Blue Moon Variations for Brass Quintet (2006)

I'd recently had the pleasure of sitting in with the Rainier Symphony for their Spring Pops Concerts. Unlike most pops productions, which usually consist of all manner of popular music performed exclusively by the orchestra with perhaps an occasional soloist or two, this one was entirely orchestral accompaniment to a husband-wife team known as the Bottom Line Duo, a name reflecting the fact that both their normal parts are found at the bottom of a score, string bass and 'cello. The two were outstanding and I thoroughly enjoyed playing with them. But, of course, tubas invariably don't have parts to play in all music, so I sat back and enjoyed those tunes for which I had tacits. One piece in particular grabbed my attention. It was the old Rogers and Hart song "Blue Moon". This wonderful duo took the tune and turned it around, hamming it up along the way, kind of the traditional variations when playing pop music. By the end of the second concert I began to consider the fun I might have writing some variations of my own for brass quintet.

As I got started that evening I began to realize just how many other tunes shared the same or similar harmonies and I perhaps got a little crazy with laying things on top of each other. In fact I had so many ideas I wanted to include that I had to begin whittling them down when I realized I was already at about six minutes to that point. So within a matter of just a couple days the piece was at least playable by the quintet and has since been finally revised. I'm sure you will recognize many of the tunes other than Blue Moon, but lest I be remiss in my acknowledgements I'd like to pay my respects to the composers of the following music: Mr. Sandman, Gilligan's Island Theme, The Hornpipe, Heart and Soul, Scheherezade, Music of the Night from "Phantom of the Opera", An American in Paris, and On the Trail from the "Grand Canyon Suite". The alternate ending includes a brief reference to the Great Gate of Kiev from "Pictures at an Exhibition". Both endings are included in each part and score, but there are separate sound files for each. Have fun! I certainly did.

Blue Moon Variations - original ending

Blue Moon Variations - alternate ending

Blue Moon Variations - dual ending

	FINALE FILES	PDFs
SCORES
Score - full size	Finale 2010	PDF-8.5"x11"	PDF-11"x17"-2 sided
Score - 5.5"x8.5" Booklet	Finale 2010	PDF
PARTS
Trumpet I	Finale 2010	PDF-8.5"x11"	PDF-11"x17"-2 sided
Trumpet II	Finale 2010	PDF-8.5"x11"	PDF-11"x17"-2 sided
Horn	Finale 2010	PDF-8.5"x11"	PDF-11"x17"-2 sided
Trombone	Finale 2010	PDF-8.5"x11"	PDF-11"x17"-2 sided
Tuba	Finale 2010	PDF-8.5"x11"	PDF-11"x17"-2 sided