Duration: 12 minutes

Instrumentation: picc/2fl/2ob/2cl/2bsn/4hn/2tpt/2tbn/tba/timp/2 perc/pno/stgs
percussion: Glock, Snare, Triangle, Tambourine, Castanets, Finger Cymbals, Suspended Cymbal, Crash Cymbals, 2 timpani (25” and 28”)

Lights On! is a festive Jewish offering for Christmas Holiday concerts. Listeners embark on a musical journey through a traditional prayer melody and eight diverse Hanukkah tunes, each representing one of the eight days of Hanukkah. Some tunes are well known, such as "O Hanukkah O Hanukkah," while others might be discoveries, such as the Sephardic "Ochos Kandelikas." Highlights include frequent counterpoint with various combinations of the the tunes. There is a moment of klezmer music with a clarinet solo as well as a melodramatic violin cadenza. The structure of the piece is a little bit like a spinning dreydel that goes out of control, with a climax where all eight tunes play simultaneously. I add the tempo marking "Prestissimo Mashuguna," which I so hope is original. Lights On! was commissioned by Jed Gaylin and the Bay Atlantic Symphony in New Jersey.