Roger Zahab - The Company of Friends

The Company of Friends
Date Completed:	December 4, 1989
Duration:	about 17 minutes
Instrumentation:	string orchestra
First Performance:	Sunday, April 22, 1990 by the Summit Chamber Strings directed by Gregory Fiocca at the First Congregational Church, Akron Ohio
Comments:	for and to Gregory Fiocca and the players of the Summit Chamber Strings
Program Notes:	The Company of Friends was written in 1989 at the request of Gregory Fiocca for the Summit Chamber Strings and is dedicated to him and them. It was begun in Phoenix, Arizona on 12 October, continued on airplanes and in the airport of St. Louis (Variations), parts of the Game were sketched in a dance studio in Kalamazoo, Michigan and the rest completed in Akron on December 4th. Greg and I became friends in high school when he played my first tries at composition and he has ever since been a devoted friend, performer and accomplice. I met the players of the Summit Chamber Strings when I substituted for Greg at a rehearsal and they influenced the writing of this work in many ways. Though it turned out to be more difficult than I had intended, they proved themselves equal to the task and gave a rousing first performance on Sunday, 22 April 1990 in the First Congregational Church in Akron, Ohio.