I composed "Music for Harp and Alto Saxophone #01" in 1971 at the request of alto saxophonist Diane Foster and harpist Peggy Brown, who premiered it at a duo recital in the spring of that year. It was the first public performance of any of my works and was met with an instantaneous standing ovation. I was deeply moved.

The following year the duo attended the International Harp Convention in San Diego, CA and chose this piece to perform in a master’s class. The other attendees did not care for the piece initially, but after repeated performances in the class during that week it became the favourite.

Internationally renowned harpist Gail Barber, in attendance at the convention, was intrigued by the piece and invited me to be a "secondary" guest composer at a prominent Texas Tech University music festival the following year. The major composer was Alan Hovhaness, whom I came to know rather well during my week's sojourn there.

This work is an early entry into my affair with bitonality. Shortly after this I composed “Song Cycle”—a setting of five American poems for mezzo-soprano and piano. This was a great step into my future, strongly portending the direction of my musical development.

"Music for Harp and Alto Saxophone #01" is built around two themes which, as with many of my works, freely evolve with developing variations. As with many of my earlier works that recently I have been putting into digital formats, I have made some minor revisions and extensions during the transferal process.

It always is an audience pleaser, regardless of the setting and program, appealing to a broad spectrum of music lovers and aficionados.

Vanessa McClintock