Branden's Rainbow

Andrew Boysen, Jr.

General Info

Year: 1997
Duration: c. 10:30
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Neil A. Kjos
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $70.00 | Score Only (print) - $8.00

Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Contra Alto Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet Solo-I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
Piano
Timpani
Percussion, including:

Bass Drum
Bells
Chimes
Claves
Crash Cymbals
Maracas (6 to 10)
Marimba
Suspended Cymbal
Tam-Tam
Thunder Sheet
Triangle
Wind Chimes
Wood Block
Xylophone

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

Washington (Illinois) Community High School Band trumpet player Branden Lavaux passed away in April 1995.

My experience with this work was unique, in that I had the chance to hear from many of Branden's friends before I began work on the piece. Jim Tallman, the director of bands at Washington (Illinois) Community High School, asked his ensemble to take the time to write about Brandon in any way they wished. He then sent these letters to me to provide a framework for the piece. As I read the letters, I was moved by the stories related to rainbows.

As I read about each occurrence of the rainbow, my mind moved from cerebral thoughts about chance and coincidence to an ever-growing certainty and trust in the fact that there was wonderful things in the world that cannot be explained. Chills ran down my spine, and I knew that this was something that needed to be expressed. The piece, then, is structured with the idea of telling a story that begins on a dark, cloudy morning. Rain falls lightly, then gradually increases as a storm (both real and emotional) surges. Eventually, calmness and hope emerge as a rainbow (played by a solo trumpet) appears.

- Program Note by composer

Commercial Discography

Audio CD: North Texas Wind Symphony (Eugene Migliario Corporon, conductor) - 1999

Media

Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Works for Winds by This Composer

Alchemy (2008/2013)
All the Pretty Little Horses. See: Three Folk Song Settings for Band
Ancient Runes (2017)
Apples (2018)
Branden's Rainbow (1997/2002)
Bright Sunny Days (2013)
By My Side (2018)
Casus Belli (2018)
Celebration In Brass (1995)
Concerto for Percussion (as transcriber) (1994/1997)
Conversations with the Night (1994)
Dance, from All Hail the Power
December Dance (2005)
Diamond Jubilee Suite (2018)
Distorted Images: A Jazzman's Nightmare (1989)
A Fallen Leaf (2004)
Fanfare: In Memoriam (2015)
Fantasy on a Theme by Sousa (2003)
Frenzy (2010)
The Four Horsemen (1989)
A Glimpse through the Trees (2014)
Grant Them Eternal Rest (2003)
Havener Fanfare (2012)
Heirloom (2009)
I Am (1990)
John Henry (1990)
Joyride (2003/2008)
Kinetic Energy (1994)
Kirkpatrick Fanfare (1999)
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (2006)
Metamorphosis (2013)
Old Ben's Farm (2016/2019)
On the Merrimack (2010)
Ovations (1995)
Phoenix (2020)
Poor Wayfaring Stranger. See: Three Folk Song Settings for Band
Relentless (2000)
Scarborough Fair. See: Three Folk Song Settings for Band
Scherzo (1995)
Scherzo No 2 (2013)
Shades of Ivory (1996)
Simple Song (1995)
Snowflakes Dancing (2012/2016)
Song for Lyndsay (2005)
Song for My Children (2013)
Song for My Parents (2020)
Song of Loudest Praise, A (2010)
Song of the Sea Maidens (1994)
Stamp, from A Jack Stamp Suite (2017)
Star-Crossed (2013)
Symphony No. 1 for Winds and Percussion (1997)
Symphony No. 3 (1999)
Symphony No. 4 (2006)
Symphony No. 6 (2012)
Symphony No. 8 (2015-2016)
- Winter of the World
Symphony No. 10 (2019)
This Is the Drum (2013)
Thoughts of You (1998)
Three Folk Song Settings for Band
- Poor Wayfaring Stranger (2007/2012)
- All the Pretty Little Horses (as arranger) (2014)
- Scarborough Fair (as arranger) (2013)
Time Streams (After Tricycle) (2011)
To Break Earth's Sleep (2015)
Tricycle (1997)
Twilight of the Gods (2010)
An Uncommon Man (1993)
Unraveling (2006)
Urban Scenes (1993)
The Vikings (2015)

Resources

Andrew Boysen, Jr. website Accessed 18 August 2017
Boysen, A. (2002).Branden's Rainbow [score]. Neil A. Kjos: San Diego, Calif.
Leyva, Jesse. "Branden's Rainbow." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 6, edit. & comp. by Richard Miles, 307-313. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2007.