Focal Point

Brian Balmages

Brian Balmages

From Suite Treats

General Info

Year: 2021
Duration: c. 1:10
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: FJH Music Company
Cost: Score and Parts - Unknown

Instrumentation (Flexible)

Each category of wind instruments has parts 1 through 4

Full Score
C Instruments
B-flat Instruments
E-flat Instruments
F Instruments
C Bass Clef (Tenor)
Tuba
Alto Clef
Piano
Percussion I-II, including:

• Cabasa
• China Cymbals
• Crash Cymbals
• Marimba
• Suspended Cymbal
• Tambourine
• Triangle
• Wood Blocks (2)

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

The inspiration for focal point was born out of a conversation with students in the Madison West High School Honor Band. While they introduced a myriad of interesting ideas, they kept coming back to ideas surrounding their experience during the COVID pandemic. The consensus was that everyone felt extremely scattered and out of focus when everything went virtual for the first time. Then, as routines began to settle in and the adjusted to their new "temporary normal," things began coming back into focus for them. Thus, the idea of starting out of focus and moving into clarity became the "focal point" for this work.

Focal Point was commissioned by Composers & Schools for the Madison West High School Honor Band; Kevin Rhodes, conductor. It is part of an adaptable suite featuring additional "movements" by Jennifer Jolley, Peter Meechan, Alex Shapiro, and Frank Ticheli.

- Program Note by publisher

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

• Ohio Wesleyan University (Delaware, O.) Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Richard Edwards, conductor) - 12 February 2022
• Rio Band - 8 February 2022

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)
• 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)
• 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

• Brian Balmages website Accessed 11 February 2022
• Creative Repertoire Initiative
• Perusal score