Tale of the Sword
For Concert Band / Grade 2 / 999 minutes
Recorded by the Atlanta WInd Symphony
It’s often said that the best teachers are the ones that light a flame of interest and curiosity for learning in their students. One of the things I’ve marveled about these teachers in my own life is the way they equipped their students with the tools and mindset necessary to keep their curiosity and imagination burning for a lifetime. Prevailing Fire is a musical depiction of this metaphor, a celebration of educators and the many fires they light within their students. The work opens with a three note motif representative of the basic ingredients necessary for a fire. As the work develops, this motif grows in intensity as colorful percussion and woodwind trills depict the striking of a match and the ignition of a flame. The fire begins to grow as rhythmic ostinatos build to moments of full intensity and captivating harmonic textures and colors.
Prevailing Fire was commissioned by the Mona Shores Middle School Bands in Norton Shores, Michigan under the direction of Greg Nimtz. The work is dedicated to the many educators committed to lighting fires within our future generations.