening the migratory patterns, habitat, and reproduction of the area’s birds. In the case of the Lake Erie shoreline, the focus of this work, avian populations plummeted with the rise of massive industrialization in the 19th and 20th centuries, suffocated by deforestation and depletion of prey. Only after sizeable climate activism in response to climate disasters—including the Cuyahoga River Fire of 1969, in which pollutants on the river caught fire and burned for hours—did the tide begin to turn for Erie, a renewed health especially signaled by one key factor: the reemergence of its bird populations.

Double Aviary draws a three-movement arc through all of this. In First Aviary, we see an unspoiled image of the shore before the industrial intervention, built upon the song of an Erie native, the red-winged blackbird; in a second, unnamed movement, we follow the cycle of human error that never self-corrects until the weight of its short-sightedness is too grave to ignore; and the last movement, Second Aviary, depicts a (not-so-distant) future in which the watershed flourishes again in earnest, an intentional and thoughtful equilibrium, reviving the songs from native Erie birds. This work was generously supported by the Eric Stokes “Earth’s Best In Tune” Fund, and we cannot thank them enough for their kindness and dedication to the conversation.

Instrumentation: Solo Tenor Saxophone; Flute 1-2, Oboe 1-2, Clarinet 1-2, Bassoon 1-2, Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Horn 1-2, Trumpet 1-2, Trombone 1-2, Piano, Double Bass, Percussion 1-2