Journey Through Orion

Commissioned by the Association of Concert Bands

Premiering at the ACB 28th Annual Convention in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Hosted by the Repasz Band which celebrated its 175th Anniversary in 2006.

Performance by the 130 piece ACB Convention Band

Premier Performance

Conducted by Colonel Arnald D. Gabriel

Recording by

The ACADIAN WINDS

Gerald Guilbeaux, Conductor

Colonel Arnald Gabriel, Guest Conductor

July 14, 2006

PROGRAM NOTES:

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) launched in 1990 by the space shuttle has recorded over 100,000 imagesin the past eight years from its position 380 miles above the Earth’s surface.Photographs from the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex simply put are out of this world.

Pictures of the Great Orion Nebula, Barnard’s Loop, M78, M43, the Molecular Clouds 1 & 2 (OMC-1, OMC-2) and The Horsehead Nebula never cease to capture my imagination. I have journeyed there many times in my mind so I decided to sketch that journey with notes.

Travel with the music 1,500 light years away into the constellation Orion the Hunter, into the Molecular Cloud Complex and through the Great Orion Nebula where Stars and Ideas are born.