2011 was a disastrous year for Japan: on March 11 the northeast of the country suffered a violent earthquake, which triggered a huge tsunami and caused massive damage to people and the environment. The ensuing problems with the nuclear reactor at Fukushima only increased the misery: a black day in the country’s history…One almost inevitable consequence of such dramatic circumstances is the particular damage suffered by the cultural arts. And so it was in Japan: various high school wind orchestras in the effected areas lost their practice rooms and/or instruments. It will take a long time before the damage suffered is repaired—and it will take great effort to overcome thepsychological effects, too. Focusing on the latter, Yutada Nishida (director of The Bandwagon radio program) asked a few composers for a simple work that could be played by many orchestras. It just so happened that the Osakan Philharmonic Winds (with whom Jan Van der Roost had conducted a concert exclusively of his own works on September 25th) had had a similar idea. This concert saw the baptism of Song of Hope. This piece immediately struck a chord with musicians and audience alike: it begins bleakly in the low register and evolves to a more open, optimistic close. There really is hope for better times!
| Arrangement | Big Band & Concert Band |
| Genres | Choral |
| Level | 2 |
| NumberOfPages | 20 |
| Publisher | De Haske Publications |
| Contributors | Van der Roost, Jan(Composer) |
| Language | Dutch, English, French, German |
| ISMN | 9790035221631 |