Light of My World (Band Gr. 5)

Light of My World is a fun and exciting fanfare and celebration piece! Written for the birth of the composer’s first child, this piece of music is intended to celebrate new life, new challenges, and the joy that being a father or parent brings. It holds beautiful, flowing melodies juxtaposed with intricate rhythms and thrilling harmonic language.

Genre: Band | # of Players: Standard
Series: Diamond Band Series
Level: 5 | Duration: 5:00

Instrumentation
Conductor's Score (11"x17")

Piccolo
Flute 1
Flute 2
Oboe
Bassoon
B-flat Clarinet 1
B-flat Clarinet 2
B-flat Clarinet 3
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Contralto Clarinet
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet
Alto Saxophone 1
Alto Saxophone 2
Tenor Saxophone
Baritone Saxophone

B-flat Trumpet 1
B-flat Trumpet 2
B-flat Trumpet 3
F Horn 1
F Horn 2
Trombone 1
Trombone 2
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
B-flat Baritone T.C.
Tuba
Double Bass

Timpani (4 drums)
Bells
Xylophone
Vibraphone
Chimes
Marimba (4.5-octave)
Snare Drum & Bass Drum [2 players]
Auxiliary Percussion [1 player]: Low Tom, Suspended Cymbal, Crash Cymbal, Splash Cymbal

Program Notes
Light of My World is a piece in celebration of my first child's birth. It’s a piece written through many of the different feelings about finding out I am having a son, all the way to what I can imagine it will feel like to hold him in my arms. It is written in an ABA format with a flowing melody, then turning into a 12/8 dance, before returning to the A melody.

PERFORMANCE NOTES
The opening is very fanfare in nature, introducing the slow, soaring melody in the trumpets. The following section is still very fanfare-like, but the texture more thickly scored with ornamented lines in the woodwinds. The melody here is twice as fast, and features a call-and-response with other sections of the ensemble, forming the full first theme. After a brief transitional section we have another statement of the first theme in a much less complicated but more majestic manner. This entire section is meant to be symbolic of the initial shock of finding out that my wife is pregnant, while also expressing the joy of finally understanding that we are having a baby.

From there we transition to a 12/8 section that picks up tempo and introduces the next theme. The melody is tossed around between sections and B-flat major is really the tonic, while being in a D-flat major sort of key. The melody returns to E-flat major in the low voices at half the speed. This entire section is meant to be a dance, it’s a joyous moment that represents the time after the announcement, when we started making plans, finding out the gender, and just the though of the potential of this new life.

We transition from that to 4/4 with a reprise of the transitional material from earlier, although altered. From this moment out we are back to the first theme, very reminiscent of the first time we hear it, with ornamented lines and fast low brass sections. Finally, we change to F major and slow down a bit, to give it that final big moment of arrival, both in the band sense and symbolizing the birth of my son. This is a piece of potential, of joy, and of celebration. I hope you enjoy Light of My World.

– P.S.