Blue Ridge Spring (Strings, Woodwinds, Percussion, Guitar, Piano)

$60.00

“Blue Ridge Spring” is a unique and beautiful 6½-minute orchestral work immersing you and your audience in the sounds of the Blue Ridge Mountains region of the Appalachian Mountain Range in North America. It is set in the time of year when the spring season is finally settling in and life is bursting forth from dormancy after a long, freezing winter. It features weaving melodies, soul-warming chords, shimmering textures, and innovative mimicry of local birds and insects. Listeners have described this piece as a pleasant walk outside on an exceptionally beautiful day, as it evokes the energy of the rural outdoors with warm sun, blue skies, unpaved trails, wind in the trees, and birds singing all around you.

NOTE: A "Clarinet in Bb" optional transposition is included; "Clarinet in A" is the standard part.

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Format: Digital Download

What’s Included: Parts in PDF Format

  • Conductor’s Score

  • Flute

  • Oboe

  • English Horn

  • Clarinet in A

  • Clarinet in Bb (optional transposition)

  • Bassoon

  • Horn in F

  • Percussion 1: Snare Drum, Vibraslap

  • Percussion 2: Ride Cymbal, Suspended Cymbal, Tam-tam

  • Percussion 3: Tambourine, Crash Cymbals

  • Percussion 4: Shaker, Bass Drum

  • Tubular Bells

  • Glockenspiel

  • Acoustic Guitar

  • Piano

  • Violin I

  • Violin II

  • Viola

  • Violincello

  • Contrabass

“Blue Ridge Spring” is a unique and beautiful 6½-minute orchestral work immersing you and your audience in the sounds of the Blue Ridge Mountains region of the Appalachian Mountain Range in North America. It is set in the time of year when the spring season is finally settling in and life is bursting forth from dormancy after a long, freezing winter. It features weaving melodies, soul-warming chords, shimmering textures, and innovative mimicry of local birds and insects. Listeners have described this piece as a pleasant walk outside on an exceptionally beautiful day, as it evokes the energy of the rural outdoors with warm sun, blue skies, unpaved trails, wind in the trees, and birds singing all around you.

NOTE: A "Clarinet in Bb" optional transposition is included; "Clarinet in A" is the standard part.

——

Format: Digital Download

What’s Included: Parts in PDF Format

  • Conductor’s Score

  • Flute

  • Oboe

  • English Horn

  • Clarinet in A

  • Clarinet in Bb (optional transposition)

  • Bassoon

  • Horn in F

  • Percussion 1: Snare Drum, Vibraslap

  • Percussion 2: Ride Cymbal, Suspended Cymbal, Tam-tam

  • Percussion 3: Tambourine, Crash Cymbals

  • Percussion 4: Shaker, Bass Drum

  • Tubular Bells

  • Glockenspiel

  • Acoustic Guitar

  • Piano

  • Violin I

  • Violin II

  • Viola

  • Violincello

  • Contrabass

🎧

Overview of the Piece

  • Verse 1, played by Acoustic Guitar and Flute featured solo and ending with a “Cold Snap” pause.

  • Verse 2, played by Piano solo with winds, guitar, and strings accompanying.

  • Chorus 1, soft.

  • Verse 3, focusing on Strings with other instruments accompanying.

  • Chorus 2, medium loudness.

  • Cello solo transition

  • “Nature Soundscape” featuring mimicry from percussion, Flute, and string principals.

  • Massive buildup into Chorus 3, with all musicians playing a grand finale. There is a hold and pause just before the last phrase which gets played in a calm style with principal musicians weaving solos.

  • The strings echo the last phrase of the Chorus in lush harmonies.

  • Finish with a lush, warm chord from the ensemble.

Special Playing Techniques

This piece’s “Nature Soundscape” section has some unique playing techniques to pull off the bird and insect mimicry. I’ve created these videos to demonstrate how they are performed for anyone that may need to perform this music or is just curious.

Violin I

Violin II

Viola

Violincello

Performances

Mixed synthesized and live instruments recording by John Crawford (a.k.a. “DefCello”) in February, 2025.

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