For George Lewis

Tyshawn Sorey's For George Lewis draws inspiration from The Will to Adorn, a dense work for chamber orchestra by the composer’s friend, collaborator and mentor George Lewis. Where Lewis’s score is frenetic, however, Sorey’s enters into a meditative stasis for most of its 51-minute duration, slowly accumulating and breaking down different sonorities of harmony and color. Alarm Will Sound, for whom the piece was composed, gave the world premiere in November 2019 at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, conducted by Alan Pierson, who also worked closely with the composer to edit this score.

Calling for 16 players—including a doublebass with a fifth string tuned down to A—the score offers extensive performance notes and is available for sale as part of the Peters Contemporary Library, with performance materials available on hire.