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At Dawn's Valor: Concert Band Conductor Score

$17.00 USD
$17.00 USD
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At Dawn's Valor Cover Image
At Dawn's Valor: Concert Band Conductor Score

At Dawn's Valor: Concert Band Conductor Score

(A Tribute to Courage and Sacrifice)

By Mark Lortz

Grade: 3.5

Item: 98-RWS254901
$17.00
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Description
Commissioned for the 80th anniversary of D-Day, At Dawn's Valor honors the courage and sacrifice of those who stormed the beaches. Inspired by the real-life experiences of two grandfathers who served, this powerful composition blends solemn reflection with bold, heroic themes. From its tense opening to its commanding brass and percussion, the music captures the resilience of those who shaped history. More than music, it's a tribute to bravery, sacrifice, and the enduring human spirit.

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Additional Details
Series: RWS - Symphony Band
Publisher: RWS Music Company
ISBN10: 1-4706-7849-7
ISBN13: 978-1-4706-7849-4
UPC: 038081602844
SKU: 98-RWS254901

More about this title

About the Composer: Mark Lortz

Mark Lortz

Mark Lortz holds faculty positions at Stevenson University, where he directs the university's bands and oversees the music department. A composer and arranger with deep roots in both the concert and marching arts, he serves as music editor for RWS Music Company and brass arranger for the Reading Buccaneers Drum and Bugle Corps, a multi-world champion ensemble. His works have been premiered internationally and heard at major conferences including The Midwest Clinic, the College Band Directors National Association, and the Bands of America National Percussion Festival. ASCAP has recognized his compositions with annual awards, and his pieces have appeared on Bandworld's Top 100 and J.W. Pepper's Editor's Choice lists.

Beyond composition, Lortz brings performance experience across multiple ensembles and roles. He has arranged, rehearsed, and conducted members of the U.S. Army Field Band, the U.S. Naval Academy Drum and Bugle Corps, and the Jazz Ambassadors. His conducting has taken him across Europe and throughout the United States with honor bands, orchestras, and community ensembles. In 2024, the Maryland Music Educators' Association recognized him as an Outstanding Educator. He earned a Ph.D. in Music Education from Temple University and studied at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University in percussion performance, composition, and education.

Why we love this

Lortz has crafted a work that honors real history through music without veering into sentimentality. The Grade 3.5 scoring balances accessibility with authentic emotional weight, making it genuinely teachable at the high school level while still delivering the kind of dramatic arc and thematic development that keeps audiences engaged. This is concert band writing that respects both the occasion and the musicians performing it.

What to expect

The piece moves from quiet, tense vulnerability to bold declarations of strength, mirroring the arc of historical events it honors. You hear solemn reflection give way to commanding brass writing and urgent percussion, then settle into moments that acknowledge loss without losing hope. It's music that acknowledges gravity without becoming heavy.

Who it's for

High school and college concert bands seeking meaningful patriotic repertoire that goes beyond the surface level. This score works equally well for programs that prioritize contest and festival play and for ensembles building a concert season around themes of courage, sacrifice, and resilience.

How to get the most out of it

  • Shape the opening carefully to establish genuine tension. This isn't about rushing; let the sparse textures breathe and create anticipation for what follows.
  • Balance the heroic brass themes so they land with authority without overshadowing the harmonic foundation beneath them. The full effect depends on both sections working together.
  • Pay attention to the percussion writing as more than accompaniment. The rhythmic and textural choices in the battery and timpani drive the narrative forward and deserve careful rehearsal attention.

How to use it

Program this as a centerpiece for a Veterans Day or Memorial Day concert, pairing it with lighter or more energetic works to frame it purposefully. It also functions as a strong festival or contest selection for bands looking to perform work that balances technical challenge with emotional substance and clear thematic identity.

Skills your students will build

  • Conducting expressive phrasing across changing tempos and textures
  • Balancing sectional volume and voicing within Grade 3.5 writing
  • Interpreting historically inspired thematic material with musical conviction
  • Coordinating brass, woodwind, and percussion entrances for dramatic effect
  • Sustaining focus through longer formal structures without loss of momentum

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