So, why are we so quick to commission for Marching Band and not for Concert Band? If we look at why we spend so much money on Marching Band, it may become pretty clear.
Frankly, we don’t mind shelling out a lot of money for Marching Band because it is such a public extension of our program. Like I mentioned in the last post, the Marching Band is what people “see.” Even if they’ve come to a football game with no particular interest in seeing the band, they probably still watch the band perform. So, when we hear about our hometown Marching Band doing well at a contest or making it’s way through the ranks of the Area Marching Contest -- maybe even competing at the State Marching Contest (or BOA or USSBA) -- there’s a connection for the run-of-the-mill community member who may or may not have any ties to the band program. A little bit more pride can be taken in seeing what the band has done.
However, that run-of-the-mill community member is not going to come to your Christmas Concert. They are definitely not going to come to see your band perform at Band Contest, either. So, what about when you commission a piece of music, make a big “to-do” about it and premiere it on your spring concert? Yep, they’re still not coming.
So, not only are we willing to spend the money on Marching Band because it helps up be more competitive through intelligent show design, we also know that our community will be more likely to “get behind” the band if we are successful in competition and we -- oh yeah, here’s a big shock to our system -- produce a show that the audience will actually enjoy (and skip the concession stand lines to see).
(Maybe I’ll do a blog about marching band shows that audiences enjoy. Then again, maybe I’ll decide that I’d rather not take that “controversial” topic on, either...)
Why then should we care to commission composers to write Concert Band music for us if we will not see the direct results of that commission?
I believe the answer lies in our prospective: Commissioning for Marching Band is for the “short view.” Commissioning for Concert Band is for the “long view.”
Here’s an example: Recently I worked to arrange several Concert Band pieces for Marching Band. The first one was the Great Locomotive Chase by Robert W. Smith. The second was Quad City Stomp by Michael Sweeney. Upon opening the front page on both scores, I read that each had been a commission.
Both of those compositions are enjoyable for students to play and for audiences to hear, but they probably wouldn’t have existed unless someone had commissioned those composers to write them. Robert W. Smith and Michael Sweeney are both professional composers. (Yes, I’m aware that they have jobs in addition to composing, but those jobs are very much related to their work as composers.) Because these composers are professionals and write as their life-work, they have to seek commissions to make a living. If we don’t commission music, quite simply this music won’t exist.
So, in the “long view” our commissioning a composer to write us a piece, helps to insure that talented composers can continue to provide music for our concerts and our libraries and (I’ll admit) they are also secondarily providing music for us to arrange into Marching Band scores as well as something that we might play at Band Contest, too.
Commissioning a composer to write music for your band helps to leave a legacy of repertoire for generations of band directors and band students who need something to play. By the time you put away your Marching Band gear, your show will only live on on video and as a fading memory. But, in all likelihood, it will not get performed again to the same degree a Concert Band commission will.
In fifty years will people still view Marching Band with any sort of similarity to how we view it today? Of course not. But are they likely to still be performing any number of famous pieces of music that were commissioned (Blue Shades, A Movement for Rosa, Satiric Dances, Chant and Jubilo, October, Aurora Awakes)?
That’s the “long view.”
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