Enter Spirit- For Full or Flex Concert Band (digital download)

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Gr. 2.5

Duration: 4 minutes

Enter Spirit is a piece inspired by the quote from the Avatar The Last Airbender series, “When all hope seems lost, look for the light in the darkness. “ -Uncle Iroh

It is a grade 2.5 Concert / Flex band piece. I denote the parts that are absolutely necessary to play the piece as well as what to substitute parts with if you don’t have enough. Note: it will still work without the trombone part, but it will sound different.

Also, please feel free to experiment and adjust the instrumentation to fit your band.  ( I won’t bat an eye if you decide to give a clarinet a trumpet part if you have way more of them for example)

Enter Spirit also uses found sounds to create a soundscape. Suggestions are ringing objects ( mugs hit with a pencil, bells, etc) and a bowed vibraphone.

Program Notes:

I originally began composing this piece during the COVID-19 pandemic. While in isolation with not much else to do, as I had been laid off from my job and waiting to find a new one, I binge-watched the Avatar The Last Airbender Series and its sequel, The Legend of Korra. When this quote was uttered by Uncle Iroh to Korra when she was going through a depressive episode in the spirit realm (S.2 Ep .10), it struck a chord with me. I was thinking not only about how depressed I was becoming due to the isolation but also about how my students and their peers were dealing with the darkness and uncertainty. Thus the Idea for this piece was born.

I asked my colleague and the then-director of the Twin Cities Brass Band, Adam Hille, if his students may want to play it. He teaches at a school, that is very similar to the school district I grew up in, in that it is very rural and the band is tiny ( but growing!). To make this piece accessible to as many bands in a similar situation that I know all too well, and spread hope in a time of darkness, I opted to write this as a hybrid flex band and full band piece. I also ask the students to find Bell-like objects of varying sizes, as that bell sound plays an important role in this piece, summoning light and banishing darkness.

I also aimed to give them a chance to be creative and find their own light, and sense of fun.

Even though this was composed with a smaller group in mind, a larger group can certainly play it.

Need a Physical Copy? Order Here @ JW Pepper