Balli, Balli, Balli!

For concert band

With the second installment in the Symphonic composition project, I had a better feel for looking for melodic and complimentary ideas in the students' writings. The result was Balli, Balli, Balli!, and even more exciting was the fact that finale could handle the sounds I used. The piece has a Middle Eastern feel, and the title is translated as "whatever you say" in Arabic.

As per usual, there are lots of percussion parts (10, to be exact) including two separate bass drum parts. This piece is a lot of fun to conduct and, like many of my original compositions, there are lots of meter changes to keep the conductor and performers on their toes. It was premiered by the Fillmore Central High School Concert Band and Concert Choir on May 11, 2010.