Voices in the Sky

Ridgeline Concert Band and Percussion Ensemble

November 8, 2018

Percussion Ensemble

Echoes of the Rising Sun (Brian Bailey)

Divided into two distinct parts, Echoes of the Rising Sun is a very melodic and rhythmic composition. The first part is very auxiliary heavy, and features the timpani, snare drum, and bass drum, with claves, maracas, and brake drum. It starts loud, then goes soft as, one by one, instruments join the simple rhythm. The second half is more melodic, featuring the marimba, bells, xylophone, and vibraphone, with the other instruments from the first section providing support. Please enjoy Echoes of the Rising Sun. --Josh

Echoes of the Rising Sun is an interesting percussion ensemble piece that utilizes many different percussion instruments to offer many different contrasting sounds to create an image of majesty and beauty. --Ryan

When the sun rises it makes echos, here are those echo. --Hayden

This piece is a very upbeat mellow song. This piece make me feel inspired to pursue my dreams. --Anthony

Echoes of the Rising Sun is a piece that carries a Japanese vibe, that is carried throughout the piece in many different ways. In doing so it feels as though the melody is echoing back and forth from all of the different voices that play it. --Brooklyn

It starts very sudden like the heat from the sun can jump three to four degrees to he things up and as it ends it show how the sun dying away to be nice and cool and groovy. --Jackson

This peace gives a beautiful and powerful feeling to the idea of the sounds that arise with the sunrise in the sky. Use your hearts to feel the heat of the sun and the strength of its rays of light as if you were outside during the early morning sunrise. Llisten to the symphony of all of the keyboards and the power of the auxiliary. --Micah

Concert Band

Sky Dance (Richard Saucedo)

Sky Dance by Richard L. Saucedo is representative of a storm At least that is what it reminds me of. It is very hectic at the beginning and at the end, but in the middle, it is like the eye of a hurricane, where it is peaceful and calm even though it is surrounded on all sides by crazy things and the storm. I read a book series, the Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson, which I feel is embodied by this song. There are these storms, called highstorms, that are crazier and more destructive than other storms, but they are very powerful and have a rejuvenating effect. This song reminds me of these storms because there is a power and driving force behind this music. The song is very powerful to me and I feel as though when we play it, we have a good time and come out better for it. Our attitude is greatly improved by playing it and even though it is hard and crazy and represents something destructive, we, as musicians, come out better for it. --Amanda

In this piece you can almost feel the passage of the sky. Starting off in the morning it lightly dances progress to become more chaotic through the day. Than it starts to slow down as night, ending in a fantastical finish as a sunset. The night starts off light also, but quickly shows that the sky can be just as chaotic at night as day. The night end with a burst of first light. --Sariah

I would invite you to think about the beauty of the sky, its many characteristics, and how they are portrayed through this song. --Nicholas

This song charts an exciting path of intense and beautiful moments. --Jacob

Sky Dance is a lively song that is very expressive. There are many loud and fast parts that are not unlike a disco. There also are parts that are slow and quiet, but those parts have the same energy that is concentrated on making it beautiful and clear. It truly is a fun and exciting song. --Mark

"Sky Dance" by Richard Saucedo has many different moods to it; transitioning from parts reminiscent of a warm, blue summer sky feel to a cloudy, winter one. The piece reflects the various different skies that appear throughout the course of one's life and that no two skies are quite the same. The themes in the piece will reoccur, however, as a seeming thought of how the sky, though changing, is constant. The piece as a whole, however, shows the beauty of change and that even through change, some things, like the sky, remain constant and steadfast. --Grant

Sky Dance is a beautiful piece that lets your imagination roam and dance through the sky. This piece has a range of different feelings just like the sky has different moods. --Kaylie

Spirals of Light (Sean O’Loughlin)

This piece is a fun, energetic song. It brings in many instruments into the medley of the song. Listen for the same patterns repeated many times on different instruments. --Adam

Spirals of Light by Sean O'Loughlin is a light tune that is supposed to be reminiscent of the sky and all of the different patterns that occur in that wide expanse. It might feel contentious at the beginning, but ends with a great resolution that leaves the listener feeling at peace. If you listen closely, you can almost hear the birds flying through the air (you can't because there are no instruments that play with the intent to sound like a bird, but you get the imagery). The sound is like the light that floats peacefully through the sky and gently touches anything in its path. --Amanda

As I listen to this song I imagine traveling fast through space next to the bright stars almost like the title describes. --Tanner

This piece tells a story created with many smaller journeys within. In addition it explores many different time signatures which helps create the illusion that a path is actually being explored. --Jacob

The music invokes an image of a kaleidoscopic play of light as the woodwinds and the brass play off of each other's sound. Spirals of Light is a colorful, vibrant piece that everyone can enjoy. --Abigail

Spirals of Light by Sean O'Loughlin is a piece written so that many different things can be felt throughout. One part may seem like it would go well with a ship flying through space, however another part may have a sound that feels like a carnival. Although they are completely different they are combined in a way that they go together extremely well. --Bryson

A Happy fast song with lots of energy, this song will make you feel empowered and like you can do anything, In the audience listen for the parts in the background, there is almost always 4-5 layers of a song that when you listen to them they sound really awesome. --James

