This year my band is doing this song, literally it gets stuck in my head and I listen to it all the time and I legit get chills every time it never gets old
Played this freshman year as the tubist!! I'm a junior now. All of my fellow juniors in band all agree that this is the coolest band song we have ever played.
This song depicts a foggy, eerie drift into the arctic land at the poles on your boat, after arriving at the cold frozen land and explore for a little bit, the ground begins to shake and you notice snow hurtling towards you full speed. You take off sprinting towards your boat. You look behind you and notice the dense snow in the distance still floating to the ground. It's deadly, but in a way beautiful.
@@OnlyOozyJay Well, songs always have more then one interpretation and this one might not be the one the composer originally had in mind, but that's how my band director heard it, and that's how I feel about it. There are probably hundreds more stories this song can tell in the arctic context alone
I was so lucky with this piece. My band was the first band to play it in concert, and Mr. Balmages even helped our band director throughout the year on the piece. Right now, he is going the same thing for another middle school in my district.
When I'm listening/playing this song I imagine a father In a snowy cabin in middle of a forest with this Ill daughter. The icy storm is circling around their little home. But they are out of medicine and if she doesn't get more soon she will perish. (This next part starts 1:45) forcing the father to push through the blizzards and the snow to save his daughter before time runs out. At 3:10 - 3:19 he grows tired and weary but he reflects on his daughter and how much he cares for her and that gives him more strength and courage to push through the harsh cold winter to save her life
@lili-wu4tj Thanks lol, that's funny because my dad is a Author and im planning on studying music😆. I appreciate it though!❤(And if I ever did make something, you'd be the first to know)
I am playing this song with my band this year. I always love muting the audio in a charging scene from a movie and playing this song over! Purely epic!!
@@seabass6734 UIL is a scholastic competition circuit for the state of Texas run from the capitol. It governs all athletic state playoff circuits (football, basketball etc.) as well as marching band, drama (one act play), speech&debate and academic meets (essay, robotics, journalism etc.). UIL's state marching contest circuit is among the most competitive music competitions in the world.
When we played this I absolutely hated it with every bone in my body but now I’m listening to again and I seriously have no idea why I hated it!! It absolutely takes my breath away.
Brian Balmages is awesome! This is one of my favorites but I've played other songs by him and they are all fantastic. Just the right level of challenge, and all musically great!
Head mallet percussionist right here and I love this song so much! Going to be playing this in band, and wow its beautiful as it starts and just gets better and better!
Every time it hits 3:09 that part gives me the chills all the time and its soooo emotional and soooo calming. Great song. Finna play this in the UIL this year in March
Bruh, I need to play this in my band for school. I have to admit, I play the Trombone, and it's one of my favorite parts I've ever had. So much fun going up and down with the booming yet gentle notes that sound like they could be in an Indiana Jones film
I played bass clarinet for the first time ever to this piece and let me tell you it did not disappoint for the first time ever playing a low instrument
I'm in 8th grade with a grade 7-12 band, and my band teacher says we might not do it for this winter concert, he said that this is easy and that we could do it, we just need to focus on it more, and we are getting very good at it now.
I played this great piece for Texas UIL Band. I played the bari sax on it. Such a fun song. I regret my decision of playing the tuba instead of the bari sax. Great times. We got a Division 1 on sightreading, and all 3 concert pieces.
This song is some pretty good stuff. Playing it this year for spring concert and competition, though it’s not quite fun with the marimba part of a marimba/vibes part for the piece. 8 measures followed by the timpani solo, resting the entire rest of the time while vibes player does their thing
Or from flutes when they had to play the notes in the exact same way for.... What 10 measures? All I know is my director had to have flutes all do it one at a time so someone would always be playing
advice for the timpani player, from a timpanist: 9-11: lightly tap the drum - remember that you're accenting the band! 16/17: you're the only person playing quarter notes here, but it's still a background part! think of it as the timpani part peeking through & introducing itself to the audience. 34: hard mallets could be used here. alternate mallets! i recommend crossing your right over your left for the four 8th notes - play LRLR. this part is supposed to stand out, so make sure it's loud but controlled. mute all 4 at the end of 45! 53: HIGHLY recommend switching to hard mallets here. be gentle but firm; tighten your grip a little. again, make sure you're alternating mallets here! 65/solo: play sharp articulation-wise. keep the firm grip. play confidently and consistently!!!! follow the sticking pattern 74: back to soft mallets 83: mute on beat 1 96-98: balmages wrote to let the drums ring, but i recommend muting after each hit unless you're using hard mallets here. i also add an extra hit on beat 2 of the 2/4 measure, however this is optional, and i'd consult your director first. last 2 measures: hard mallets here! think of yourself as a vessel for the conductor; you follow them, and the band follows you. play similarly to the first solo. mute both of the last 2 notes. RLR, RLR, RLRL (R mute) - L (L mute) *don't roll ties *make mallet switches during multimeasure rests *proper alternation is important for ratings at adjudicated events - judges will look closely at your technique
AHHH!! i have uil today on this song! wish us luck!! i’ll try to update on this comment to tell what place we got! UPDATE: we got sweepstakes!!!! we got a 1 on stage and 1 in sight reading!! 💖💖💖🤠
