Langham Creek Symphonic Band - American Elegy

The Texas 5A State Honor band playing American Elegy by Frank Ticheli. Directed by Scott McAdow. Recorded May 10, 2007. This was the final performance of a truly great band.

From Frank Ticheli's program notes of the premier performance:

An American Elegy is, above all, an expression of hope. It was composed in memory of those who lost their lives at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999, and to honor the survivors. It is offered as a tribute to their great strength and courage in the face of a terrible tragedy. I hope the work can also serve as one reminder of how fragile and precious life is and how intimately connected we all are as human beings.

I was moved and honored by this commission invitation, and deeply inspired by
the circumstances surrounding it. Rarely has a work revealed itself to me with such powerful speed and clarity. The first eight bars of the main melody came to me fully formed in a dream. Virtually every element of the work was discovered within the span of about two weeks. The remainder of my time was spent refining, developing, and orchestrating.

The work begins at the bottom of the ensemble's register, and ascends gradually to a heartfelt cry of hope. The main theme that follows, stated by the horns, reveals a more lyrical, serene side of the piece. A second theme, based on a simple repeated harmonic pattern, suggests yet another, more poignant mood. These three moods - hope, serenity, and sadness - become intertwined throughout the work, defining its complex expressive character. A four-part canon builds to a climactic quotation of the Columbine Alma Mater. The music recedes, and an offstage trumpeter is heard, suggesting a celestial voice - a heavenly message. The full ensemble returns with a final, exalted statement of the main theme.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Langham
• Creek
• band
• elegy
• flute
• oboe
• clarinet
• saxophone
• bassoon
• french
• horn
• trumpet
• trombone
• baritone
• tuba
• percussion

[SaxManiac100]

To have the 5A State Honor Band in Texas twice you probably know more about what he's doing than you.....that is unless you've had the honor band three or more times in Texas.

You say you would have done it differently? Hmmmm, where's the video of you conducting a band?

[bstuts7914]

@SaxManiac100 Actually, he's had three. Two with Langham Creek (03, 07) and one with Hildebrandt Middle School in Klein in 1989

[12blake12]

im sorry but are you the director of this band? if so u must have lost your mind you guys rushed through all the really sentimental parts like at 6:00 and the trumpetsolo is to be DISTANT it says OFFSTAGE TRUMPET SOLO

[bstuts7914]

No, I am not the director. And the trumpet solo was played offstage. If you knew anything you would realize that the mike just picked it up too much. If everybody played a piece of music the same, we would only need to have it played once and then never play it again. You need to be more tolerant of other people's interpretations. Eventhough you might have heard a piece before, try listening to it like it's your first time. And the director here is a better one than you will ever run into.

[ggfanguy]

The commenter is stupid.

[TheYankeeman09]

@tdadmdbd The piece is also about hope and not just remembering if you had actually played this piece in your life you could read it right under the titale it tells you exactly what the song is about. Do your research!

[insidious]

@tdadmdbd Supposedly they prepared this piece for their spring concert as a reaction to the Virginia Tech shootings.

[Keroppified]

Scott McAdow is the director of my band now O: !!

[lilstinker06]

I'm a senior at Cinco and i played this last year :) This is probably my favorite piece i've played. I personally like the slower tempo. Not hating on the fast one at all, I just like the slower temp better. Ironically, the slower one is more moving to me ;) haha. I feel the slow and drawn out phrases pull out all the emotion of the song ya know? but it's music. music is made to be interpreted various ways.. i think we should respect everyone's interpretation and way of playing it.

[PearlsBeforeSwine1]

@tdadmdbd Your comment is amazing. It shows a huge lack of musical knowledge. True, this piece is about a tragedy, but if YOU had looked into the background of the piece, you would see that the composer intended it to be about hope as much as anything. The tempo is refreshing against the dragging that this piece usually experiences. This conductor and band does some terrific phrasing that few bands could match. It makes the piece more moving than ever. Stick with your video games.

[Flippinpinoy09]

I like this interpretation, taking it a little faster.

[tdadmdbd]

Tempo is way too fast, it loses all of it's meaning at this tempo. It's a shame you disgraced such a beautiful piece. This piece was because of a school shooting, and you disgraced it with such distaste. I felt almost no emotional attachment whatsoever. It's a shame what you've done to it. For a texas band, it really sucks that you didn't look into the background of the piece, and it's true emotional aspects.

[Mrdianalynn]

The first time I saw Scott work was at Richland High School Band Hall. AMAZING! He is very receptive to constructive criticism from other musicians. I am curious if he still uses the coffee cup warmer during rehersals.

It is very difficult to be the child of a famous band director. YOU are expected to be greater than perfect.

[GaryKrewer]

I thought this performance was beautiful and very well done, but the tempo was a little too fast. This music should be slower so that you can have more time to remember those at Columbine HS and remember those loved ones that you personally have lost. This music is the most moving piece of music ever written. Bravo to Frank Ticheli and bravo to all the bands that have played An American Elegy.