Composer: Alan Silvestri
Arranged: Adrian Horn
Duration: 3'15
Level: Advanced Intermediate
Alan Silvestri’s Portals is one of the most memorable and emotionally charged pieces from Avengers: Endgame (2019), the epic conclusion to Marvel’s Infinity Saga. The music accompanies a pivotal scene in which heroes from across the Marvel universe reappear to join the final battle. Beginning with a quiet, suspenseful atmosphere, the piece gradually builds to a triumphant orchestral climax, with soaring brass and strings capturing the moment’s scale, hope, and unity.
In concert, Portals stands out for its dramatic pacing and cinematic power. Silvestri distils years of storytelling into a sweeping musical statement that reflects themes of sacrifice, resilience, and solidarity. It has quickly become a fan favourite and a striking addition to the modern film music repertoire, offering a stirring experience both on screen and in the concert hall.
This orchestral arrangement sticks closely to the original version with a few alterations and additions in orchestration and arrangement to suit the playing ability of Chetham's Philharmonic Orchestra (Chetham's School of Music).
It features a more standard orchestral line up - without the additional Hollywood style brass forces that appear in the original - alongside extra parts for Alto sax, Tenor sax, Baritone sax and Harp.
The woodwind play a larger part in this version to add more colour and cover some of the original choral part that appear in the original.
Optional simplified rhythms are in Ossia staves for the Violins, Violas and Flutes, to get make the difficult triplet semiquaver rhythms easier.
Timpani has been reduced to be able to be played by just one player on just three timpani.
The ending has been altered so that if finishes on a shock chord instead of the original's long held, dying away chord