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.