Brian Balmages (b. 1975) is a young, prolific American composer with several new works making their way into the repertoire at all levels, from elementary school bands to professional orchestras. His music has been performed all over the country, including at Carnegie Hall. He wrote Pele in 2004. It is a horn feature, originally written for and commissioned by Jerry Peel, the professor of horn at the University of Miami (now at Rutgers University). Balmages’s publisher, FJH, provides a program note:
Pele was inspired by the Hawaiian Goddess of Fire (or Volcano Goddess) by the same name. She was passionate, volatile, and capricious. This lyrical work is an emotional rollercoaster in which we experience a glimpse of her personality — from her quiet moments to her most volatile.
A moving Baltimore Sun piece on a middle school concert in which Balmages was commissioned to write a piece in memory of slain band members.
See Pele live:
Finally, please visit FJH Music (the special Canzonique section) and Brian Balmages’s compositions page, both of which have the official University of Miami recording of Pele with Professor Peel as soloist.
Brian Balmages (b. 1975) is a young, prolific American composer with several new works making their way into the repertoire at all levels, from elementary school bands to professional orchestras. His music has been performed all over the country, including at Carnegie Hall. He wrote his own program note about his 2007 composition Starscapes, to which I’ve added pictures of the constellations that inspired him:
Starscapes is a three-movement work based on various constellations and their Greek mythologies. Orion (The Hunter), the opening movement, is one of the most well-known constellations, visible in the northern sky during the winter in the northern hemisphere. While there are several versions of the Orion myth, typically it is agreed that he became the greatest hunter in the world and had incredible strength and stature. While no consensus exists on the means of his death, it is often suggested that he was killed by the sting of a small scorpion–an ironic death for such a champion. The movement opens with an introduction that paints a picture of a starry night, then portrays the majestic nature of Orion.
The second movement, Draco (The Dragon), depicts the most common myth that Draco inhabited a cave and killed Cadmus‘s attendants after they were asked to find fresh water as an offering to Jupiter. Cadmus went into the cave, discovered the dragon, and killed it with his spear. While there are many translations of Ovid‘s Metamorphoses, a particularly vivid one describes Draco as “the serpent of Mars, a creature with a wonderful golden crest; fire flashed from its eyes, its body was all puffed up from poison, and from its mouth, set with a triple row of teeth, flickered a three-forked tongue.”
The final movement, Pegasus (The Winged Horse), pays tribute to the constellation and famous myth of Pegasus. Pegasus was born as a result of the battle between Perseus and Medusa. After Perseus killed Medusa, drops of blood fell into the sea and mixed with the sea foam. The result was the birth of Pegasus, the brilliant white-winged horse. The movement portrays the galloping of the horse, then takes the listener on a journey through the skies with the magnificent creature.
Follow the links inserted into the text to learn more about anything else there.
The ancient Greeks saw found pictures of many different mythological characters and other things in the stars. For a list of some other constellations, click here.
Brian Balmages (b. 1975) is a young, prolific American composer with several new works making their way into the standard wind band repertoire. He has this to say about Summer Dances:
Summer Dances was written for the Columbia Concert Band, Columbia, Maryland, for an outdoor summer concert. The piece was written to capture the beauty and spirit of the many festivals and events associated with the season. In writing the piece, elements were included to make it very appropriate to perform in or out of the concert hall.
The piece thrives on rhythmic pulse throughout. The fast rhythmic figures of the opening are contrasted with the more stately motives presented later in the piece in the slower, more lyrical section.
Performers should approach this piece using light articulations, in order to achieve a festive mood.
It’s nothing but a happy coincidence that this piece was written for another “Columbia” group so similar to ours. Our performances of Summer Dances are dedicated to the memory of Debra Silver. She was a devoted advocate for the Columbia Summer Winds. She was also an avid dancer. This piece perfectly captures two of her great loves and her lightness of spirit.
A moving Baltimore Sun piece on a middle school concert in which Balmages was comissioned to write a piece in memory of slain band members.
The best resource on Summer Dances is the quote above. For some more amusing reactions to the piece, check out the comments in any of the several YouTube clips of the piece. It seems as though every middle school (!!) and high school in Texas has played this piece, and all the kids want to talk about it.
I’ve picked the best recording to embed here on the resource site: A professional-level band plays a flawless performance of Summer Dances.
Wind Band Literature 