Festival!

Festival! is a lighthearted musical depiction of a town festival in the composer's home town in Rhode Island, in which people who attend find tasty food, pulsating music, plenty to see and do and just good old American fun! Each of the brief movements represents a different aspect of this celebration.

Program Notes

Commissioned by the Scituate High School Band in Schituate, Rhode Island, where composer Roger Cichy now lives, Festival! represents a suite of movements all relating to the atmosphere and flavor of a typical town festival. The idea for the work began from a long list of suggestions that the students of the Scituate High School Band created and discussed as possible themes of their new work to be commissioned. Out of that list came the theme Festival particularly because of the Scituate Arts Festival, an annual community event which occurs in the fall. The Scituate Arts Festival, which typically attracts around fifty thousand people to the little town of North Scituate, is typical of most festivals, in which people who attend find tasty food, pulsating music, plenty to see and do, and just good old American fun. Festival! was premiered on the 8th of March, 2001 by the Scituate High School Band with the composer in attendance.

Grade Level: 4
Copyright: 2003
Number of Players: Standard
Duration: 9:30
Publisher: C. Alan Publications
Category: Concert Band

Listen to Recordings

Instrumentation

Piccolo
Flute 1/2
Oboe 1/2
Bassoon
Clarinet 1
Clarinet 2
Clarinet 3
Bass Clarinet
Alto Saxophone 1/2
Tenor Saxophone
Baritone Saxophone

Trumpet 1
Trumpet 2/3
Horn 1/2
Trombone 1/2
Trombone 3
Euphonium
Tuba

String Bass

Timpani (4 drums)
Percussion 1 (2 metal pipes, brake drum, bass drum, snare drum, bongos, Acme siren)
Percussion 2 (slap stick, claves, suspended cymbal, crash cymbals, triangle, large spoons, temple blocks, hi-hat, large cowbell)
Percussion 3 (sandpaper blocks, woodblock, tambourine, large spoons, triangle, slap stick, vibraslap, bells, 3 tom-toms, conga drum, marching snare drum, whistle, Acme siren, cowbell)
Percussion 4 (temple blocks, vibraslap, chimes, bells, xylophone, vibraphone)