Transorchestia Enigmatica: the small hopping crustaceans known only to the muddy shores of Lake Merritt (2025)

for Wind Ensemble

Orchestia: New Latin, from Greek orchēstēs dancer (from orcheisthai to dance, leap) + New Latin -ia

"Transorchestia enigmatica is a semi-terrestrial estuarine amphipod commonly known as a beach-hopper. This species is known only from the tidal lagoon of Lake Merritt, California, near San Francisco Bay. However, other members of the genus Transorchestia occur in Chile, Australia and New Zealand and it is presumed to have originated in the Southern Hemisphere. It was found amongst shore debris and is now confined to a muddy-sandy beach within the lagoon. It may have been introduced by sailing ships from Chile or New Zealand…”

National Exotic Marine and Estuarine Species Information System. https://invasions.si.edu/nemesis/species_summary/-331

Further Reading:

“ON A WARM SEPTEMBER AFTERNOON IN 1962, a 14-year-old boy named Jim Carlton scrambled down through thick brush onto the exposed muddy shoreline of Adams Point on Lake Merritt. The small beach was quiet, hidden by the curve of the point from the boathouse to the east and the bandstand to the north. The family picnic Carlton had left behind faded into the whispering ripples of the lake and the smell of bay mud. Something underfoot went crunch…”

Eric Simons. “This Animal Has Never Been Seen Away From Lake Merritt—But It’s Not From Oakland” Bay Nature. https://baynature.org/biodiversity/enigmatica/

Instrumentation

Piccolo
Flutes 1 & 2
Oboe
Clarinets 1-6
Bass Clarinet
Bassoon
Saxophones SATB
Horns 1-4
Trumpets 1-6
Trombones 1 & 2
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
Drum Set (add: China Cymbal)
Percussion 1: Triangle, Vibraphone, Large Gong
Percussion 2: Glockenspiel, Xylophone
Percussion 3: Marimba

Duration: 4:40