Instrumentation
FluteOboe
Bb Clarinet 1 - 3
Bass Clarinet
Bassoon
Alto Saxophone 1 - 2
Tenor Saxophone
Baritone Saxophone
Trumpet 1 - 2
Horn in F
Trombone 1 - 2
Baritone
Tuba
Bells
Timpani
Snare Drum/Bass Drum
Aux. Percussion
Program notes
Pop! This march utilizes bursting balloons as a percussion instrument. The song is also a celebration of the music department at Albert Campbell C.I. as the balloons in the performance represent the three enthusiastic music teachers at the school (Emily Elkouby, Maddie Peterkin and myself). The music contains bars of 3/4, 3/8, phrases repeated three times, three note motifs and a form with three A sections. See if you can spot all the threes in the music! the middle section sounds like a lullaby. All of Campbell's music teachers are parents to young children. This section describes the challenge of juggling parenthood and the running of a busy music department at Albert Campbell!
A special thanks to Mark caswell who spent an amazing day workshopping this piece with Albert Campbell band. His orchestration suggestions have given the music more clarity and warmth.
Three Balloons by Wesley Cheang (Canada)
Composer
I am a composer, performer and the head of music at Albert Campbell Collegiate Institute in Toronto, Canada. My background is in jazz performance and you will hear this influence in the harmony and rhythms of my music. Some of the band composers I admire are Holst, Vaughan Williams, Reed, Ericson and Techelli. One of my goals when writing is to fuse my jazz and concert band influences. I think that we are in an exciting time in concert band music as composers and performers embrace diverse sounds, styles and interests. My process is all about community and collaboration and I am always discussing and debating music with others in the band community. I think that as a band community, we define what the future of the repertoire will sound like through the conversations we have, the music we program and the music we choose to compose.
I started writing band music a few years ago for my students to perform. The goal was to show students how to be creative, collaborative and teach them about the compositional process. What started as a school project is now a personal passion and has expanded beyond the scope of my teaching job as local and international bandleaders have started to perform my music.
Website: www.wesleycheang.com
Duration
7:10