Our show for the 1998 marching season is entitled "Exotic Gardens: The music of Repighi and Ginastera", which consists of music representing the sights and sounds of the Mediteranean.

Our introduction to the show was from the fourth movement of The Pines of Rome, by Ottorino Respighi. This "intro" allowed us to start the show off "with a bang", consisting of fast drill, brilliant brass fanfares, driving percussion, and an outstanding visual and colorful display from our wonderful colorguard.

Our opener was from the first movement of The Pines of Rome entitled 'The Pines of the Villa Borghese' by Respighi. This piece is very light and playful with very fast rhythms of sixteenth and thirty-second notes with a driving melody that is repeated throughout different sections of the band. The woodwinds musical responsibilities are indeed profound, leaving one almost speechless by their display of technique and musicality. The colorguard's portrayal of this section was truly masterful. Their representation of children playing in the woods was instantly recognizable and made one want to be jovial with them.

Next is a section entitled Belkis, Queen of Sheeba, also by Respighi. Incredible trumpet double tonguing (two minutes worth), brisk drumming patterns, and fast drill dominate this part of the show. The clarinet and flute melody is in the very high register of their respective instruments, which drives throughout the piece and continues to provide a feeling of growth and suspense, which culminates in our trademark "triangle mesh" which then rotates into a box.

Our ballad, 'St. Michael' is a movement from a larger work entitled Church Windows. The melody starts as a small brass ensemble, then is beautifully presented through a series of flute and clarinet solos, which are prevalent throughout most of the production. There is a strong feeling of build and growth which climaxes as a full band presentation of the original melody, lush with brass harmony and continued rhythmic ostinato presented by the pit. This great build of tension resolves effortlessly through a wonderfully performed flute solo which touches one's heart to say the least. The work is inherent with delicate sounds and graceful choreography representing the peaceful way of life along the Mediterranean

. The closer was from a work by Alberto Ginastera entitled Pampeana no. 3. We used the second movement entitled 'Imperpetuosomente' (yep, that's a long one!). This piece starts with everyone facing backfield featuring a haunting melody performed by the low brass and low woodwinds. This builds into a sudden "turn around" in which the brass surprise us with a full tutti melody that is full in sound to say the least. This section then evolves though the use of multi-meter, which features the mellophone section exploring rhythmic demand through the low register of their instrument, culminating into a powerful standstill display sometimes referred as a good old fashioned "park 'n play".

The following drill takes our large band through a series of very fast reshapes, gradually compacting the band to the right side of the field. At the same time the colorguard is expanding on the left side of the field and taking over the area once occupied by the winds and percussion. This leads to the slower portion of this section, which is musically comprised of a french horn quartet, a clarinet quartet, and a flute duet. The colorguard takes over the stage with a wonderful display of choreography and color. We pick up the pace again with a series of staggered musical and visual phrasing, which starts in a "scatter" form. This "puzzle-type" portion introduces each section one small piece at time, until all the pieces of the puzzle combine to make one large form. A truly great moment of the show. And of course, we then march to create the trademark Marian "M" set (always a crowd pleaser). We finally recap the intro of the show to create one last dynamic push to the end. All in all, Pampeana's driving rhythm and energy combined with sudden changes of tone color provided a splendid way of ending a great show.

The students, parents, staff, and directors worked very hard to create a piece of art. We hope you have a chance to see it.