Hebert Variations

Hebert Variations by Margaret Griebling-Haigh
For Piccolo and Piano

Hebert Variations for Piccolo and Piano was commissioned by sixteen notable flutists and piccolo players who were college students of William Hebert, in honor of his 80th birthday. The composer used the six letters in the name “Hebert,” and created a theme based on the musical notes that correspond to the English letters of the name. “H” = B, “E” = E, “B” = Bb, “E” = E, “R” = D, “T” = B. (Rules of German musical notation were used to convert the “H” and the “B,” and using Italian Solfeggio system, “R” becomes “re” which translates as D, and “T” becomes “ti” which translates as a B.) The variations are all based on these six notes. There are eight variations, each representing on decade from Mr. Hebert's life. Hebert's Variations was the required composition for the 2005 National Flute Association's Solo Piccolo Competition.