Richard Meyer

Blue Diamond Jubilee

This concert overture is full of teaching opportunities and challenges for all of your students and is the perfect opener or closer for any occasion. Written in ABA form (fast-slow-fast) , it is filled with memorable melodies, sumptuous harmonies, and mature orchestrations that give every section a chance to shine.The opening energetic "A" section features a playful ostinato figure constantly chugging along in support of an expansive, lyrical melody played above it. A gladiator-inspired theme makes a brief appearance as a nod to the commissioning high school's Trojan mascot. The "B" section, in slow 6/8, introduces a graceful minor-keyed theme that is derived from the opening notes of the initial main theme. After the second "A" section, a regal coda, marked "Maestoso," ends the piece with a beautifully sonorous treatment of the slow minor theme now played in a major key.