Zwilich described her approach in the score program notes, remarking, "The entire work treats the orchestra like a huge chamber ensemble, in which each player or section can be a brilliant soloist one moment and a sensitive partner the next.
"[1] The work is scored for a large orchestra comprising piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, trombone, bass trombone, tuba, timpani, four percussionists, and strings.
[1] Reviewing the world premiere, Steve Smith of The New York Times wrote, "the symphony demonstrated Ms. Zwilich’s flair for orchestration.
Unorthodox percussion instruments (like the spiral cymbal, a dangling, serpentine coil that offers a distant roar) and techniques (timpani played with a model of wire brush known as dreadlocks) showed that Ms. Zwilich keeps up with recent trends."
But the qualities that have long made her music personal and compelling were certainly present, and the Juilliard musicians took up the piece with diligence and vitality.