Stars & Stripes for 8 pianos, 32 hands

Last year, I composed an over-the-top, ten-minute fantasy for 16 pianists based on John Philip Sousa’s “Stars & Stripes Forever,” commissioned by the Aspen Music Festival.

The piece uses its 160 fingers and 704 keys to create pointillistic textures of sound. Swirling clusters of notes evoke clouds, rainbows, and fireworks as the music wavers between major and minor. It’s an homage to Sousa’s tune filtered through fog and uncertainty.

I spent five impassioned months wrestling with the logistics of 16 pianists playing together. Now, I find myself wrestling with feelings for our country, yet I choose not to shelve the work in disappointment. This Fourth of July, I offer the work as both a tribute and a question mark. “Stars & Stripes: Fireworks for 8 pianos, 32 hands” is an ode to the principles of the Declaration of Independence—equality, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—while acknowledging the mess of it all. It’s a celebration of our humanity and a reminder that music can bring us together, even as questions linger.

An ideal work for pianists and presenters planning for the USA 250th next year.

(70% of the multi-track audio recording was recorded on my 20-year-old electric keyboard and the other 30% is Sibelius Notation Software playback.)

Purchase the full score with eight duet parts here.