Written by Sean O'Loughlin, "Spirals of Light" is a song that heralds a bright future. Whether foreboding and daunting, full of promise, or permeated with grief, the future can always be shaped into a wonderful thing. The piece begins with a bright fanfare before being reduced, but refusing to stay hidden for long. A dark second theme weaves in, almost sorrowfully, but ultimately, it is the light that wins out when the effort is put forth. Only memories remain of the struggle, now passed. In the face of even the most daunting future, joy and hope will still pull through in the end. --Grant

In Spirals Of Light there is a mixture of beautiful melodies creating a vision of the sky lights dancing across the sky. This reminds me of the northern lights, where their always moving. The northern lights are ever changing just like this song where new melodies appear and vanish. --Naomi

Sheltering Sky (John Mackey)

Normally John Mackey writes pieces with lots of complex rhythms and loud moments. In Sheltering Sky I feel like his style is really different. It's more calm, peaceful, and instills nostalgia in my mind. --Mark

This is one very beautiful piece. It features a powerful sound from many different instruments, with multiple solos throughout the piece. Just listening to this beautiful piece of music nearly brings a tear to one’s eyes as they hear the soft melodies and powerful chords. --Braxton

In this piece I feel a sense of calm come over me and I hope it does the same to you. This piece can also be a very powerful piece when you listen to the emotion behind it. --Ryan Nisbet

Sheltering Sky is a piece that feels calm and comforting just like a shelter from the storm. --Breanna

When I picture this song, I imagine myself on a hill when it is about to rain. The "shelter" that is spoken of in the beginning is like clouds in the sky before it rains. As the song goes on I feel like it lightly rains and then just stops but the clouds are still there. Enjoy this gorgeous piece and imagine you are outside as this is played. --Alannah

The relaxing tone of this piece makes you feel like you are watching the peaceful sky. --Nicholas

This piece is a very soft and gentle sounding piece. This piece explains how the sky can bring a calm and peaceful feeling. Because the sky demonstrates how gentle and calm it can be, it can make you feel as though you are safe and protected by it. --Hannah

"Sheltering Sky," a piece of music composed by John Mackey, is a tune that will sound familiar to you whether you've heard it or not. Singling out certain instruments, it passes the melody and harmonies around from one section to another. The title implies safety and a haven from dangers, but underneath the whole sky itself. It inspires powerful feelings of hope and peace, and the melodies offer comfort and joy. --Mia

This song lets you picture the beauty of the sky while it's still being sheltered from our grasp. --Kaylie

Voices of the Sky (Samuel R. Hazo)

This piece is about the sky and who is in the sky. But whenever I play this, I feel like angels are talking to me and cheering me on. This life can be hard and filled with many trials but this song is full of hope. --Allannah

The start of the piece has a graceful beautiful tone which makes one feel as if they are under a night sky filled with stars. --Matthew

I have learned by playing this if you close your eyes at some parts and try to imagine the music is coming from the sky it paints an entire picture and you can see all the mysterious ways the weather and sky works such as starry nights and a soft breezy day to lightning storms and thunder. If you pay attention and listen closely you will be able to see the sky Samuel Hazo meant to portray it as. It is a truly magnificent piece and I've loved learning how to paint a picture with my instrument. --Elle

It's a very pretty piece. I like to think of it like a story about friendship and then it turns into an argument and then it resolves and no one dies and its great. --Hailey

These are the voices of the celestial objects that are held in our sky. The sky can be open and kind, while also shift to more dark and sinister things and back. As shown in this piece of music. The sky shifts and it all depends on how we interpret these shifts, whether physically or spiritually, we move to these voices. --Sariah

This song represents many of the sky's different voices, of which the sky has a LOT. Including its happy, and sinister sides. Listen for as many different voices you can find and think about what the sky looks like when it is speaking with that voice. --Andrew

This piece makes me think about a stampede or the calm before the storm type deal where its quiet it starts to build up then boom it hits you like a freight train then calms back down as it passes. --Daxon

This piece truly represents the nature of the sky. It shows the possible moods and behavior the sky has. There are many light and peaceful moments that express the feeling of a perfect day. However, there is a spot where it suddenly goes dark and stormy, much like an unexpected rain cloud. --Mark

It is a piece that as you listen, it has the feeling of how the sky can be bright and beautiful to dark and ominous in a split second. As it changes it still retains its serene, appealing feeling. --Lili

Voices of the Sky by Samuel R. Hazo is a very unique piece that connects with people's emotions and makes them feel many things. The beginning definitely has a very calm and happy feeling, however about halfway through the song you can feel almost like a rage building up. Towards the end it connects back to the original feeling very well with more calm melodies. --Bryson

The title of this piece is very fitting because the sky can have different impressions on you, kind of like voices speaking to you. This piece demonstrates the calm and gentleness of the sky as well as the intensity of the sky. --Hannah

"Voices of the Sky" is a strong piece of music that begins as a gentle but strong melody, and then turns to a harder but equally strong melody. The contrast is sudden and sharp, and can be compared to how suddenly life and situations can change. The title of the piece implies that there is more than just what we know, that knowledge is broader than us, and we can always see more. --Mia