Flamingo, for chamber orchestra, derives its title from pink plastic flamingo lawn ornaments. Daugherty was inspired by memories from a road trip that his family went on in 1962 in which they drove from Iowa to Florida, where he eventually saw real flamingos standing next to plastic flamingos.



Flamingo is a little over eight minutes in duration and features two percussionists playing tambourines on opposite sides of the stage. The tambourines add a great deal of drama to the work as they are used to provide rhythmic substance and soloistic intensity. The piece is also influenced by flamenco dancing, a well known dance style of the Andalusian Gypsies characterized by forceful, often improvised rhythms.



The work begins with a short, catchy motive that works its way through every wind instrument of the orchestra during which time the tambourinists are beating away in counterpoint, filling in the spaces with dynamic pulses. Brass swells enter providing interest and add to the orchestrational layers. Eventually, a turning string melody enters, and the main ingredients of the piece are completely introduced. Over the course of the work, one finds tambourine cadenzas, a beautiful adagio section (which may be related to the fact that at the same time he saw the real flamingos, Marilyn Monroe's suicide was announced on the radio), and even a singing bassoon solo—not to mention more pulsing flamenco-influenced dance music.

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