Light the Way (String Orchestra Gr. 3 + Opt. Harp & Percussion)

In music and in life, we seek to move from dark, challenging times to bright and hopeful futures. In order for this to happen, we rely on the courage of leaders to lead and also the courage of followers to follow! This piece explores this idea through the string orchestra, both through melodic call and response and lush, shifting harmonies that bring us from dark to light. The folk song, Going Home, iconically used by Antonin Dvorak in his "Symphony No. 9: From the New World," makes an appearance in the middle of the work to emphasize that warm, good feeling of going home.

Genre: String Orchestra | # of Players: 8-8-5-5-5
Series: Emerald Orchestra Series
Level: 3 | Duration: 5:00

Instrumentation
Violin I
Violin II
Viola
Cello
Contrabass

Optional Parts:
Harp
Glockenspiel & Crotales
Marimba [4.5-octave]

Percussion [2 players]: Suspended Cymbal, Crash Cymbals, Bass Drum, Triangle, Mark Tree

Program Notes
Light the Way was originally written for string orchestra and commissioned by the Washington-Liberty High School (Arlington, VA). A few years later, the Saratoga High School (Saratoga, CA) performed the piece at the Midwest Clinic and additional, optional parts for percussion and harp were added. The piece seeks to explore how we can make our way from darkness to light, both in music and in life. It takes both leaders, who are willing to take the first steps towards a brighter future, and followers, who have the courage to, well, follow!

Musically, this happens through both melody and harmony in this piece. We begin with a motive that gets passed down the ensemble, from high voices to low voices. As they all enter with the motive, the harmonies that they create grow darker and thicker, at times with six different notes sounding simultaneously. Then, we hear a phrase of music where chords shift from major (bright) to minor (dark) sonorities. Then the sound grows in dynamic and rhythmic intensity and then the ensemble presents a statement of the iconic folk melody, Going Home, that Antonin Dvorak used so iconically in his "Symphony No. 9: From the New World." Finally, the music settles back down and we hear a restatement of the earlier melodic phrase, this time with the major and minor chords inverted. The music comes to a close with an echo of the final chords of the Dvorak, which also leads the listener through shifting harmonies to a warm and bright finish.