Band Concert Report Sample

On October 19, 2017, I attended the Thursday, 8:00 PM Fall Band Concert. The Neuqua Valley Music Department presented the Wind Symphony, the Wind Ensemble, and the Wind Orchestra. One of the most impactful elements of the performances was the ability of the composer and the performers to express a message to the audience through the music itself. This concept was most prominent in Irish Tune From County Derry by Percy Aldridge Grainger. The title page of the music had the inscription, “Lovingly and reverently dedicated to the memory of Edvard Grieg.” Additionally, the tune was in memory of other Irish childhood friends in Australia. When the melody was played the second time, more instruments, like the horns, trombones, and woodwind instruments,

In this piece, Grainger incorporates many close harmonies and suspensions, especially during the melody. Similar to the second movement, Largo, in Georg Philipp Telemann's Concerto in C Major, in which the main focus were the suspensions, Grainger has incorporated those into the music. When one section of the band holds its note and crescendos, another section moves to the next chord, or a new section enters. For example, while the woodwinds, saxophones, and horns hold a dotted half note, the trombones, baritones, and tuba come in to create that suspension. This performance was also very similar to the concepts we discussed in regards to Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar. Comparable to how Elgar dedicated his work “to [his] friends pictured within,” Grainger dedicated Irish Tune From County Derry to Edvard Grieg and his other Irish friends. For the Nimrod variation in Enigma Variations, Elgar used it as a way to demonstrate his appreciation for Augustus J. Jaeger, who encouraged him to continue composing. For Grainger, he used the music to illustrate his gratitude for Grieg, who had influenced him and his enthusiasm for