This highly inventive Grade 4 piece for band is a tribute to the legendary Thomas Edison, the Wizard of Menlo Park. Menlo Park was the birthplace of recorded sound, along with hundreds of other inventions by Edison. The Maestoso introduction in C minor contrasts unison voices with wonderful, tightly dissonant harmony, for which Mr. Niehaus is famous. A rollicking Giocoso section follows in E-flat Major, in a dance-like 6/8. Then a contrasting 2/4 Listesso section offers solo voices in dialogue, with a return to the 6/8 Giocoso. A contemplative section (With Feeling) in B-flat offers a change of pace from the Giocoso. The D.S. al Coda returns once again to the boisterous Giocoso, then into a deliberate ending, reminiscent of the Maestoso introduction. The many changes of tempo, time signature and key signature will keep students on their toes and offer an interesting piece for both concert audiences and band competitions.
