About the Piece:
Difficulty: 3.5
Timing: 6 minutes
“There is motion on the stillness just as there is music in the silence”.-Cantus the Bard of Fraggle Rock
Reverence was composed with the young concert band in mind. Though the rhythms are, as a whole,not difficult, the challenge comes from brief moments of chamber music orchestration and a few secondary harmonies that many ensembles at this level are not normally exposed to. However, it is grounded in familiar tonality, structure and a “pop and lock” moment for the band to shine. The piece also ends with a reiteration of the two note phrase that the piece is built on, calling on the band to sing.
When I was composing the piece, I was thinking about the silence between the sound, as that is also a vital part of the music that is often overlooked. This piece provides the conductor and ensemble ample opportunities to work mostly on music making and playing with silence rather than spending 90 percent of rehearsal time dedicated to technique.
Reverence was premiered by the Henryville IN Goldenband, Chance Varner-conductor. May 22,2016.