“Dance Variants” op. 146 was a commission to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the Honolulu Wind Symphony (Hawaii). James Barnes wrote a composition that combines an overall A-B-A structure in variation form. The work opens with a short fanfare before moving to the dance-like first theme of the work, the majority of which is in rather unusual 7/8. This first statement is then re-scored and developed in several variants before the music slows down to a calm, more romantic middle theme. The li...