This, ladies and gentlemen, is a great piece of music. Maybe I am being much too forgiving. Some of you will say so, I'm sure. This piece is a great overture for band. Oh sure, it sounds just like any other piece. However, this is unique in the styles it incorporates inside. The piece is obviously not a rock song, but a traditional rock beat is inserted, and it works. The piece includes parts for an electric guitar and bass, usually unheard of when it comes to the concert band genre. They fit in the song like a puzzle piece. On the other hand, parts in this song get very repetetive sometimes. I hear the melody played over and over and over again, with little backing. I know that the background is there, but perhaps the instruments carrying the melody should come down a bit, allowing the harmony and countermelodies come through more. The runs of 32nd notes in the slow section seem pointless to me, honestly, and I believe they could be omitted for sake of a better alternative. Just one more thing and I'll shut up. :) I think the level of difficulty is set too high for this. It should be maybe moderate. In the U.S. (I don't know about Europe), this song would probably be rated a Grade 4 difficulty and could be played by a high school concert band with only some difficulty, for example in the alto saxes. Very Nice!

Sean St. Pierre

I came accross this piece as I was looking through the 'recentreviews' section. In a previous life, I very much enjoyed listening to the Gael Force Orchestra, so naturally the title of the piece drew my attention. I like this a lot, although found it to be somewhat repetitive in places. But what has really sparked me into writing a review is this. The previous reviewee has criticised the composer for writing outwith the range of the Oboe. I, too, an am oboist and so paid particular attention to this line of the score. Nowhere in the whole piece does the oboe stray from its comfortable range. It is entirely playable and (praise God) has none of the extended runs of semiquavers that are so much better suited to the flutes and clarinets! This is a great wee piece, and a showpiece for a good wind band!

Alison McCree

This is a nice easy listening piece which I did enjoy listening to very much. I would however like to say that I would be killing myself by the end of the piece if I were playing it. I should start by telling you that I'm a clarinettist. The rhythmic feature you introduce at bar 60 will drive clarinettists crazy. This down to two things really. Firstly, it simply goes on for a very long time. Secondly, there are technical issues with the clarinet you have to consider. You have to remember when writing jumps over an octave, that the clarinet has a 12th key and not an octave key. Although the passage is more than playable it is something that would leave most clarinettists feeling very uncomfortable very quickly, and when you combine this problem with the length of time it goes on for I don't think it is practical. it is certainly not something I would thank you for if you put the part in front of me. I'm not being rude about the composition itself here, I'm speaking purely from an instrumentalists point of view. A few suggestions. If you are sure you want to keep this feature on clarinets, you may want to consider dove tailing each bar between the 1st and the 2nd/3rd clarinets. It will make it allot more palatable to your players. Or, you may like to consider the fact that from the outset of this section you have very few instruments playing, you could possibly swap this feature from section to section. The option that I would go for though is allot simpler and possibly more effective than what you have already. I would introduce a piano part to my score and leave the entire subject to him. As the score starts to build you can add more to the piano part. I think you will be surprised how well this will work. And if you have a problem with a finding a pianist think about the use of mallet/tuned percussion. I'd love to hear what you views are on this. Very well done on the work thus far though it will certainly leave your audience tapping their feet.

Nigel Peers Coombes

This piece is interesting. Actually, it is a very catchy arrangement and will make you want to dance. My only problem with it is that the solo parts are drowned out by the clarinet background. Either the clarinets sould play softer, or the solos should be louder. Except for that, I'm sure it will be a hit.

Yolande de Wijngaert

This is a great piece if possible could you make the Euphonium, Trombone and Tuba parts also available in treble clef, like a lot of other up and coming UK concert bands our brass players come from brass bands and many are unable to read bass clef, this I am sure would raise the popularity of this piece even more. Good luck and well done

Leslie

Leslie Temby