At the end of May in 2025, two former La Follette Orchestra students reached out to me. They sat next together in the cello section during their first classes as Freshmen, and their playing styles matched after our “audition.” As I have done in my tenure at La Follette, I combined leadership, seniority, playing ability / style, and collaboration in the seating chart. Everything seemed like a good fit, and I placed them as stand partners, and they stayed stand partners for their entire four years of Orchestra. Little did I know that friendship and mutual affection would turn into a romance at the end of their college years. Soon after their engagement, they asked me if I would be willing to play for their wedding. It seemed like the perfect full circle moment, and I was honored to be a part of their day.

First Dance is the encapsulation of the entire wedding day, with a couple of musical nods to the past. I had taught the groom how to play the opening riff to Crazy Train on his cello in 5th Grade, and it was the first thing his future bride would notice as they met in 6th Grade Orchestra. I often share some impromptu performances on my loop machine, and my rendition of Pachelbel Canon was the piece I played during the bride’s last day of High School Orchestra. Musical tastes and favorite songs rounded out the requests for the wedding day, listed below:

                                (Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne)                             m. 15-16
       Family, Wedding Party, Groom Processional: Time in a Bottle by Jim Croce  m. 25-28
Bridal Processional: Canon by Johann Pachelbel                      m. 50-56
Recessional: How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You) by James Taylor   m. 73-76
First Dance: Joy Of My Life by Chris Stapleton                        m. 81-88
                         (Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne)            m. 95-96 / m. 103-104

I created a loop inspired by dancing and Pachelbel Canon. Melodic and harmonic material were orchestrated and inverted. The chord progression (minus the bass line) was also reversed in the bridge to continue the dancing theme. In addition, I placed little musical “Easter Eggs” in the cello part that outline the day, bookended by the Crazy Train riff (see measure numbers above). I hope you enjoy the piece composed for an audience of two, but available to all.


If you are interested in FREE sheet music for First Dance, just comment on the video, contact me (leviscottolson@gmail.com) or visit
www.leviscottolson.weebly.com/first-dance.html

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