
(b. 1926)
Carlisle Floyd is one of the foremost composers and librettists of opera in the United States today. Piano and drawing were large parts of Floyd's life and, in fact, he expected to pursue a career in painting. However, music prevailed and he followed his teacher, Ernst Bacon, to Syracuse University in the 1940s. During his stay at Syracuse, Floyd began writing a number of one-act plays including Slow Dusk, a one-act piece based on a short story he had written. In 1951, he began his teaching career at Florida State University where he remained until 1976, when he was appointed Professor of Music at the University of Houston. Floyd's opera Susannah, went on to win the New York Music Critics' Circle Award and travelled as the American entry to the Brussels World Fair in 1958. Since then, it has been produced more than 800 times. Floyd's subsequent operas include Wuthering Heights (1958,) The Passion of Jonathan Wade (1962; revised in 1991,) Of Mice and Men (1970,) Bilby's Doll (1976,) and Willie Stark (1981,) Floyd's latest project is Cold Sassy Tree , adapted from Olive Anne Burns' novel of the same title.
Carlisle Floyd Composition Timpani and Percussion Requirements
Of Mice and Men
Timpani + 3 percussion + celeste
Vibraphone, glockenspiel, xylophone, triangle, tambourine, gong, snare drum, orchestral bass drum, tenor drum, suspended cymbal, clash cymbals, whip, celeste
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Susannah
Timpani + 1 percussion + celeste
Snare drum, clash cymbals, suspended cymbals, gong, xylophone, celeste
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The Passion of Jonathan Wade
Timpani + 2 percussion
Snare drum, tambourine, glockenspiel, clash cymbals, suspended cymbal, orchestral bass drum, gong, xylophone, wood block, triangle
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