Beautiful (Wind Band) | Parts

Program Note

There are many moments in someone's life that make them re;ect on who they are and the experiences that shaped them. Recently, I found myself reflecting on the impact my grandmother had on my life. She, along with my parents, was in attendance for almost every major moment in my life from birthdays to graduation, and notably, musical performances. Without fail she would approach me at the end of a performance and tell me how beautiful she thought the music had sounded.

My grandmother has been deaf for her entire life. I would joke with her about her appraisal of the music, but she always insisted that what she had experienced was beautiful. The extent of her experience was in feeling the vibrations of the music through a variety of different items, like a balloon, which she and my parents (also deaf and endlessly supportive) would in;ate and hold on to during a concert.

Recently, I thought about this a lot. With my grandmother's health failing, I considered what her musical experience may have truly been like as an audience member. I experimented with antiphonal performance early in my compositonal career by writing music for bass clarinets and providing the audience with balloons so that they might gain an insight into what the experience of my grandmother was during a perforamance. A performance wherein she could not hear a single note, but feel every vibration through her balloon.

This music is my next attempt to create a window into her world. You will feel the rumbling of a bass drum placed out in the concert hall where my grandmother would have been sitting, listening. Feeling. You will experience deafness in the moment where most music has it's most beautiful, heart-wrenching sonic moment. This music instead creates a moment where you suddenly hear the sounds my grandmother would have told me were beautiful.

Note to Conductor

Please feel free to draw attention to or read from the program note before you begin your performance. This context will provide the deep meaning to moments that may otherwise not connect with the audience. There are two things that I would suggest to heighten the experience of this music further.

The first is that when the piece concludes, the audience does not applaud, rather they raise their hands and shake them (sort of in the style of "jazz hands"). This is the way applause is given in the deaf community and would provide a very notable effect to the end of the performance.

The second note is entirely optional. You may provide each member of the audience with a balloon for them to inflate and hold during the performance. I have found that the more taught the balloon, generally the greater the response to the vibration up to a certain point. If you choose to have your audience hold a balloon, I would suggest asking them to refrain from inflating it until just before this piece begins and to be careful to not inflate it too much. Adding in a note in regard to the removal of jewelry or anything else that may accidentally cause a balloon to pop would also be prudent.

I hope you, your performers, and your audience enjoy working on and listening to this music.

Performance notes are available in the score.

Perusal Score

Timing: 7 minutes

Grade: 2.5

Instrumentation

Flute I, Flute II, Oboe, Bassoon I, Bassoon II 

Bb Clarinet I, Bb Clarinet II, Bb Clarinet III, Bb Clarinet IV, Bass Clarinet, Contrabass Clarinet (recommended) 

Alto Saxophone I, Alto Saxophone II, Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone 

Trumpet I, Trumpet II, Trumpet III French Horn I, French Horn II, French Horn III, French Horn IV

Trombone I, Trombone II, Trombone III, Bass Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba 

Piano 

Timpani, Vibraphone & Bells, Marimba, Chimes

Ride & Sizzle Cymbal, Tam-Tam & Suspended Cymbal, Bass Drum (Onstage), Bass Drum (Offstage)