Over the Whale’s Acre is a concert fanfare for brass and percussion, and takes its title from a line in “The Seafarer,” an ancient Anglo-Saxon poem. “The Seafarer” was probably written sometime in the late 8th century and translated into modern English by Ezra Pound in 1930.
The fanfare, like the poem, is meant to portray a snapshot of life on the ancient sea, and is constructed as a sort of tone-poem in miniature, evocative rather than strictly programmatic. I use percussion to suggest rolling waves and sudden storms, and brass to represent a range of characteristics from excitement to trepidation, and ultimately to heroism. The piece received its premiere at the 2014 Midwest Clinic in Chicago, IL, and was recently featured in this US Navy video honoring sailors and their sacrifices.
Andrew J. Skaggs is a professional trombonist, conductor and composer living in the Washington, DC area. He currently performs with the United States Navy Band and has previously held positions with the Charlotte Symphony and the South Carolina Philharmonic. Mr. Skaggs grew up in Ashland, Kentucky and began writing music at an early age, mostly vocal and choral. His early works garnered numerous awards during his teenage years and drew high praise from several notable contemporaries including Pulitzer Prize winners Dominick Argento and John Corigliano. Mr. Skaggs studied composition, voice, piano and trombone at DePauw University, where his teachers included David Ott and James Beckel.
