Instrumentation: Concert Band (Grade 2)
Duration: 3’45”
Program Note:
Pitch Black is an ominous and sinister piece for young band, representing the anxiety and fear of all-consuming darkness. The piece is framed by quiet, droning percussion parts, slowly adding chordal swells to the texture that are reminiscent of Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings. The main section of the piece features a slow and haunting melody that shifts its orchestration from higher voices to lower voices with each iteration, representing the descent into darkness. The piece ends as it began, concluding with a single stroke of a chime that fades to nothing.
Consortium Members:
Katie Anderson, Mackinaw City Public Schools
Robert Beehler and Michael Ances, Jockey Hollow Middle School
Abigail Beerbower and Ian Cole, Fort Wayne, IN
Trevor W. Clark, Chassell Township Schools
Jared Dalgleish, Norris Middle School
Alexander Floury, Chesaning Middle School
Marc R. Hartman, Eau Claire Junior/Senior High School
Kyrstin Jensen, Royal Oak Middle School
Jasmine Joubran, Jackson Northwest R.W. Kidder Middle School
Michael Klepp, Reed City Middle School
Colin McCune, East Lyme Middle School
Josh Roltsch, Fowlerville Junior High School
Deanna Russell, Standard Middle School
Brad Schmaltz, Oxford Middle School
Sean Spicer, Lake Fenton Middle School
Colby Stackhouse and Lori Haydl, DeKalb Middle School
Erika Stepp, South Vermillion High School
Jeremy Stevens, Hillsboro Junior High School
Mike Sulecki, Portland High School
Jason Taurins, Calabasas Middle School
William VanDelinder, Ramay Junior High School
Chris Evan Hass, Composer 