Suitable for Patriotic concerts.  Narrated.  Duration approximately 10-1/2 minutes.  See instrumentation.   For orchestra and band.  See printable documents. See performances.  See reviews.  Band version.  Audio Samples.

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About Gardens of Stone

"Gardens of Stone" was commissioned by the United States Air Force Band of Flight, Lieutenant Colonel Alan Sierichs, Commander.  The work is meant to pay tribute to the military men and women who have sacrificed their lives for our country.  It includes words from President Reagan, General Eisenhower, and President Lincoln.  "Gardens of Stone" is programmatic in nature.  The beginning of this composition is subtitled Sunrise at Arlington Cemetery which is followed by a fast Allegro section entitled Past Battles. 

The use of the melody from the Civil War song, "When Johnny Comes Marching Home," is meant to reflect the hopes and prayers that all soldiers will come home safely from battles.  Unfortunately, some do not.  

This Allegro section is followed with music meant to represent a 21 Gun Salute and Taps.  After the Gettysburg Address there is a section entitled Parade of the Fallen Heroes.  This final section is a military parade that would allow a color guard to march through the audience onto the stage for the ending of the work if so desired.

This work has been written for both band and orchestra.

The South Bend Symphony and the Indianapolis Symphony played "Gardens of Stone" during the summer of 2007.

Instrumentation

Orchestra

Strings

Violin I
Violin II
Viola
Cello
Bass

Band

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Documents

Instrumentation

View the above link with Adobe Acrobat Reader.  

Adobe Score/Part Samples

Coming soon.

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Performances

Gardens of Stone was premiered in the summer of 2007 by both the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra for its July 2-4 concerts and by the South Bend Symphony on June 30.  

For the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra premieres, the piece was conducted by Alfred Savia, who is the Music Director for the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra.  He was Associate Conductor of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra from 1990-1996  and has also conducted at St. Louis, Detroit, Phoenix, Savannah, Alabama, Southwest Florida (St. Myers), Columbus, Illinois, Memphis, Roanoke, Battle Creek, San Antonio, Spokane, Duluth-Superior and Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestras, the Louisville Orchestra, Dayton, Rhode Island and Fresno Philharmonic Orchestras.  Internationally he has conducted the Korea Philharmonic Orchestra, State of Mexico (Toluca) Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina in Florence, Radio & Television Serbia (Belgrade) Symphony Orchestra, Denmark’s Aalborg Symphony Orchestra, Presidential Symphony Orchestra of Ankara, Turkey, the Osnabruck Symphony Orchestra in Germany and the Symphony Orchestra of Xalapa, Mexico.  He is a frequent conductor at the Indianapolis Symphony "Symphony on the Prairie" series.

For the South Bend Symphony performance, Gardens of Stone was conducted by their Music Director, Tsung Yeh.  in addition to Music Director at South Bend, Tsung Yeh is also Conductor Laureate of the Hong Kong Sinfonietta and Music Director of the Singapore Chinese Orchestra.  Among his recent guest conducting appearances have been the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, The Minnesota Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic, Singapore Symphony, China National Symphony, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic, as well as numerous other orchestras in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

Other performances by orchestras:

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Reviews

Coming soon.

Band Version

The band version of Gardens of Stone is owned by the United States Air Force Band of Flight, the Langley Air Force Band, and the United States Air Force Band of Mid-America, the US Army TRADOC Band, and the American Legion Band of the Tonawandas..

The commissioning band is led by Lieutenant Colonel Alan Sierichs, Commander of the Air Force Band of Flight in Dayton.  

A native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Lieutenant Colonel Alan Sierichs became the Commander of the United States Air Force Band of Flight in June 2000. His previous commands include bands at Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, Yokota Air Base, Japan, and Chanute Air Force Base, Illinois. He served as Deputy Commander of the United States Air Force Band of the Rockies, Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado, and, prior to his commissioning in 1985, he was the trumpet soloist with the Strategic Air Command Band at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. Lieutenant Colonel Sierichs graduated from Louisiana State University in 1978 with a Bachelors degree in Music Education. He continued his studies at Boston University, earning a Masters degree in Music Performance in 1981. Lieutenant Colonel Sierichs' bands have been awarded the United States Air Force Organizational Excellence Award and Outstanding Unit Awards. His own military awards and decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Force Achievement Medal, Air Force Good Conduct Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal.

Commander Alan Sierichs led his band in a performance of "Gardens of Stone" at the War Memorial in Indianapolis on July 4, 2007.

Other band performances are by the US Army TRADOC Band and the American Legion Band of the Tonawandas.

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Audio Samples

The music on these three orchestral samples is synthesized.  The narration is recorded by Michel Bell and is used with his permission.  Click the center arrow to start or one of the tracks.