A composer’s dream is to write a piece that receives its world premiere before a large crowd.
For Brian Pearson, that dream came true on a Little Falls Community High School stage with the school’s Jazz I Band.
There may be no better time to debut a musical piece than on Little Falls’ Jazz Night on Monday, April 8.
For Pearson, a world premiere of his jazz composition, “Spirit of Hope” found the perfect stage for a number written to commemorate the transatlantic flight of Little Falls’ native son, Charles Lindbergh.
“Spirit of Hope” is piece of music commissioned by Playing it Forward: The Kenneth and Evelyn Pinckney Young Musician’s Fund.
The foundation, established in 2015, is a partner fund of the Initiative Foundation. Kenneth Pinckney, who has passed away, was an instrumental band director at Little Falls Community High School from 1939 until his retirement in 1977. Kenneth Pinckney was the composer of the Little Falls Community High School school song, “Hail to our Colors,” Evelyn Pinckney said.
Pearson, is a retired band director who taught at New London-Spicer High School for 37 years.
When the Playing it Forward: The Kenneth and Evelyn Pinckney Young Musician’s Fund went looking for a composer to commission, former Little Falls Community High School band director Dwight Nelson suggested Pearson, a musician friend and fellow trumpet player with whom he has played with in different bands over the years.
“Spirit of Hope” is Playing it Forward’s first-ever commissioned piece, Evelyn Pinckney said.
But it is not the first piece commissioned in Little Falls to honor Lindbergh or the Spirit of St. Louis, Nelson pointed out.
The first was commissioned in 1987 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Lindbergh’s transatlantic flight, Nelson said.
After accepting the challenge from Playing it Forward, Pearson then had to sit down and a write the piece.
“My technique for writing is to go for walks,” Pearson said on the afternoon of April 8 on the stage of the Little Falls High School auditorium.
“That’s how I work my way through it,” he added.
Pearson had two separate ideas for how “Spirit of Hope” would come together.
“It’s a jazz piece, but I wanted to highlight some students through solos,” Pearson said.
He also had a vision for something unique and not often incorporated in a piece written for a jazz band.
“I wanted to include some vocals,” Pearson said.
A couple of months ago, on his first of two days working with the Jazz I Band members, he confesses to getting some strange looks from band members who generally only play instruments.
But the challenge of adding vocals was not only accepted, but embraced by the band, Pearson said.
On April 8, during the Jazz Night concert, some in the band joined with audience members to sing the simple lyrics that were folded into the composition:
It’s the Spirit of Hope
It’s the Spirit of Love
It’s the Spirit of everything that’s good, that comes from above
It’s the Spirit of Life
It’s a glorious adventure
May your journey be happy, safe and blessed It’s the Spirit of Hope!
It was a meaningful addition to an already meaningful composition.
The idea for the vocals were born as Pearson sat in his home studio composing the song.
“I started singing through it at home on my piano,” he said.
With the piece written, it was time for Pearson’s next challenge, the arranging.
The composition need to accommodate 19 different instruments, Pearson said.
One of thew highlights of the arrangement, Pearson said, was a “flutter tongue” technique arranged for the band’s trombone players that mimicked the sound of The Spirit of St. Louis’ propellers, he said.
“Trumpets always seem to get the limelight, but I gave the airplane part to the trombones,” Pearson said.
With the composition written and arranged, it became time for Pearson to cut a demo recording of “Spirit of Hope.”
“I do that to see if it works. It’s kind of my way of proofreading the parts,” he said.
The demo was also given to Little Falls Community High School band director Todd Peterson, who shared the recording with the composition’s future performers.
The band started learning and rehearsing the piece. Pearson then came to Little Falls to rehearse the piece with the students.
“Like any first rehearsal, there were parts that needed work,” Pearson said.
But there was no part of the composition that raided concerns, he said.
On Monday, April 8, hours before the debut performance of “Spirit of Hope,” Pearson participated in a rehearsal of the piece once again.
Pearson says he sat back and let the band play the piece for him. Then he went to work with the band members.
“Today, we have it,” Pearson said Monday, April 8 like a proud father. “It worked really well in the classroom.”
“I heard them play, and knew they understood it,” Pearson said of “Spirit of Hope.”
“Tonight we’re going to have a show,” he added.
“Spirit of Hope” was the cherry on top of a fantastic line-up of jazz music performed on Jazz Night.
And Playing it Forward: The Kenneth and Evelyn Pinckney Young Musician’s Fund, was instrumental in putting that cherry on top of a great night of music.
“It’s an adrenalin to be a part of music- especially when you compose it,” Pearson said.
“And for me, I spent a lot of time with this piece in both my head and in my fingers,” he said.
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