Summer Dances: Score
By Brian Balmages
Grade: 4.5
Item: 98-DOR5004S
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Description
Dramatic, heroic and stately - this incredible work has been performed by thousands of groups around the world. After years of requests, the composer has finally made this landmark work available for symphony orchestra. A proven winner that takes advantage of the fantastic textures uniquely available to symphony orchestras! (6:00)
Don't just read it, hear it, play along with it, and watch your students grow with it. In MakeMusic Cloud, Summer Dances: Score 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 Symphony Orchestra
Publisher:
The FJH Music Company, Inc.
SKU:
98-DOR5004S
More about this title
About the Composer: Brian Balmages
Brian Balmages has built a distinctive career bridging orchestral, band, and chamber music with equal fluency. His compositions have reached audiences worldwide, from professional symphony orchestras to school ensembles, in performance spaces including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and Sydney Opera House.
Recognized with the A. Austin Harding Award from the American School Band Directors Association and winner of the 2020 NBA William D. Revelli Composition Contest, Balmages serves as Director of MakeMusic Publications and Digital Education for Alfred and MakeMusic. He maintains an active conducting schedule with all-state, university, and professional ensembles internationally, and his work has been performed at significant state and national conferences as well as at the 2013 Presidential Inaugural Prayer Service.
Why we love this
This work delivers the dramatic, heroic sound that orchestras work toward all season, with textures and colors that only a full symphony can produce. The 6-minute span is substantial enough to make a concert impact while remaining accessible at Grade 4.5, and its proven track record across thousands of performances confirms it engages both players and audiences. Its contest and festival credentials make it equally valuable for competitive programming or concert showcasing.
What to expect
Summer Dances presents an expansive, confident landscape with heroic themes that build through orchestral color. Stately and commanding, the work invites the ensemble to explore dramatic peaks and rich harmonic textures while maintaining forward momentum across its full six minutes.
Who it's for
This is written for symphony orchestras of high school and advanced middle school level, where the full ensemble can realize its dramatic intentions. Directors looking for Grade 4.5 repertoire that balances accessibility with artistic substance will find a piece that plays above its difficulty level and commands audience attention.
How to get the most out of it
- Balance the heroic material across all sections; the stately character depends on each voice projecting with confidence rather than driving aggressively.
- Shape the phrasing through conductor preparation and sectional work on the dramatic arcs, since this piece's impact lies in sustained momentum across its full length.
- Pay close attention to dynamic transitions in the score; the shifts between dramatic peaks and quieter passages define the work's emotional trajectory.
- Use the full palette of articulations Balmages indicates; crisp attacks and sustained singing lines create the textural variety that showcases what a full orchestra can achieve.
How to use it
Program this as a centerpiece of a spring or early summer concert, where its dramatic character and substantial length anchor the program. It works equally well in festival and competition contexts, where its proven success record and orchestral sophistication earn respect from adjudicators.
Skills your students will build
- Sustaining dramatic phrasing across extended formal structures
- Balancing independent orchestral lines while maintaining unified ensemble sound
- Responding to conductor interpretation of stately, heroic character
- Managing dynamic range and textural variety specific to full orchestra voicing
- Executing articulation clarity in passages that define orchestral color