Goddess of Fire

Goddess of Fire was written by Steven Rieneke (see below) in 2006, in memory of Mildred Smith, beloved band booster and friend. It is dedicated to the students and parents of the Ben Davis High School Symphonic Band of Indianapolis, Indiana.

From the composer:

“Pele, the Goddess of Hawaii’s volcanoes, is the most respected and feared deity in Polynesia. She is both creator of the sacred land and destroyer when she devours the land with her flames. This programmatic work for symphonic band is an offering to Madame Pele. The program follows this sequence:

1. The work opens with primodial, mysterious sounds representing the foreboding volcanoes of Hawaii.

2. We are then introduced to Pele as a tall, beautiful young woman. This is one of the forms she can take and it represents her powers of creation and beauty.

3. This gives way to the active and destructive Pele, often taking the form of an old woman, bent with age.

4. The following lyrical section of the piece is the full statement of Pele’s theme of creation and beauty.

5. As this theme settles, we begin to hear the ground pop and crack, letting us know that new lava is beginning to bubble and flow.

6. Suddenly and violently, one of her volcanoes erupts, creating massive chaos and destruction.

7. After the eruption subsides, Pele’s them of creation and beauty returns again. This time, it is more of a prayer or offering, to the powerful Fire Goddess.

8. In the coda of the piece, we once again hear the sounds of bubbling lava, signifying that Pele’s work is never finished. The final measures of the piece represent the mythological idea that ‘Pele always gets the last word’.”

Composer Steven Reineke (b. 1970) was the Music Associate and Principal Arranger’ Composer of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra for 15 years and is one of America’s most dynamic emerging talents in the symphonic pops genre. Recognized as the sound of the Cincinnati Pops, Mr. Reineke’s 100-plus arrangements for that orchestra have been performed worldwide. In addition to his work for the Cincinnati Pops, Mr. Reineke has written and arranged for pops conductors Doc Severinson, Jack Everly and Michael Krajewski. Mr. Reineke’s arrangements can be heard on numerous Cincinnati Pops recordings on the Telarc label and have been broadcast nationally by PBS.

A protégé of the legendary pops conductor Erich Kunzel, Steven Reineke’s recent guest conducting appearances include the orchestras of Cincinnati, Toronto, Atlanta, Detroit, Indianapolis, Edmonton and Windsor. In 2007, Mr. Reineke made his conducting debut with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra with the multi-faceted entertainer Wayne Brady. In addition, Mr. Reineke arranged and orchestrated all of the music for Mr. Brady’s new orchestral show which debuted in October 2007. In 2006 Mr. Reineke collaborated with rock legend Peter Frampton as conductor, arranger and orchestrator for Mr. Frampton’s orchestral show.

Mr. Reineke is also an established symphonic composer. His works Celebration Fanfare, Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Casey at the Bat are performed frequently in the United States and Canada. In 2005 his Festival Te Deum and Swans Island Sojourn were performed by the Cincinnati Symphony and Cincinnati Pops, respectively. The Cincinnati Enquirer had this to say about Festival Te Deum: “Melodious and joyous, it had antiphonal brass in the balconies, organ, full orchestra and wonderful choral passages.” He has composed more than 20 works for concert band, including commissions from the Contra Costa (Calif.) Wind Symphony: Symphony No 1, "New Day Rising", in recognition of the centennial of San Francisco's 1906 earthquake, and Mt Diablo: A Symphonic Portrait for the CCWS's 20th anniversary.

Reineke now serves as the music director of the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, Principal Pops Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra for the Performing Arts, and Principal Pops Conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

A native of Ohio, Mr. Reineke is a graduate of Miami University of Ohio, receiving two Bachelor of Music degrees with honors in both trumpet performance and music composition. He resides in New York City.

The music for Goddess of Fire was purchased for The Gateway Concert Band by

Zoey Fjermedal.