The 2013 LGBA Conference took place in Atlanta, Georgia the weekend of October 11 – 13. The highlight of the weekend was a spectacular concert called “Color Our World: Life, Spirit, & Magic!” at the Ferst Center for the Arts at Georgia Tech University.
The featured piece on the concert was named “Colors” by Atlanta composer Tim Jansa. It was commissioned by the host Atlanta Freedom Bands and funded in part via a grant to AFB from the Jon Sims Endowment Fund for the Performing Arts.
“Colors” is celebration of the diversity, strength, and unbreakable spirit of the LGBT community.It opens with a powerful, sudden, explosive,and colorful thematic statement that is then repeated throughout: “We are here and we are here to stay.” A march-like motif, somber at first, quickly gains clarity and strength, depicting a community defining and gradually asserting itself. After a brief climactic moment, a trumpet solo theme heralds courage and despair, joy and tragedy, the will to go on tempered by doubts about the ultimate outcome. These three motifs and themes form the major building blocks of “Colors.”
At the end of the exposition, the mood quickly brightens, the tempo picks up, and the “good times” begin by depicting LGBT men and women in all their colorful nature: artistic, quirky, mischievous, physical, loving – and everything in-between. This fun section eventually leads into a depiction of our community “coming of age,” and ultimately the climactic finale of “Colors” combines all previous motifs and themes, pitting them against each other until they reach a rousing celebration of equality and victory over bias, ill-will, and hatred. The work ends with (wedding?) bells ringing and a final glorious statement of the main theme.
Said composer Jansa about his piece, “It has been a true pleasure working with such an able ensemble and its members who share a true love and enthusiasm for our community and our cause.” You can learn even more about Tim Jansa and hear him talk about “Colors” by clicking HERE.