Xanadu (PDF)

XANADU was commissioned by The Florida State University College of Music for the grand reopening of the Ruby Diamond Concert Hall and the 100th anniversary of the College of Music. XANADU is a work inspired by the 80’s, the era in which the composer attended Florida State University as an undergraduate performance and composition major. Like this composition, the 80’s movie with the same title is inspired by the poem Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The poem was an opium-influenced dream describing a stately palace. This work is influenced by 80’s hip-hop culture, TV themes and other pop culture music of the late 70’s-80’s. The first three notes of the 80’s song Xanadu play an important thematic role in the work. This work also has an optional Turntablist (DJ record scratching) part for the percussion.