We`re playing An American Elegy at our concert tonight (which is just a few days from the anniversary of the shootings) and it is my favorite band song by far. I love the French horn part a few measures after 79. I almost cry every time I hear it. I play clarinet and I love my part. This song is so beautiful and I wish everyone could experience the way it feels to play it.

my high school band is playing it at our spring concert in a couple days. as a senior, this has become one of my favorite pieces and i`m very excited to play it for my last concert.

As I read the posts that many of you have up here, I am overwhelmed with how many people get goosebumps from it. I am a band director of only four years, and I am doing this piece with my students. Actually, we are playing it at our concert TONIGHT! I saw one post that said that no band could do this piece justice. I beg to differ. ANY BAND that plays this piece is giving justice to the students and one teacher that perished on April 20, 1999. It`s not about the piece itself, it`s about taking a stand about sensless acts of violence in schools that STILL go on today. It`s about honoring and remembering those that died in any of the school shootings and honoring the survivors of such tragedies! Some of the students of Columbine who lost their lives were in sports like wrestling, football, and cross-country. I too have students in the band involved with all of those sports. Many of them were members of the National Honor Society and their church youth groups. I too, have students involved in those groups. One was an aspiring songwriter; I have a few of those aspiring songwriters in my band. Another wanted to go college to be a music executive. I also have students that will be on the stage tonight that want to go to school for music in some form.

Also the trumpet solo, it`s supposed to represent a celestial voice, a heavenly message. Don`t dwell on the fact that a chair on stage is left empty. I am using our balcony that we have in our auditorium where the trumpet player will play from to truly represent the voice from heaven. If you love this work, I suggest buying a score. It`s on the pricy side (~15 dollars) for it, but WELL WORTH IT.

Thank you for letting me post.

Hello

I`m a junior at Bernards High School and I just had my last rehearsal with my band before I leave for Paris, and the last song we played was American Elegy... and my band teacher (who plays trumpet) recorded himself playing in the auditorium which it echoed. No one can play like him... he brought tears to my eyes... American Elegy is BY FAR THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SONGS THAT HAS EVER BEEN WRITTEN!

My high school band at Marcellus, NY played An American Elegy at our last concert, and it was the most beautiful song I have ever heard. I play French Horn, and the Horn 1 part is amazing. Everytime I played it I got goosebumps, and everyone in our band played it with such emotion that it was outstanding. I memorized the whole thing I liked it so much, and I think it is the best song I`ve ever played before in my life

I played american elegy. it was so moving. i loved it. i actually had the off stage solo on trumpet. it was quite nerve racking but we earned two 1+`s at a contest and my band directer said that was basically unheard of... it basically means the performance was flawless. it was awesome. know anyway i can listen to it at?

*//kass

Hello! I am a Music Education major at Western Washington University and am currently studying the piece, which I too, played in high school. I absolutely love it. I emailed with Frank Ticheli about it and he promoted his new DVD about how to conduct the piece- haha. :-) It was great to talk to him a little about the piece. I am glad you all enjoy it as much as I do!

We just played this at competition and recieved a Superior rating...we played it in our reg. ensemble (all band students) and I`m so glad it wasnt reserved for our wind ensemble (auditioned group) or else I would not have been a part of it! I play 2nd trombone in our band and I am a senior. This piece is indescribable. It fits columbine, the war, 9/11...it truly is an elegy to all americans affected by tragedy. I love it. Best song I have ever played in concert band, and I believe Ticheli to be one of the most talented composers for concert band after playing MANY of his selections over the years (Vesuvius rules!) Does anyone know how to get in touch with Mr. Ticheli? I`d just like to express how much I enjoy his work.
Jackie
Altoona Area High School, Altoona PA

http://www.frankticheli.com/

His email address is somewhere on that page.

Thomas

Omg i love this song an american elegy. it is abosolutley beautiful. we are playing at our highschools graduation for the class of 2005. i think ill be crying during this song. thats how moving and touching it is. ah i love this piece.

I played it in Jan. for Pennsylvania District 9 band. I think its beautiful, it made our director cry

I am a clarinet player and played that song (I was first chair, so I played all the one player only parts) It was sooo beautiful. I loved the trumpet solo, and I loved when the two calrinet (including me) played the half notes up to high C (sighs) it was very pretty!

I`m the principal horn player at UMass Lowell and i have to say An American Elegy is one the most beautiful and awe inspiring pieces i`ve had the honor of performing. I played it in high school and it was amazing. Then again I got to perform the piece at the college level a few years ago in the UML concert band and it was simply chilling. I have the recording of our concert band`s performance, and it sends shivers down my spine every time i listen to it.

~joe k

Ya i go to Foothill Marching Band, top 7 in the United states and our lead trumpet is one of the finest in California. This piece was such a great song, and when played by the right player, is much more than a 4th grade song.

I just played it at an All District IMEA concert...the piece is amazing if played right...it trully is a great piece, one of my favorites