In the First, Spinning Place was composed during the summer months of 1999 for the North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conference in Tucson, AZ, March 2000. Although the piece is in one continuous movement, it falls into three interlinked sections with a slow introduction. The concerto was inspired by the poem “Fern Hill”—an exuberant poem about youth by Welsh poet, Dylan Thomas.

The first section, Vivcace con gioja, is subtitled “Down the rivers of the windfall light.” It is a light, dancing movement which parallels Thomas’ words “…as I was young and easy under the apple boughs.” The second section, Andante flessible, contains echoes of Welsh hymnody and carries the subtitle “And the sabbath rang slowly/In the pebbles of the holy streams.” The subtitle of the third section also contains the title of the whole concerto, “So it must have been after the birth of the simple light/In the first, spinning place.” It is a fast, scherzando, finale where, after the cadenza, the soloist sets the whole orchestra spinning.

- Hilary Tann

In the First Spinning Place was commissioned by the University of Arizona Symphony Orchestra and music director Jindong Cai, for the North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conference, hosted by Kelland Thomas. It was premiered in Crowder Hall, University of Arizona, on March 10, 2000, with Debra Richtmeyer, soloist, and Jondong Cai, conductor.