Measur Bea

Description of Music Right Hand Left Hand

e t
Ex. 1 3 In tempo, slow four Pattern/time Descresc.
Cue and
Ex. 2 4 Transition measure: slow to fast Rit. into beat 4
Fermata
Up for cue Mirror right
Prep 4 Accented entrance on the and of 4
(breath) hand
1 1 Cresc. into beat 4 Pattern heavy Cresc.
2 “ “ “ “ “ “
3 “ “ “ “ “ “
4 Down beat unison accent “ “ “ “
Cut off+cue
2 1 Rest “ “
prep
2 Some play sixteenth eighth rhythm Smaller pattern Cue at mf
3 Long note into next measure “ “ “ “
4 “ “ “ “ “ “
3 1 Long note “ “ Decresc.
2 Long note + finger snaps “ “ “ “
3 Long note “ “ “ “
4 Long note + finger snaps “ “ “ “
4 1 Rest Small pattern Cut off
2 Finger snap “ “ Hand down
Hand up for
3 Rest “ “
prep
Cue Alto sax
4 Finger snap + sax solo (&of4) “ “
and mallets
5 1 Sax solo and mallet in unison Medium pattern Show phrase
2 “ “ “ “ “ “
3 “ “ “ “ Sustain
4 “ “ “ “ “ “
6 1 Solo long note + syncopated accompaniment “ “ Cue ensemble
Staccato
2 “ “ “ “
gestures
3 “ “ “ “ “ “
Cue Alto sax
4 Solo pickup (&of4) “ “
and Mallets
7 1 Solo and mallets in unison “ “ Show phrase
2 “ “ “ “ “ “
3 “ “ “ “ “ “
4 “ “ “ “ Sustain
8 1 Ensemble quarter note “ “ Cue ensemble
Pattern suddenly
2 Ensemble eighth notes into forte piano Show Fp
smaller
3 Some sustain some drop out Small pattern Show dynamic
4 Long note “ “ “ “
9 1 Long note cresc. (Rit.) Pattern grows Cresc.
2 “ “ “ “ “ “
3 “ “ “ “ “ “
4 High voices with accented quarter note pickup “ “ Cue high voices
10 1 Accent eighth note tie (84bpm) Large pattern Show accents
 2 Sustain “ “ Sustain
Gesture to Low
3 Low voices on half note accent “ “
voices
4 High voices with accented quarter note pickup Pattern Cue high voices
11 1 Quarter note triplet “ “ Mirror pattern
2 “ “ “ “ “ “
3 “ “ “ “ “ “
4 “ “ “ “ “ “
Emphasize
12 1 High voice accent “ “
down beat
2 Low voice quarter note “ “ Cue low voices
3 Some change notes “ “ Decresc.
4 Clarinet pickup “ “ Cue Clarinet
13 1 Clarinet quarter note (76bpm) Smaller pattern Show phrase
2 Clarinet soured dotted half “ “ “ “
3 Sustain “ “ “ “
Cue other
4 Other join with quarter note “ “
voices
14 1 Sustain “ “ Sustain
2 “ “ “ “ “ “
3 “ “ “ “ “ “
4 “ “ “ “ “ “
15 1 Two eighth notes (132bpm) low voice hold Pattern grows Cue ensemble
2 Eighth rest eighth notes “ “ Cresc.
3 2 eighth notes “ “ “ “
4 Eighth rest eighth note (low voice down beat) “ “ “ “
16 1 Same as last bar but decresc. Pattern shrinks Decresc.
2 “ “ “ “ “ “
3 “ “ “ “ “ “
4 “ “ “ “ “ “
High voice two eighth notes, love staccato
17 1 Medium pattern Lightly mirror
quarter
2 High voice &of2, low voice staccato quarter “ “ “ “
3 High voice half note, low voice rest “ “ “ “
4 Low voice quarter note “ “ “ “

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Discuss/identify the overall of form, i.e. identifying sections and transitions

