Brian Balmages (b. 1975) is a prolific, award-winning American composer. His works have become standards in the repertoire at all levels, from elementary school bands to professional orchestras. His music has been performed at concerts and conferences all over the world. He is also an active guest conductor and clinician. He currently serves as Director of Instrumental Publications for FJH Music and Assistant Director of Bands and Orchestras at Towson University. See more about him at Wikipedia, Band World, United Sound, the J. W. Pepper blog, and his own website.
Balmages wrote Arith-Metric no. 1 in 2020 as part of the Creative Repertoire Initiative that came into being in response to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. He says:
Arith-Metric No. 1 is the first in a series of pieces that explores self-paced developing music for literally any combination of instruments. Inspired by Terry Riley’s In C, the piece has no score and each part includes the same series of short fragments that performers move through at their own pace. The piece is written in 5 sections, all performed without stopping. Musicians repeat each fragment as much as they desire and then move on to the next line. Further, performers have the option of skipping a line or going backward any number of lines so long as they stay in the same section. Directors cue the entire ensemble at the beginning of each new section; regardless of where any performer is in the sequence, they immediately skip to the next section on cue (even if they are in the middle of a phrase). The last section builds constantly until all players have completed line 35. Then, at the discretion of the conductor, all players move into the final chord.
This type of music allows students to explore pacing, development, and orchestration. There are a ton of “teachable moments” throughout and many opportunities to engage every single member of the ensemble. Students will enjoy a completely different sound each time and a wonderful spontaneity in every performance (something we all can benefit from in the long run!).
Here is Balmages’s MIDI rendering of the piece. With the flexibility built into the piece, it is unlikely to ever be rendered exactly this way in live performance:
See more about Arith-Metric no. 1 at FJH Music, J. W. Pepper, and the Wind Repertory Project. Also, check out this recording of its inspiration, Terry Riley‘s In C: