Spotsylvania Holiday

Grade 3

4.5 minutes

Composed for the Spotsylvania (VA) Middle School Advanced Band, Ruth Kochenour, Director.  Premiered Spring 1997.

Here’s an authentic performance…by real middle schoolers!:

Spotsylvania Holiday was my first shot at composing a middle school-level piece.  Lyrical lines over staccato accompaniment in F major describe the fast opening section.  Players will be challenged by quarter-note triplets over the eighth note pulse.  The slow middle section features a trombone melody in G minor, joined later by a countermelody in flutes.  Horns are not left in the dust–they get the melody, too.  Trumpets usher in the original tempo, then four bars in 6/4 build momentum into the recapitulation, which combines the fast and slow themes in counterpoint.