Shades of Summer is a straightforward work which uses three main melodies that keep repeating. Each time these melodies appear the orchestration is richer giving the illusion of continued growth (like wheat growing in a field). The general impression throughout the work is one of space hopefully giving the image of soaring through a bright blue sky. However as with most summers and to give some dramatic tension to the work there are hints of storms (the opening), however these storms are forgotten in the coda as the opening statement heard on a solo horn is transformed from a stormy A minor to a radiant C major ending.