A Tale So Tall: Score
By Anthony O'Toole
Grade: 3.5
Item: 00-PR-0007536
$15.00
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Description
Written to honor the life and work of beloved educator and conductor Dr. Stephen L. Gage, A Tale So Tall is a vibrant and powerful composition by Anthony O'Toole that exudes the tremendous spirit and boundless energy of a man who dedicated his life to loving music and his students. The piece is a tour-de-force for the modern concert band that explodes from the first downbeat with endless momentum and zeal before reaching its triumphant and eventually peaceful conclusion. (4:50)
Don't just read it, hear it, play along with it, and watch your students grow with it. In MakeMusic Cloud, A Tale So Tall: Score comes alive with professional accompaniment, adjustable tempo, and built-in practice tools that turn solo practice into real progress.
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Additional Details
Series:
Alfred Concert Band
Publisher:
Alfred Music
SKU:
00-PR-0007536
More about this title
Why we love this
O'Toole captures something essential about Dr. Gage's legacy: relentless forward motion paired with genuine warmth. The piece never sacrifices musical substance for rhetorical effect, which means your students will find real challenges in the writing itself, not just the emotional content. A Grade 3.5 concert band work that actually sounds composed, not assembled.
What to expect
A surge of unbridled energy that propels from the downbeat with infectious vitality, full of the kind of relentless forward momentum that makes an audience sit up and pay attention. The piece eventually softens and settles into genuine reflection, suggesting both celebration and reverence, leaving listeners moved rather than simply impressed.
Who it's for
Bands at the Grade 3.5 level looking for a work that combines technical substance with clear emotional purpose. This is equally suited to festival competition, concert programming, or a tribute performance context where the story behind the piece deepens its resonance.
How to get the most out of it
- Shape the opening momentum by keeping the forward drive consistent without letting it become rigid; think "propulsive" rather than "rushed," and the character will breathe naturally.
- Balance the full ensemble sections so that layered parts remain distinct; too much weight on the melody line will obscure the textural detail O'Toole has written underneath.
- Lean into the contrast between the energetic exterior passages and the peaceful conclusion; the shift is most powerful when audiences feel they've traveled somewhere emotionally, not just rhythmically.
How to use it
Position this as an opener or second piece on a concert where you want to establish momentum and grab attention immediately. Its four-minute-fifty-second duration and clear emotional arc make it work equally well in a festival setting or as the centerpiece of a program celebrating your program's mentors and inspirations.
Skills your students will build
- Sustaining driving rhythmic momentum across extended passages without losing musical shape
- Dynamic control in full ensemble textures while maintaining inner voice clarity
- Transition between contrasting tempos and characters (energetic to peaceful)
- Reading and executing Grade 3.5 harmonic and melodic complexity under tempo