Most people now a days listen to music with words that tell a story, but music that is played at a band concert tells a story without words. There is all of the fun and fast music that they play, but they have also included a slow, lyrical piece this year dedicated to a school, which tells a major story.

American Elegy is a concert band piece composed by Frank Ticheli, written specifically for the students, staff, and relatives of those who did and did not survive the Columbine school shooting. When Ticheli was commissioned to compose this piece, he was planning to use the Columbine High School fight song, but they did not have one. He quickly gained inspiration for their fight song and added it into the dedication piece.

This piece sounds like any other: pretty, beautiful lines played by different instruments that bring tears to any audience member’s eyes. Every member of the AHS Wind Ensemble has heard every detail of the shooting, and the piece is more than just a dedication. This piece is one that touches their souls and hits home.

Columbine is located in Colorado, only a state away from our home of Nebraska. Most of students in the ensemble were not born yet, while some were a little under one year old. There were many things and policies that changed after the incident and most are still in play today.

This piece is one that has impacted the players and we enjoy being able to play for those who cannot due to the shooting. The dedication on top of the piece states “Composed in memory of those who lost their lives at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999, and to honor the survivors.” We as musicians were challenged to get rid of what was written in the dynamics and the set emotions and to make our own; to play the piece in relation to our emotions and how we feel for the situation, the survivors, and for those who died.

Music is not always set in stone and this piece is pushing us to be better and to work for more. There is always more behind the music; sometimes it just takes actually looking.