Bushranger's Ballad: String Orchestra Conductor Score & Parts

$45.00 USD

Bushranger's Ballad: String Orchestra Conductor Score & Parts

Name: Bushranger's Ballad: String Orchestra Conductor Score & Parts
Brand: Alfred Music
SKU: 76-48666
Price: 45.00 USD
Availability: InStock

By Loreta Fin

Grade: 2

Item: 76-48666

$45.00

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Bushranger's Ballad by Loreta Fin is a melancholy ballad in an E minor tonality, and is reminiscent of early Australian bush music, based on Irish Folk tradition. It uses dotted rhythms and requires careful counting of rests. The piano part is optional but assists to keep the melody flowing. (2:30)

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Series: Wilfin String Orchestra: Young String Ensemble Series

Publisher: Wilfin Music

Page Count: 66

UPC: 038081559360

SKU: 76-48666

More about this title

About the Composer: Loreta Fin

Loreta Fin AM is an Australian string educator and composer whose career spans decades of performance, teaching, and advocacy for string music. A graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and former first violinist with the Sydney Youth Orchestra, she has maintained a parallel career as a chamber and orchestral musician, serving as Principal Viola with the Queensland Pops Orchestra for over 25 years. Her work has brought her into contact with world-class performers and given her deep insight into what orchestras at all levels need.

As Director of Strings at Somerville House School in Brisbane since 1993, Fin has shaped countless young musicians while remaining active as a composer, adjudicator, and advocate within the Australian music education system. She has presented at national and international string teaching conferences, adjudicated major competitions across Australia, and held leadership roles with the Australian Strings Association, eventually serving as both State and National President. Her published output exceeds 100 works for string orchestra, distributed worldwide by Alfred Music. Among her many recognitions is a National Award for Services to Music and String Teaching in Australia, reflecting her commitment to building strong young ensembles from the ground up.

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Why we love this

Fin captures something authentic here without resorting to obvious folk-song gestures. The E minor tonality and dotted rhythms anchor the work firmly in Irish and Australian bush traditions, yet the piece never feels like a museum piece. For a Grade 2 ensemble, it offers the chance to explore early folk idioms with real musical substance, and the optional piano part gives you flexibility depending on what your group needs on any given day.

What to expect

Quiet and reflective, like listening to an old ballad sung around a fire. The minor tonality and folk-rooted phrasing create intimacy even in a full string section, while the dotted rhythms give the melody a gentle, almost waltzing quality that draws the ear forward without urgency.

Who it's for

Grade 2 string orchestras preparing for concert or festival performance. Young ensembles with solid rhythmic discipline and developing intonation will find the piece rewarding; the melancholy mood demands musicality but remains well within technical reach.

How to get the most out of it

Count the rests as actively as the notes. Fin spaces silence deliberately throughout the score, and rushing past empty measures will collapse the ballad's meditative pacing.
If you include the piano part, use it as an anchor for intonation rather than a crutch for tempo. The strings should breathe together; the piano reinforces, not leads.
The dotted rhythms define the character. Practice these figures separately from the melodic line so players internalize the gesture without tightening up the ensemble's overall flow.

How to use it

Pair this with other folk-inspired works to build a concert theme around traditional music across cultures, or use it as a contrasting slower piece between more energetic Grade 2 repertoire. At 2:30, it fits neatly into festival time slots and works particularly well as a late-program closer that leaves audiences in a contemplative frame of mind.