Heh, Chris, I had to ask Jen that question 'cause I couldn't figure it out either! Just go into the Band Administration Menu, and near the top you will see a link that says "Linking Tool". Go in there, select "song", and it'll provide you with lo-fi and hi-fi URLs for each of your uploaded pieces. Nifty.
Hey, Nick, thanks for the compliments! I look forward to hearing your entry. Yes, I realize the trumpets are a bit high at the end. That's probably the weakest point of the piece... but I
want that trumpet up there, mommy!
Oh well. If the orchestra can handle it, it's quite a nice note.
I made a note to Thomas about that too-thick percussion texture, as I realize it's a bit much to handle. If they can't find some third person to stand in on percussion, I'll have them drop the snare for those measures and do the suspended cymbal.
Thanks for the comments about the harmony - yes, I realized they're not really true secondary dominants because they don't resolve conventionally; they're more like neighbor chords. I really love what I was able to do harmonically with this, especially the C-F#-C-D progression I have going on later. With this piece, I've really started to discover my own harmonic style. It was a lot of fun.
As for the other minor issues - dependence on strings and lack of creativity - I guess that's to be expected of my first attempt for orchestra! About the lack of creativity, though... this seems to be a common sticking-point for you when critiquing my works. I think we do creativity a little differently. My ideas here were to take the two main motifs (the opening flute melody and the rhythmic/melodic motive seen often in the trumpets and saxes) and walk them through a slow unveiling, a reinventing process. The flute melody goes through several adaptations before arriving at its resolution, the flute melody heard in the actual oasis. The other motive gets its realization after the oasis, during the final crescendo.
I probably could have done a little more with it, but hey, time was short and I'm very pleased! The fact that you're scared of losing now is quite a compliment and encouragement, even if you win. I have a feeling this is going to come down to what style the conductor likes better, don't you agree?
