With Beau and Belle

This march was written for my friend Kelly Robideau of Torrington. The punny title has two meanings. Kelly is a viola and sax player, hence "with bow and bell". She is also the girlfriend of my good friend Rich Manning, so I naturally I am usually with both of them, hence the actual meaning "with beau and belle". Kelly is a fellow music education major and plays viola in the CCSU Sinfonietta. She was an active participant in the Torrington High School music program. This march has a sophisticated style, with contant triplet-feel figures (3 quarter notes in a bar in 6/8 time). The breakstrain is very complex, and I considered it to be one of my best. Playing off of the unorthodox rhythmic figure motif, it starts in duple, then descends in a Bach-like 6/8 line. After a chromatic build-up, it breaks into a swing jazz melody, symbolizing "Robideau-bop", a common play on her name.

Key: Ab, Db

Meter: 6/8

Difficulty: 3.5

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