Baljinder Singh Sekhon

Five Rings: Consortium Commission

Five Rings

A new composition for flute, percussion, and open-instrumentation ensemble inspired by Miyamoto Musashi’s classic treatise of strategy The Book of Five Rings.

Become a sponsor or consortium member today!

Overview

A new double concerto for flute, percussion and open-instrumentation ensemble!

Caballito Negro (Tessa Brinckman, flute; Terry Longshore, percussion), together with the Penn State Other Arts Ensemble (Kevin Sims, director), are seeking sponsors and consortium members to support the commission of a new work from composer Baljinder Sekhon: a double concerto for flute, percussion, and open-instrumentation ensemble. We hope you will consider supporting this project as a sponsor or consortium member.

Timeline & Membership

  • November 1, 2026 – deadline to sponsor or join consortium
  • All consortium members and sponsors will be listed in the final published score.
  • Membership or Sponsorship is available with three options:
    • Option 1: Individual Consortium Member – $200. Individual’s name only is listed: eg. “Terry Longshore, percussion”
    • Option 2: Duo Consortium Member – $400. Duo’s name and both members are listed: eg. “Caballito Negro: Tessa Brinckman, flute and Terry Longshore, percussion”
    • Option 3: Project Sponsor – three sponsorship levels available. This is for anyone who wishes to support this project. Sponsor’s name is listed in the published score.
  • All consortium members will have exclusivity to perform this work March 15, 2027 – December 31, 2028.
  • For any commercially released recordings, consortium members will have all license and rights fees waived. Consortium members can release recordings after December 31, 2028.
  • The Penn State Other Arts Ensemble and Caballito Negro will present the world premiere of this work on December 4, 2026.
  • Final performance materials will be delivered to all consortium members by February 1, 2027.

New Work Details

  • Instrumentation:
    • C Flute
    • Percussion (primarily vibraphone)
    • Open-Instrumentation Ensemble
      • An ensemble of six or more performers playing any instruments can form the ensemble for this work.
  • Duration: 25-30 minutes
  • Difficulty Level:
    • Solo Parts: suitable for advanced performers (graduate students and beyond).
    • Open-Instrumentation Ensemble: suitable for performers of any level, with many options for simplicity and virtuosity.

Sample Works

The following are a few samples of works by Baljinder Sekhon.
Click each title for more details and to listen to each work.

Two Trees (Clarinet + Percussion)

| Bb Clarinet + Percussion | 7 minutes |

Into Emptiness (Voice, Saxophone, Flute, Electronics)

| soprano voice, alto sax, flt, electronics | 9 minutes |

Climbing Away (open instrumentation)

Open Instrumentation
Variable Duration
Graphic Score

You can find an extensive catalogue of work samples HERE.

How to Join

You can sign up and pay the consortium member or sponsorship fee HERE.

If needed, you can commit to supporting this by signing up now and pay at a later date.

Already signed up but still need to pay? You can make your payment using one of the following links:

Consortium Member Options:

Individual Consortium Member Payment HERE ($200)

Duo Consortium Member Payment HERE ($400)

Sponsorship Levels:

Earth: Commission Sponsor HERE ($100) [name listed in score]

Fire: Commission Sponsor HERE ($500) [Earth + autographed copy of score]

Void: Commission Sponsor HERE ($1,000) [Earth + Fire + 4×6 framed, signed, original symbol drawings by Teresa Sekhon – symbols of earth, water, fire, and wind used on ensemble cards]

If you prefer to pay by check or another method, please contact the composer: SekhonMusic@gmail.com

Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions!

Five Rings: Composition Overview

Five Rings is a new work for two soloists (flute and percussion) and an ensemble of open instrumentation. Conceived of as a game that can be performed by any community of musicians, this work follows the lessons of Miyamoto Musashi’s (1584-1645) The Book of Five Rings which guides one from the state of establishing physical proficiency and skill (the earth scroll) to the ability of accomplishing tasks with effortless intuition (the void scroll). Through the course of this piece, the two soloists will follow conventional notation while the ensemble moves through a series of indeterminate musical scenes governed by the random selection of playing cards designed for this work. Through a combination of game music and traditional performance practice, the music shifts fluidly through musical translations of the scrolls that make up The Book of Five Rings. While the two solo parts will be created with professional performers in mind, the unique aspect of this piece is that the ensemble part can be made up of any instruments, musicians of any skill level, and can speak to both simple and virtuosic renderings. This work can challenge the most experienced musicians or come to life through simple yet equally expressive and effective realizations.

This work will include five sections presented in a connected and overlapping manner. Each of these sections will be modeled after one of the scrolls from The Book of Five Rings:

I.               Earth Scroll (physical proficiency)

II.             Water Scroll (adaptability)

III.           Fire Scroll (destruction)

IV.           Wind Scroll (variety/change)

V.             Void Scroll (emptiness/effortless)

This concept is one of transformation that follows a path from the physical experience of learning to the ability to effortlessly intuit action. While moving from one scroll to the next as a series of lessons seems simple, this work requires a community of people to make this journey together. As in society, this will result in a myriad of possibilities as each individual member of the ensemble will move at differing paces creating a kaleidoscopic shift of color, movement, and mood. While the two soloists in this work embody a structured navigation of the scrolls, the ensemble reflects that structure in real-life practice – a society of people from varying backgrounds, with potentially different tools, who must engage with unpredictable tasks as they navigate the same process together.