MANHATTAN BEACH MUSIC
Raising the Standards of the American Concert Band and BANDS all Over the WORLD
Exclusive Australian Distribution by Future Music
While composing Sun Dance, I was consciously attempting to evoke a feeling: bright joy. After completing the work, I found that the music began to suggest a more concrete image -- a town festival on a warm, sun-washed day. I imagined townspeople gathered in the park, some in small groups, some walking hand in hand, others dancing to the music played by a small band under a red gazebo. Throughout the composition process, I carefully balanced the songlike and dancelike components of “bright joy.” The oboe’s gentle statement of the main melody establishes the work’s song-like characteristics, while in the work’s middle section, a lyrical theme of even greater passion appears. Several recurring themes are indeed more vocal than instrumental in nature.
The work’s dancelike qualities are enhanced by a syncopated rhythmic figure... The figure is used not only in the main melody, but also as a structural building block for virtually everything in the piece, including other melodies, accompaniment figures, and episodes.
- Frank Ticheli
Performance by Todd Fiegel conducting the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Wind Ensemble.