Austin Symphonic Band Performing Shimmering Sky

Austin Symphonic Band ( https://austinsymphonicband.org/ ). October 26, 2025. ASB performing Shimmering Sky by Daniel Montoya Jr. [NOTE: Click 'more' to read the program notes.] Music Director Dr. Kyle R. Glaser conducting. "Classics!" concert at the Connally HS Performing Arts Center in Austin, TX.

00:00:00 1. Scattered Light
00:03:39 2. Rays of Iridescence

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Video and Sound Production: Eddie Jennings

From the program notes written by Clifton Jones:

Shimmering Sky (2023)
Daniel Montoya Jr. (1978- )
1. Scattered Light
2. Rays of Iridescence

“Shimmering Sky” is a new classic for young band literature. Mr. Montoya says about the work:

It draws its inspiration from the rare natural wonder of ‘iridescent clouds’ — those fleeting rainbow-hued veils that appear when sunlight diffracts through tiny water droplets or ice crystals. The work unfolds in two movements, each illuminating a different stage of this phenomenon.

’Scattered Light’ captures the formation of iridescent clouds through overlapping textures and shifting harmonies that bend and refract like beams of scattered sunlight.

‘Rays of Iridescence’ celebrates their radiance, blooming into vibrant color and rhythmic motion as the full spectrum comes alive in sound.

Together, the movements trace a journey from physics to poetry — transforming the science of light into a sonic dance of color, motion and wonder that reminds us how beauty often exists in life’s most fleeting moments.

Daniel Montoya Jr. is a composer/arranger and a native of Austin. He writes for wind band, percussion ensemble and marching arts, among other ensembles. He has a master’s degree in conducting from Texas State University and a master’s degree in composition from Central Michigan University, where he studied with David R. Gillingham.