Radiant Glow
INSTRUMENTATION
4 Fl (4th on Picc), 3 Ob (3rd on EH), 2 Bn, CBn or Contrabass Cl, 6 Cl, 1 Bass Cl, SATB Sax, 3 Hn, 3 Tpt, 2 Tenor Tbn, 1 Bass Tbn, 1-2 Euph, 1-2 Tba, Timp, 4 Perc, Pno (with optional Celesta), 1-2 DB
4 Fl (4th on Picc), 3 Ob (3rd on EH), 2 Bn, CBn or Contrabass Cl, 6 Cl, 1 Bass Cl, SATB Sax, 3 Hn, 3 Tpt, 2 Tenor Tbn, 1 Bass Tbn, 1-2 Euph, 1-2 Tba, Timp, 4 Perc, Pno (with optional Celesta), 1-2 DB
VIDEO
"The President's Own" United States Marine Band; Lieutenant Colonel Jason Fettig, conductor; MGySgt Nomar Longoria, alto saxophone, and MSgt Franklin Crawford, tuba
Please note the video is of the original double concerto version. The wind ensemble-only version is coming in Spring 2026.
ORDERING SCORES
Theodore Presser Company
Full score: https://www.presser.com/115-40437
To view perusal, click on Score and Parts tab, then click on Preview below the window.
YEAR COMPOSED
2021 double concerto version / 2025 wind ensemble version
COMMISSIONERS
Butler University; Carthage College; Illinois State University; Florida State University; Kansas State University; Louisiana State University; Mansfield University; Oklahoma State University; Roosevelt University; St. Charles East High School; "The President's Own" United States Marine Band; University of Arkansas; University of Massachusetts Amherst; University of Minnesota at Twin Cities; University of Nevada, Las Vegas; University of Nevada, Reno; University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire; and the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee.
PROGRAM NOTES
The first time I saw an alpenglow, I had no idea what it was. It was the late 1980s, and I was a music camp at the base of the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. A few of us got up in the middle of the night so we could hike to a vantage point at the foot of Longs Peak, to watch the sun rise without any trees obstructing our view. Even though we had a few more minutes to go before the sun breached the horizon, when I looked up at the face of Longs Peak, it was glowing intensely with a most beautiful peach-pink color. This enchanting vision lasted only about ten minutes, after which the color faded as the sun rose. Throughout the next thirty years, whenever I returned to the Rocky Mountain National Park, I would occasionally catch this pre-dawn light show in all its glory.
An alpenglow is an optical phenomenon that is visible on high altitude mountains. It happens twice daily, right before the sun rises and right after it sets. The earth’s atmosphere scatters the sun’s light, allowing particular wavelengths of light through and blanketing the mountains in rich hues of peach, pink, red, and purple.
Alpenglow, my double concerto for alto saxophone, tuba, and wind ensemble, follows the sun as it rises in movement 1 to its journey across the sky in movement 2. In Radiant Glow (movement 3), the sun slips under the horizon, giving way to a most radiant alpenglow. As the alpenglow fades and twilight envelops the earth, stars shimmer in the night sky.
In 2025, I arranged Radiant Glow into a stand-alone piece for wind ensemble only. The solos originally performed by the soloists have now been spread across the wind ensemble. My thanks to Scott Teeple (Director of Bands, University of Wisconsin-Madison) for the suggestion, and to Robert Taylor (Director of Bands, Northwestern University) and the Northwestern University Symphonic Wind Ensemble for giving the world premiere of Radiant Glow.
-S.G.
Photo of alpenglow in Denali National Park. National Park Service photo, public domain.
Taken by Emily Mesner.
Taken by Emily Mesner.
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HELIOS • 4’30” • 2 tpts/flugelhorns, hn, tbn, tba
PROGRAM NOTES
In Greek mythology, Helios was the god of the sun. His head wreathed in light, he daily drove a chariot drawn by four horses (in some tales, the horses are winged; in others, they are made of fire) across the sky. At the end of each day’s journey, he slept in a golden boat that carried him on the Okeanos River (a fresh water stream that encircled the flat earth) back to his rising place. The cyclic journey of Helios is depicted in this short work for brass quintet. The first half is fast-paced and very energetic, while the second half is slow and serene, representing day and night.
-S.G.