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About Liberty for All
Liberty
for All is an orchestral piece with narration which was made possible
through the American Composers Forum as part of the Continental Harmony
program. Continental Harmony links communities with composers
to celebrate the new millenium through the creation of original musical
works. The program is a partnership of American Composers Forum and
the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional funds provided by the
John S. & James L. Knight Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, William
& Flora Hewlett Foundation and Land O'Lakes Foundation. Continental
Harmony is an Associate Partner of the White House Millennium Council.

Liberty for All uses quotes from the Declaration of
Independence, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and John F. Kennedy in a
very stirring musical setting that arouses the patriotic spirit in any
American who listens to it.
The Carmel Symphony is responsible for requesting the
grant that made it possible to write this piece. The dedication is in
memory of musician and arts administrator, Fran Shoup.
2 Flutes
|
4 Horns in F
|
1 Piccolo
|
3 Trumpets in C
|
2 Oboe
|
3 Trombones
|
2 Bb Clarinets
|
1 Tuba
|
1 Bb Bass Clarinet
|
1 Timpani
|
2 Bassoons
|
4 Percussion
(4th Percussion is optional)
|
Harp
|
Optional Piano & Celesta
|
Narrator
|
Strings
Violin I
Violin II
Viola
Cello
Bass
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Band Instrumentation
View the above link with Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Adobe Score/Part Samples
Score
Violin Part
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Liberty for All was premiered in the summer of 2000
by both the
Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra for its July 1-4 concerts and by the
Carmel Symphony on July 4. The work was specifically written as a Millennium
piece to complement a patriotic program.
For
the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra premieres, the piece was conducted by
Stuart Malina, who is the Music Director for the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra. He has also
conducted at Chatauqua, Charleston, Greensboro, Louisville, North Carolina, Hartford,
and Kansas City. Malina has conducted operas and musical theater and
is also an accomplished pianist. The narrator for these performances
was Michel Bell, a singer, soloist, and actor; especially celebrated for
his role of "Porgy" in Gershwin's opera, Porgy and Bess, and his performances in
the Broadway revival of the musical, Show Boat. He is the
music arranger for the hit musical, Movin' Out, highlighting Billy
Joel's music.
For the Carmel Symphony Orchestra
performances, Liberty
for All was conducted by their Music Director, David Bowden. He
is also Music Director of the Terre Haute Symphony and the Columbus
Indiana Philharmonic and has
guest conducted in Savannah, Winston-Salem, Peoria, Marquette and
Mississippi. He is widely known for his innovative programming and
emphasis on the music education of our youth. The narrator for this
performance was John Gillis, a WIBC radio personality in Indianapolis.
Maestro Bowden says of Liberty for All: "The
piece is fabulous and, in my opinion, will be performed all over the
country in the future Independence Day, Veteran's Day and Memorial Day
concerts. It is a superb, deeply moving musical expression of the privilege
and cost of liberty: literally worth dying for."
Michael Krajewski, Principal Pops Conductor with Houston,
New Mexico, Long Beach, and Jacksonville says of the work: "Liberty
for All is a welcome addition to the symphonic repertoire of American
orchestras. It is well crafted, brilliantly orchestrated, and
powerfully effective."
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Other Performances
Liberty for All has also been performed by the
following orchestras:
Acadia
Symphony |
Amarillo
Symphony |
Annapolis
symphony |
Atlanta
Symphony |
Bakersfield
Symphony |
Baltimore
Symphony |
Beloit
Janesville Symphony |
Billings |
Binghamton
Philharmonic |
Bloomington
(IN), Pops |
Boston
Pops |
Bozeman
Symphony |
Buffalo
Symphony |
Cedar
Rapids Symphony |
Charleston
Symphony |
Chautauqua
|
Cheyenne/Ft.
Collins |
Cincinnati
Symphony |
Columbus
Georgia Symphony |
Columbus Indiana Philharmonic
|
Conroe
Symphony |
Dayton
Philharmonic |
Duluth
Superior Symphony |
Eastern
Connecticut |
Florida
West Coast |
Fort Wayne, IN
|
Fort Worth Symphony
|
Gainesville
Symphony |
Grand
Teton Music Festival |
Greater
Bridgeport Symphony |
Gulf
Coast Symphony |
Harrisburg
Symphony |
Hawaii
Symphony |
Houston Symphony
|
Illinois
Philharmonic |
Johnstown
Symphony |
Kansas
City Symphony |
Knoxville
Symphony |
Lafayette
Symphony |
Lancaster
Symphony |
LaPorte
County |
Long
Island Philharmonic |
Loudoun
Syphony |
Middletown |
Muncie,
IN Symphony |
Naples
Philharmonic |
Nashville
Symphony |
New
Haven |
New
Jersey |
New Mexico
|
North
Carolina Symphony |
Northeast
Texas |
Northwest
Indiana Symphony |
Ocean
City Pops |
Oklahoma
Summer Arts Institute |
Oklahoma
City Philharmonic |
Orchestra of Southern Wisconsin
|
Orlando
Philharmonic |
Oshkosh
Symphony |
Owensboro
Symphony |
Pasadena
Pops |
Pensacola
Symphony |
Pepperdine
University |
Phoenix Symphony |
Portland, Maine
|
Reno
Philharmonic |
Richmond
Symphony |
Rochester
Philharmonic |
Roswell
Symphony |
San
Diego Symphony |
Sarasota
Orchestra |
South
Bend Symphony |
South
Dakota Symphony |
Syracuse
Symphony |
Terre Haute
|
Tucson
Symphony |
Virginia Symphony
|
West
Virginia Symphony |
Wichita
Symphony |
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Rick Rogers, The Oklahoman, March 30, 2004
"Beckel, a member of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, is
clearly one of the most talented composer/arrangers working today.
Borrowing texts from presidential speeches, Beckel created a modern-day
equivalent to Copland's "A Lincoln Portrait."
Yet, while "Liberty for All: is modeled after Copland, it doesn't
attempt to imitate, thereby succeeding wholeheartedly on the strength of
Beckel's musical insights.
And while he may have drawn inspiration from words by Washington,
Lincoln and Kennedy, his classy orchestral setting made them resonate all
the more impressively."
Ted McIrvine, Hendersonville Times-News, March 8, 2004
"The work demonstrates nuanced compositional skill and excellent
use of brass and woodwinds as well as percussion. This was the
standout piece on the program."
The band version of "Liberty for All" was commissioned by
"The United States Coast Guard Band". They performed the
piece on a West Coast tour in the spring of 2002. The director,
Lewis J. Buckley, stated that he has rarely played a piece that makes
their encore piece, "Stars and Stripes Forever", seem
anti-climactic. A CD entitled "Liberty for All" was
released by the Coast Guard Band, with Lewis J. Buckley directing.
The following player has two audio samples from
this CD and is used with permission. Just click
the arrow or one of the tracks.
This text will be replaced by the flash music player.
The Coast Guard Band performed the work with John Amos narrating during
the week of July 29, 2002 in Washington, D.C. Their recording is
with Merlin Olson.
The Aspen Music Festival Band performed the band version in 2005 with
Lawrence Isaacson conducting.
The South Shore Concert Band performed the band version on November 11,
2012.
The Roman Festival Brass played Liberty for All on May 28, 2012.
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