Our fall show is written by nationally acclaimed composer, Key Poulan.  Key is the brass arranger and composer for the Santa Clara Vanguard and has been recognized as one of the country’s top arrangers and composers of contemporary marching band music.  I have commented that our students deserve nothing but the best and this music will offer them the opportunity to study and present the music of one of best contemporary marching band composers of our time.  The show is in three movements:

Mvt. 1: “Through the Rainforest/The Anaconda” kicks off with a flurry of excitement as an intrepid crew of adventurers hacks their way through the dense jungle foliage and finds themselves face-to-face with a giant anaconda. You will feel your heart beat faster as the giant snake reveals its discontent with being disturbed.Mvt. 2: “Rainfall Through the Canopy” brings our racing heartbeats back down to under a few hundred beats per minute. The jungle is almost silent and still except for the rustling leaves being caressed by the falling rain through the canopy of the trees. The audience and performers relax, enjoying the hypnotic effect of the bouncing raindrops on the forest floor.

Mvt. 3: “The Yagua Natives Hunt With Their Pucunas”takes a look at the Yagua tribe of natives who still hunt with Pucunas, a form of blowgun that shoot poisoned darts. The music is as intense as the chase of the prey, melodic lines shooting to and fro as if flying on the fins of the darts. By the end of the production, you will feel emotionally spent as the music succeeds in taking you as close to such a hunt as you would ever dare be.
 

 

 

To listen to a MP3 recording of the show, (and practice with it) check out: Amazonian Rainforest 

 

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