Tightrope: Brass Ensemble Score & Parts

Tightrope captures something rare in brass quintet writing: textural sophistication without sacrificing ensemble cohesion. The piece manages to be both intellectually rigorous and genuinely rewarding to perform, offering your ensemble a work that demands maturity while rewarding careful listening during rehearsal.

Tightrope walks a deliberate line between dense, crystalline textures and moments of aggressive, crunchy energy. The piece breathes with intention, moving between passages that sit like polished ice and sections that bristle with sharp edges and unexpected instrumental interactions.

Intermediate brass quintets ready to engage with contemporary American music and explore how African Diaspora aesthetics reshape ensemble writing. Directors programming works beyond the standard Baroque and Romantic quintet canon will find a compelling, substantial addition to a concert.

• Spend time with the score's full texture before sectionals. The piece's identity lives in how the five voices layer and interact, not in any single part.
• Balance 'smooth' and 'crunchy' moments by letting players understand which passages require blend and which call for edge. This binary framing helps clarify Lewis' textural intent.
• Mark breathing points collectively as a quintet, not as individual parts. The ensemble's breath becomes part of the musical fabric.
• Record yourselves early and often. The 96-page score rewards repeated listening to lock in its architectural logic.

Position this as the centerpiece of a concert exploring contemporary voices in brass writing, or program it alongside other works commissioned through the Resonate Project to frame a thematic evening around cultural narratives in new music. Its substantial length and complexity make it ideal as a culminating work in a concert season.

• Navigating extended brass techniques and unconventional articulations
• Balancing five independent melodic lines while maintaining ensemble unity
• Reading complex contemporary notation and harmonic language
• Performing with textural awareness across contrasting musical materials
• Interpreting a composer's cultural and historical context as performers