Endless Rainbows

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

Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown

State Ratings

Indiana: ISSMA JUNIOR BAND GROUP I

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Loveland (Colo.) High School Symphonic Band (Kyle Freesen, conductor) - 2 March 2023
Grace College (Winona Lake, Ind.) Wind Ensemble (Eric Criss, conductor) - 20 November 2020
California All-State Junior High School Concert Band (Jermie Arnold, conductor) - 23 February 2020 (2020 CASMEC Conference, Fresno)
University of Kentucky (Lexington) Concert Band (Dana Biggs, conductor) - 14 April 2019
Sierra Pacific High School (Hanford, Calif.) Symphonic Band (Jeff Detlefsen, conductor) -15 March 2019 (2019 Sutherland Wind Festival (Fresno, Calif.)
Fresno (Calif.) High School Concert Band (John Veloz, conductor) - 21 April 2017 (2017 San Joaquin Valley (Calif.) Concert Band Invitational)
Pomona (Calif.) Concert Band (Linda W. Taylor, conductor) – 11 August 2016
Bel Air (Md.) Community Band (C. Scott Sharnetzka, conductor) – 2 April 2016 (ACB 2016 Annual Convention (Pittsburgh, Penn.))
Marywood Honors Band (Brian Balmages, conductor) – 2014

Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

Arabian Dances (Adaptable Band) (2009/2021)
Arith-Metric No. 1 (Adaptable Band) (2020)
Blue Ridge Reel (Adaptable Band) (2013/2020)
Colliding Visions (Adaptable Band) (2010/2020)
Focal Point (Adaptable Band) (2021)
Focal Point. See also: Suite Treats
Jungle Dance (Adaptable Band) (2011/2022)
A Little Matrix Music (Adaptable Band) (2020)
Moscow, 1941 (Adaptable Band) (2006/2020)

