The Return of Spring

Grade Level: 2

Commission Info: Written for the Cooper Middle School (VA) Band Program, Matt Baker, conductor

Duration: 3:30

Audio: YouTube

Published by C. Alan Publications

Program Note

Commissioned by Cooper Middle School (McLean, VA) in honor of their program receiving the Sudler Silver Cup Award in the spring of 2022, The Return of Spring celebrates the renewed vitality of ensemble music making that we have experienced since being able to return to sing, play, and perform together following the COVID-19 pandemic. The melodic material takes its inspiration from two iconic works from the orchestral repertoire that reflect the season of spring: Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, “Pastoral,” and Igor Stravinsky’s ballet, The Rite of Spring.

In the very first measures of the work, the brass begin boldly with a melodic fragment from the first movement of the Beethoven, presented in a fanfare style. In the second measure, the woodwinds joyfully enter with the first motive from the opening bassoon solo from the Stravinsky. From that point forward, the ensemble takes the listener on a journey with twists and turns, with each section in the band having a chance to take center stage and deliver the ever-present energy in the music.

The piece culminates with a heroic and lyrical combination of the two masterworks that soars over a driving rhythmic underpinning from the percussion, with the ensemble coming together at the very end to deliver two final statements from those iconic pieces that force us to remember the joy, hopefulness, and power of spring!