Clutch: Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts
By Brian Balmages
Grade: 1
Item: 00-PK-0008702
$55.00
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Description
Fasten your seatbelts for this aggressive and harmonically colorful work! Clutch is an intense experience, using percussion to establish a strong rhythmic pulse that compliments the powerful melodic lines throughout. While the piece has an amazingly complex sound and vivid imagery, Brian Balmages has once again managed to do so with music that sounds difficult but is surprisingly achievable for young musicians! (1:30)
Don't just read it, hear it, play along with it, and watch your students grow with it. In MakeMusic Cloud, Clutch: Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts 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:
MakeMusic Developing Band
Publisher:
MakeMusic Publications
SKU:
00-PK-0008702
More about this title
About the Composer: Brian Balmages
Brian Balmages has built a reputation as a composer and conductor working across orchestral, band, and chamber idioms with equal facility. His works have been heard in major halls including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the Sydney Opera House, performed by ensembles ranging from professional orchestras to school groups. He received the A. Austin Harding Award from the American School Band Directors Association, won the 2020 NBA William D. Revelli Composition Contest for Love and Light, and holds membership in the American Bandmasters Association.
As a guest conductor, Balmages appears regularly at all-state and regional ensembles, university groups, and professional orchestras worldwide, with notable engagements at the Midwest Clinic, Western International Band Clinic, and the College Band Directors Conference. He has served as an adjudicator and clinician at numerous state and national conferences. He currently directs MakeMusic Publications and Digital Education for Alfred and MakeMusic.
Why we love this
Balmages understands the gap between what young bands aspire to play and what they can actually execute. Clutch delivers that thrilling, aggressive soundscape your ensemble craves without asking for technical wizardry, making it an ideal contest or festival piece that sounds far more advanced than its Grade 1.5 voicing demands. The rhythmic drive is infectious enough to keep audiences locked in, and the harmonic color keeps the score interesting for musicians who are still building independence.
What to expect
Clutch grabs you immediately with its aggressive rhythmic pulse and vivid harmonic palette. It's the sound of controlled intensity, where percussion and melody interlock to create forward momentum that feels urgent and alive, propelling the ensemble and audience alike into its 90-second arc.
Who it's for
Young concert bands at the Grade 1.5 level looking for a modern piece with genuine edge and energy. This works equally well for groups preparing festival and contest repertoire or for ensembles seeking to program something that energizes an audience without overwhelming student musicians.
How to get the most out of it
- Lock the percussion section's rhythmic foundation first. Once the battery owns the pulse, the wind lines will settle naturally into that propulsive framework.
- Emphasize dynamic contrast between the aggressive passages and any softer moments. The harmonic colors emerge most vividly when you sculpt the dynamic shape intentionally.
- Conduct the piece with forward momentum. Resist the urge to slow down or soften the intensity; the power of Clutch lies in its relentless drive.
How to use it
Pair this as a high-energy opener or closer that showcases your group's rhythmic precision and willingness to engage contemporary sound. It programs well alongside more lyrical works, offering a sharp tonal and stylistic contrast that keeps a concert program dynamic.
Skills your students will build
- Maintaining rhythmic independence while playing within a complex harmonic environment
- Balancing aggressive articulation with ensemble blend
- Reading and executing contemporary harmonic language
- Responding to a strong, driving pulse established by the percussion section