Cloud Dance: String Orchestra Conductor Score & Parts

Cloud Dance delivers genuine musical substance at a grade 2.5 level, which is harder to find than you might expect. The emphasis on long melodic phrasing and sustained legato technique gives your orchestra something meaningful to work toward rather than just the mechanics of the grade level. Thom Sharp has written a piece that respects both the developing players in an advanced middle school group and the more confident players in a high school orchestra without condescending to either.

Cloud Dance moves with serene, drifting motion. The long melodic contours create a sense of weightlessness, as if orchestral clouds are slowly shifting across the sky. Throughout its four-minute arc, the music unfolds with calm inevitability, never rushing, always singing.

Advanced middle school orchestras and any high school string orchestra will find this work rewarding. It sits at the sweet spot where younger players can achieve real musical success with proper attention to phrasing, while experienced high school players will appreciate the sophistication of the writing.

• Shape the flowing lines with attention to the louré bowing technique. Work with your string sections to understand where the bow stays on the string versus where it lifts lightly, as this distinction is what creates the piece's lyrical character.
• Conduct with a legato gesture throughout. Your baton work will directly influence whether the orchestra sustains and connects their phrases or breaks them into choppy segments.
• Balance the melodic material between sections carefully. Cloud Dance relies on passing the long lines through different instrumental groups, so ensure each section hears and responds to who has the melody moment to moment.

Program this early in your concert to set a lyrical tone and showcase your orchestra's legato capabilities before moving into more energetic works. It also makes an excellent festival or contest selection for groups preparing repertoire that highlights musicality over technical flash.

• Sustained legato phrasing across multiple measures
• Louré bowing technique and bow control
• Listening for and balancing melody passing between sections
• Musical shape and line continuation at a phrase level
• Dynamic control in a lyrical context