Blue was premiered on October 13, 2024 by the Nebraska City High School Marching Band. Drill was designed by Emily Roth.
My second collaboration with Emily Roth and the Nebraska City High School Marching Band was based on the theme “blue.” Irving Berlin’s Blue Skies and Electric Light Orchestra’s Mr. Blue Sky were early selections, with a love story built between two characters represented by each song. As we discussed the story, it was clear that the story needed conflict; the antithesis of blue skies is storm, which caused me to think of Beethoven’s 6th symphony (thanks, Fantasia!)
Main sections came together quickly, but something was still missing. Come to find out, Ferde Grofé’s original scoring of Rhapsody in Blue was now in the public domain, so Gershwin’s themes happily found their way into the show.
