Instinct: String Orchestra Conductor Score & Parts

$55.00 USD

Instinct: String Orchestra Conductor Score & Parts

Name: Instinct: String Orchestra Conductor Score & Parts
Brand: Alfred Music
SKU: 98-ST6487
Price: 55.00 USD
Availability: InStock

By Brian Balmages

Level:.5

Item: 98-ST6487

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This aggressive work for true beginners portrays those inherent, and sometimes raw behaviors that help a species survive. All string parts move almost entirely by stepwise motion and use just half and whole notes. Violin 1 uses a full D Major scale and all other instruments use D through B. An optional percussion part adds considerable interest to the piece (and an optional background track is available if you do not have percussionists). Powerful!

Don't just read it, hear it, play along with it, and watch your students grow with it. In MakeMusic Cloud, Instinct: String Orchestra 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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Series: FJH Beginning Strings

Publisher: The FJH Music Company, Inc.

UPC: 241444403242

SKU: 98-ST6487

More about this title

About the Composer: Brian Balmages

Brian Balmages composes across orchestral, band, and chamber music with equal fluency, earning recognition from the American School Band Directors Association (A. Austin Harding Award) and the American Bandmasters Association. His works have premiered at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Sydney Opera House, and the Toronto Centre for the Arts, performed by ensembles ranging from professional orchestras to school groups.

As a guest conductor, Balmages regularly leads all-state and regional ensembles, university orchestras, and professional groups worldwide. His compositions have been performed at presidential inaugural events and commissioned by major institutions, including the University of Miami for a presidential inauguration. He currently serves as Director of MakeMusic Publications and Digital Education for Alfred and MakeMusic.

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Why we love this

Balmages has engineered genuine power from radical simplicity. Stepwise motion and whole/half notes might sound limiting, but in his hands they become the musical vocabulary of raw animal instinct. Your students will feel the ferocity immediately, and the optional percussion part transforms what could have been purely pedagogical into something genuinely dramatic.

What to expect

Feral and primal. The stepwise motion feels almost predatory, building momentum through repetition and layer rather than virtuosity. There's an unsettling directness to the writing that makes even young players feel the weight of what they're playing.

Who it's for

Beginning string orchestras ready to move beyond exercise-book material into genuine performance pieces. The technical simplicity allows your focus to rest on ensemble sound, intonation, and musical expression rather than note-reading struggles.

How to get the most out of it

Build intensity through dynamics rather than speed. The stepwise motion creates its own relentless energy; resist the urge to rush.
If using the optional percussion part, lock it in rehearsal before adding strings. The rhythmic foundation needs to feel inevitable.
Emphasize the contrast between sections. Even simple material benefits from clear phrasing and articulation choices that signal mood shifts.
The background track works well for rehearsal confidence, but live percussion elevates the piece considerably if your program includes percussionists.

How to use it

Open a concert with this, or use it to close with impact. The brief duration and strong character make it an ideal anchor point on a mixed program, and its contest-festival designation suggests it travels well to festivals where younger ensembles typically compete.

Skills your students will build

Reading stepwise motion fluently across different string ranges
Sustaining whole notes with consistent intonation and vibrato control
Building crescendos and releasing diminuendos with ensemble precision
Playing rhythmically independent from other parts while maintaining sectional balance
Responding to conductor cues for dramatic articulation changes
Coordinating with optional percussion to lock a unified pulse