Bone-a-fied

Bone-a-fied, op. 265
King Middle School Band, Bradenton, Florida
Kimberly Evans, Director
2025 – grade 1.5 – 2:40

COMING SOON

Growing up, and later teaching in Bradenton, I knew most of the music teachers in the area, including John Rudacille. Not only was he a fellow trombone player and an excellent band director, but he was a joyful person with a great sense of humor. After his passing in 2024, his wife, Chris, made a donation to the King Middle School Band where John was director for several years, to be used in some way to memorialize John's life.

The band's current director, Kim Evans contacted me to ask if I would write a piece in John's memory. Knowing John, I just knew the piece had to be fun for the players and the audience, so I decided to make this something with a groove that would put a smile on everyone's face. Kim suggested that the piece include "something tropical" since John loved living on Anna Maria Island.

The piece begins with the claves followed by the trombones playing the signature rhythm with an added glissando as the rest of the band provides a stomping and clapping accompaniment. The main theme in the upper woodwinds is set against jazz/rock harmonies, building in intensity to a full band interlude of power chords before settling back into the original groove. Solos in the trombone, alto saxophone and trumpet are featured as the music once again builds and everyone joins the party. All three soloists then play their solos simultaneously over an accompaniment in the full band, which creates a joyful and complex counterpoint. The resulting piece is a fusion of calypso, soul, and R&B, shifting between major and minor tonalities. The quirky title, Bone-a-fied, references the trombone that played such a significant part in John's life.