Endless Rainbows

From Wind Repertory Project
Brian Balmages

Brian Balmages


General Info

Year: 2013
Duration: c. 6:45
Difficulty: III (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: FJH Music
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $60.00   |   Score Only (print) - $6.00


Instrumentation

Full Score
Flute I-II
Oboe
Bassoon
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet (optional)
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion, including:

  • Bar Chimes
  • Bells
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Suspended Cymbal
  • Triangle
  • Vibraphone
  • Wind Chimes, Outdoor


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Centering around a very simple melody, this stunning work is both mournful and uplifting. Floating in over the mallets, a solo flute introduces the simple theme. It evolves in various forms, gradually growing to a climactic moment of light and hope. Fading to a simple finish, the audience is left to reflect on joy of the rainbow, illuminating the skies.

- Program Note from publisher


Sometimes words alone cannot adequately explain something, and this is the case with Endless Rainbows. Jeff Zilke contacted me about writing a piece for his group quite some time ago. However, the nature of this commission changed drastically when one of Jeff's students passed away the day before he was to start the 8th grade. The tragedy occurred during a family gathering at a local pond. As the family desperately tried to come to grips with an impossible situation, something very special happened. The day of the funeral, a gorgeous double rainbow formed over the pond where Ben Stepp passed away. Typically, there are only rainbows in that area after the sun has risen in the east and it is raining. However, that morning the sun had not yet risen and there was no visible rain. Once I received pictures from the family, I immediately centered on the title Endless Rainbows.

The challenge with this commission was to write a piece that was uplifting, yet still mournful. I began to realize that this needed to have a film score approach, almost like a 'Field of Dreams' type of sound. The piece centers on a very simple melody that continues to recur in various forms and orchestrations throughout the work. It moves from mournful to hopeful, from tragic to epic -- and ultimately from darkness to light. It seeks to epitomize an endless rainbow that will forever illuminate the skies as far as the eye can see.

Endless Rainbows is dedicated to the Walter R. Sundling Junior High School Symphonic Band, their director Jeff Zilke, the Stepp family, and most importantly, Ben Stepp and his double rainbow.

- Program Note by composer


Media


State Ratings

  • Indiana: ISSMA JUNIOR BAND GROUP I


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project


Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music


All Wind Works


Resources

  • Balmages, B. (2013). Endless Rainbows [score]. FJH Music: Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
  • Boyer, Joshua. "Endless Rainbows." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 10, Compiled and edited by Richard Miles, 222-228. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2015.
  • Brian Balmages website Accessed 15 September 2020
  • Perusal score