Gaudete for Orchestra is a 7-minute extravaganza celebrating the holiday season. The work is based on the oldest of Christmas carols, Gaudete et exsultate (Rejoice and Be Glad), believed to have been composed in the 16th century. Gaudete for Orchestra also weaves several traditional holiday melodies throughout the work including Joy to the World, Carol of the Bells and We Three Kings. In addition to the familiar carols, audiences will be tickled to hear the embedded Morse Code message in the brass: W E A R  A  M A S K.

Gaudete for Orchestra is framed on the scaffold of time, both at the micro and macro levels. Leanna Primiani creates an overarching musical structure using the concept of the Fibonacci sequence and the Golden Ratio (f). This idea of ‘divine proportion’ found in patterns of nature balances sections and the climax of the work according to time itself, rather than on the number of notes or measures.