A PROMENADE DA MARGA

A Promenade da Marga
for child wind orchestra
(flexible instrumentation)

• composition date: 2013 | ed./rev. 2022
• duration: ca. 1:00 min.
• dedication: «To Margarida, my eldest princess, with all the Love in the World! For her Children’s Wind Orchestra at the Porto Conservatory of Music to play, and Prof. Avelino Ramos to conduct.»
• premiere:
  • June 7, 2014 | Porto Conservatory of Music Auditorium
    Porto Conservatory of Music Child Wind Orchestra | dir. prof. Avelino Ramos
• for 4 (or 5) parts of flexible instrumentation
• individual parts available in various transpositions (C, Bb, Eb, F, G), for greater freedom of choice of instruments for each part
• percussion is optional: although it is suggested a snare drum for the upper voice and a bass drum or a low/tenor drum without snares for the lower voice, these options are also open to the choice of the teacher/musical director and the availability in the orchestra

SYNOPSIS:

I wrote this very short piece in 2013 as a Christmas gift for my eldest daughter, Margarida (for whom “Marga” is an affectionate nickname). At the time, she was studying flute and was a member of the children’s wind orchestra conducted by Prof. Avelino Ramos at the Porto Conservatory of Music.

The writing is, naturally, very simple and fully adapted to beginners and their technical limitations. The piece was conceived for four distinct instrumental parts, which may be expanded to five through upper octave doubling of the first part; in the 2022 revision, optional percussion was also added. No specific instrumentation was prescribed, precisely in order to allow complete flexibility in the allocation of parts to the instruments available at any given time and in each school. The individual parts are provided in several transpositions, likewise intended to enable performance by the widest possible range of students and instruments.

Writing for this age group was, for me, a considerable challenge, but at the same time an indescribable pleasure. I hope that this modest contribution may bring young learners as much joy and satisfaction as I felt hearing it performed by my daughter and her colleagues at the Porto Conservatory of Music.

buy sheet music:
contact the composer here.