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Evocatio: Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts

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Evocatio Cover Image

Evocatio: Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts

By Brian Balmages

Grade: 5

Item: 98-B1577

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Description
Drawing on some of the composer's early influences including John Barnes Chance and Ottorino Respighi, this mature and powerful work explores the dark and mystical while adding elements of intensity and relentless energy. Composed in three sections, an underlying sense of tension is present throughout before the final minutes erupt triumphantly in a fury of aggression and sound. Not for the faint of heart!

Don't just read it, hear it, play along with it, and watch your students grow with it. In MakeMusic Cloud, Evocatio: 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: FJH Symphonic Band
Publisher: The FJH Music Company, Inc.
UPC: 674398233250
SKU: 98-B1577

More about this title

About the Composer: Brian Balmages

Brian Balmages

Brian Balmages has established himself as a major voice in contemporary music across orchestral, band, and chamber contexts. His compositions have been performed worldwide by ensembles ranging from professional orchestras to school groups, with appearances at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Sydney Opera House, and the Toronto Centre for the Arts. He is an elected member of the American Bandmasters Association and received the A. Austin Harding Award from the American School Band Directors Association. His 2020 contest-winning work Love and Light brought him recognition through the NBA William D. Revelli Composition Contest.

Balmages holds degrees from James Madison University and the University of Miami, institutions that have honored his contributions with distinguished alumni recognition and commissioning opportunities. His music was performed during the 2013 Presidential Inaugural Prayer Service, and his work has been programmed at major conferences including the Midwest Clinic, Western International Band Clinic, and the College Band Directors Conference. As Director of MakeMusic Publications and Digital Education for Alfred and MakeMusic, he continues to shape the landscape of contemporary band composition while maintaining active guest conducting engagements with all-state, university, and professional ensembles worldwide.

Why we love this

Evocatio channels the architectural brilliance of Chance and the orchestral color of Respighi into a Grade 5 work that doesn't compromise on musical substance or emotional impact. This is contest and festival repertoire that demands serious musicianship from your ensemble while rewarding the effort with genuinely thrilling payoffs in the final section. The three-movement design gives you built-in drama and structure that helps younger bands understand pacing and dynamic contrast at a mature level.

What to expect

Evocatio draws you into shadow and mystery, an unsettling undercurrent building beneath every phrase. Then it detonates. The final minutes abandon restraint entirely, unleashing a torrent of rhythmic intensity and tonal aggression that feels like the dam finally breaking.

Who it's for

High school and advanced middle school concert bands ready for a Grade 5 challenge that asks for serious musicianship and ensemble control. Directors programming contest and festival seasons will find this work delivers the kind of musical substance and performance impact judges reward.

How to get the most out of it

  • Build the underlying tension deliberately across the early sections rather than rushing; let the accumulated pressure make that final eruption feel earned and explosive.
  • Balance clarity of texture in the dark and mystical passages so the relentless energy that follows lands with maximum impact.
  • Give special attention to sectional independence when the intensity peaks; too much unison blurs the "fury of aggression and sound" into muddiness instead of power.

How to use it

This work functions powerfully as a contest or festival selection, where its dramatic arc and technical demands showcase ensemble growth. It also serves well as a centerpiece for a concert exploring darker contemporary band literature, especially if programmed to contrast with lighter opening selections.

Skills your students will build

  • Sustaining tension and atmospheric control over extended passages
  • Dynamic contrast between intimate, shadowed textures and forceful, aggressive sound
  • Ensemble synchronization in complex rhythmic passages at the climax
  • Interpretation of programmatic or evocative music through sectional balance and phrasing
  • Stamina and focus during high-energy final sections

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