Vertigo: 2nd Percussion

Bernotas understands what keeps a band engaged: propulsive energy paired with strategic breathing room. The whirling rhythmic drive and spiraling melodies command attention without demanding virtuosity, while the contrasting section offers genuine musical substance rather than filler. Every section of your band has real work to do, which means rehearsals stay focused and students leave feeling like they've accomplished something.

Vertigo spins you forward with relentless rhythmic momentum and melodies that seem to circle upward, then catches you off guard with a calm, grounded moment that feels like surfacing for air. The final return to the whirling drive lands with satisfaction, leaving audiences energized and your students buzzing.

This work suits concert bands at the Grade 3.5 level ready to tackle driving rhythmic figures and spiraling melodic content without advanced technical demands. Directors programming a concert opener or closer will find a piece that delivers impact and variety in under four minutes, suitable for both festival competition and community performance settings.

• Shape the spiraling melodic lines with a long phrase arc rather than attacking each note separately; let the aggression come from rhythmic precision, not articulation harshness.
• Isolate the contrast section in rehearsal to establish a clear dynamic and textural shift; students should feel the release before building back into the final whirl.
• Lock in the aggressive rhythmic drive by having the rhythm section tap their feet on beat one of each measure during early rehearsals, then gradually remove the physical anchor as the groove internalizes.
• Conduct the fast passages in two rather than four to maintain forward momentum; a steady two pattern prevents the band from fragmenting when energy peaks.

Program this as a concert opener to hook your audience immediately, or save it for the final selection to send students and listeners home on an adrenaline rush. Its three-minute-thirty-second duration makes it an excellent pairing with longer lyrical works in the same concert, providing programmatic contrast without consuming rehearsal time that a extended multi-movement work would demand.

• Maintaining tempo and pulse through aggressive rhythmic passages at fast tempos
• Balancing articulation and legato within driving ostinato figures
• Executing melodic lines with shapely phrasing while supporting a driving underlying rhythm
• Responding to dynamic and textural contrasts between sections
• Ensemble cohesion under high-energy conditions