All Wind Works

3, 2, 1... (2019)
Action Scene (2022)
African Journey (2001)
Always United, Forever Strong (2013)
American Big Top (2018)
Among the Clouds (2004)
Apollo (2008)
Apparitions (2010)
Arabian Dances (2009)
Arabian Dances (Adaptable Band) (2009/2021)
Arctic Wars (2020)
Arith-Metric No. 1 (Adaptable Band) (2020)
The Awakening (2003)
Backstage Pass (2015)
Beyond the Summit (2004)
Blue Ridge Impressions (2001)
Blue Ridge Reel (2013)
Blue Ridge Reel (Adaptable Band) (2013/2020)
Boom and Bust (2018)
Breaking Point (2019)
Breaking Through (2021)
Bright Morning Stars
Bringer of War (2017)
The Broken Marionette (2014)
Call of the Wild (2013)
Camptown Variations (2001)
Centennium (2021)
Central Junction (2011)
Chant and Savage Dance (2005)
Chesapeake Serenade (2002)
Clutch
Colliding Visions (2010)
Colliding Visions (Adaptable Band) (2010/2020)
Comet Ride (2006)
Concerto for Two Hands (2015)
Conquest (2003)
Courtly Dance and Procession (2004)
Creatures in the Attic (2010)
The Crystal Fountain (2022)
Dragonfly (2001)
Eagles Among Us (2017)
Electricity (2009)
Elements (2010)
Enchantment (2013)
Endless Rainbows (2013)
Escapades (2005/2017)
Escape from the Deep (2010)
Etowah (2008)
Evocatio (2014)
Falcon Fanfare (2012)
Fanfare Canzonique (2003)
Fanfare Forza (2022)
Fanfare Heroica (2011)
Fanfare and Fireworks (2012)
Fanfare on a Theme of Imagination (2015)
A Festive Fanfare (2017)
A Festive Finale (2019)
Fiesta de los Toros (2017)
The Fire's Fury (2022)
Flight (2005)
Flight of the Griffin (2003)
Focal Point (Adaptable Band) (2021)
Focal Point. See also: Suite Treats
Forever... (2014)
Fusion (2007)
Gateways (2018)
Gettysburg (2002)
Grace (2016)
Gravity Wave (2011)
Groove Music (2013)
Haunted Clocks (2014)
Heart of Gold (2020)
A Hero's Destiny (1999)
Homage to Bharat (2018)
A House Divided (2013)
Hypnotic Fireflies (2012)
Ichabod Fanfare (2011)
Images of Ireland (2004)
In Nature's Glory (2002)
Incantation and Ritual (2004)
Industrial Loops (2017)
Infinite Hope (2018)
Instant Christmas Spirit (2001)
Into the Arctic (2015)
Invictus (2000)
Jingle Bell Tones (2004)
Journal for a Soldier (2010)
Journey By Night (1998)
Joy in All Things (2012)
Joy of Life (2015)
Jungle Dance (2011)
Jungle Dance (Adaptable Band) (2011/2022)
Kilauea (2005)
Kindred Spirits (2009)
Kitsune: The Fox Spirits (2010)
Kyiv, 2022 (2022)
Legacy (2002)
Legend (2001)
Legend of the Drop Bear (2016)
A Life Worth Living (2023)
A Light at the End of Forever (2016)
A Little Matrix Music (Adaptable Band) (2020)
Loudoun Praises (2005)
Love and Light (2020)
Lullaby to the Moon (2017)
Majestica (2006)
Marche Diabolique (2014)
Metal (2013)
Metamorphic Dances (2019)
Midnight on Main Street (2009)
Midnight Suite
- Midnight Mission (2005)
- Midnight Sky (2006)
- Midnight Madness (2007)
Miles of Blue (2020)
Miramar Fanfare (2003)
Moscow, 1941 (2006)
Moscow, 1941 (Adaptable Band) (2006/2020)
Motion (2006)
Nevermore (2011)
Not Afraid to Dream (2006)
The Nutcracker (as arranger) (2008)
O Mio Babbino Caro (2000)
Of Emperors and Chariots (2000)
Olympia (2005)
Open Space (2014)
Parade of the Jesters (2002)
Pele (2004)
Phasing Thunder (2014)
Pikes Peak (2019)
Pixelated World (2020)
Pride of the Clipper (2020)
Primal Dances (2018)
Proclamation (2000)
Proudly We Hail (as arranger) (1814/2002)
Radiance (2018)
Raging Machines (2008)
Rain (2008)
Rapture (2022)
Renaissance Reimagined (2017)
Reverberations (2009)
Rhythms and Riffs‎ (2008)
Rippling Watercolors (2015)
Rise of the Bladesmith (2012)
Rite of Passage (2000)
Rocky Mountain Romp (2007)
Sapier's Story (2002)
Scenes from an Ocean Voyage (2009)
A Scottish Festival (2021)
Shadow Waltzes (2016)
Shadows Unleashed (2013)
Shenandoah Triptych (2002)
Shrine of the Fallen (2016)
Silence Overwhelmed (2010)
Smithsonian Suite (2003)
A Solitary Wish (2017/2018)
Sound Prisms (2002)
Sparks (2007)
The Spirit of Aloha (2015)
Spirit of the Stallion (2016)
Spontaneous Beings (2017)
Stages (2021)
Stampede (2010)
Star Above, Shine Brightly (2001)
The Star-Spangled Banner (as arranger) (1814/2014)
Starscapes (2007)
Starsplitter Fanfare (2009)
Still (2012)
Suite Treats. See: Focal Point
Summer Dances (2000)
Summer Resounding! (2008)
Summit City (2006)
Sun Cycles (2012)
Super (Em)Powers (2020)
Swirling Prisms (2017)
Symphonic Episodes (2004)
Symphony No. 1 for Brass (1998)
Synthesis (2016)
The Tears of Arizona (2016)
Temple of the Murals (2011)
That Which Binds Us (2015)
Three Celtic Dances (2008)
Thrill Ride (2019)
Through Courageous Eyes (2003)
Through the Mist (2009)
Thunderbolt Fanfare (2019)
To Dance Among the Stars (2020)
Tomorrow's Yesterdays (2011)
Trust in Angels (2017)
Twittering Machine (2017)
Unknown (2022)
A View of the World (2001)
Waves (2007)
Whale Warriors (2009)
What I Do Today... (2022)
When Spirits Soar (2006)
Whispering Winds (2003)
Winged Victory (2007)
Wings to the Mind (2021)
Winter Dances (2001)
Within the Castle Walls (2012)

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