When first looking through the piece, I find that breaking up the piece into sections based on the
song title is the most basic way to categorize sections. Each section has its unique style, tempo,
dynamic, and instrumentation, and the conductor must be aware of all of them.
The prologue is medium tempo, mysterious, and has a few solo parts. Around measure
9, we transition into “Maria”, which is much more majestic than the beginning. There is thicker
scoring and it is much slower and louder than the prologue. There is a slowdown, and then
suddenly speed up into “Tonight” where the style is much more driving than before. At measure
47, there is a long fermata and soon after we move into 3⁄4 at a much slower tempo for “One
Hand, One Heart”. In the middle of this section, around measure 65, the tempo increases and
the melody begins to move. This slow connected melody then comes to a close at measure 90,
and measure 91 has a drastic change in feel. This transition features the percussion and
increases tempo to lead into “America'' where the melody sounds playful and light. There is then
a sudden slow down at measure 115 that transitions into “Somewhere” which will fill in the
remainder of the piece.

Harmonic content: macro key areas/signatures and where they occur in sections
The prologue begins in concert Bb, but there are quite a few accidentals that hint at a different
key center throughout this section. It ends up in Bb but it sounds strange in the middle.
Throughout “Maria” the tonality remains in Bb. “Tonight” then begins in Bb, but at measure 25 it
modulates to Db. At measure 33, the tonality moves to Gb, and then at measure 41 the tension
is released and we are back at concert Bb. As the piece transitions to “One Hand, One Heart”
the chords remain mostly in Bb, but some of them go outside the key to then return. Measure 65
if our first major key change and the tonality shifts to concert Eb. This section resolves in Eb,
and “America” begins in Eb at well. At measure 99, the melody shifts to the chromatic mediant
and then soon resolves back to Eb. In measure 107 there is another key change and the tonality
moves to concert F major. This was a brief key change because at measure 116, the start of
“Somewhere”, the tonality shifts back to concert Bb. There are a few modulations before, but the
biggest one happens at measure 124 where we end up in concert Gb again. The piece then
wraps up in Bb again.

Transitions: Describe how you will conduct transitions from section to section, i.e. piece
to piece in the medley
- The first transition is going from measure 9-10 and it is a ​rit. ​from 108 bpm to 84 bpm
with a cue on beat 4 and a crescendo throughout the bar. I would conduct this by
stretching my pattern throughout the bar to show the growth in dynamic and giving and
breath and a prep with my left hand for those with a pickup on beat four.
- The next transition is at measures 12-15 and it is a ​rit ​into 76 bpm for two bars, which
suddenly moves to 132 bpm. I would show the decrescendo with my left hand and make
my pattern slower in smaller, and then cue the clarinets for the pickup on beat 4. I would
then show the sustain at a small size and cue the other voices that enter on beat 4. On
measure 14 I would show beat 3 & 4 in the tempo and style of the new section and cue
the ensemble on the next down beat.
- The next transition is a fermata at measure 47-48 into a 3/4 at 84 bpm. I would not leave
a pause after this fermata, but i would give a prep breath for those entering on the down
beat while showing everyone else to hold the fermata.
- The next transition is measures 87-91 and it is a ​rit ​into the percussion playing at 144
bpm. I would show a slowing pattern while showing a sustain with my left hand and I
would also give an indication to the flutes when they move notes. I would continue to
show my left hand holding while I showed 3 & 4 in the new tempo for the percussion. At
the same time of the cued down beat I would cut off the rest of the ensemble.

Identify and describe potential ensemble issues, i.e. what would be your focus in your
initial rehearsals of this piece?
The first and most important thing that I would predict the ensemble having trouble with is
knowing where the melody is at all times and making sure no one is covering up the melody.
The melody jumps around quite a bit during this piece and it would be easy for ensemble
members to have trouble placing the melody. One way to help with this would be to have
everyone play the melody in unison as an exercise. This way everyone knows what it sounds
like and they will be able to figure out what instruments have it.
Another thing I anticipate musicians having trouble with would be to pace the
crescendos and decrescendos effectively, as well as using dynamic contrast. Some of the motor
devices in the low brass could be easily played too loud and we would have to work on playing
those quiet enough without dragging. For the crescendos and decrescendos, I would explain the
correct way to pace them and maybe draw some pictures and show some percentages.
Finally, I would focus on the places that have a lot of accidentals for note accuracy.
Those seem to be the most technically challenging sections and will need more attention. There
aren't many sections that are extremely technically challenging, but some parts could use some
repetition.