CONCERT BAND : GRADES 1-3
Although I have two graduate degrees in composition, most of my music for band is tonally oriented. I studied band composition for three years with Charles Carter, and while my voice and style are my own, my writing
in the easier grade levels still reflects his influence. My more difficult contemporary style pieces
(see Concert Band Grade 4-5) are more inspired by various tonally oriented
20th century classical composers, most notably Vincent Persichetti.
Each composition and attangement on this page has a link to a video on YouTube where you
can follow the score while a recording plays and the pages turn automatically.
A LITTLE THEME AND VARIATIONS
Grade: 1+
Duration: 2:10
Price: $40.00
Publisher: Dacker Music
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A Little Theme and Variations introduces young bands to the classic theme and variations form, and demonstrates how a very banal little binary tune--loosely based on a theme by Mozart--can be completely transformed using the variation technique.
The composition is also designed to provide an opportunity to learn and/or practice several common articulations.
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GRADE 2
MODAL MENAGERIE
Grade: 2
Duration: 4:00
Price: $55.00
Publisher: FJH Music
Most middle school band students probably have never heard of the ancient ecclesiastical modes, and this piece provides an opportunity to introduce the main four modes in a fun and entertaining way.
Here is how the publisher’s promo describes it: "This suite includes four short movements, each musically depicting an animal whose name alliterates with the mode being utilized. Extremely accessible and very imaginative, this suite is an excellent teaching tool with a great deal of musical possibilities."
The individual movements, with their locations on the audio track, are listed below.
1. Lydian Lions 0:00
2. Phrygian Pheasants 1:08
3. Dorian Donkeys 2:02
4. Mixolydian Monkeys 3:07
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Recording by The Washington Winds, Edward Petersen, Conductor
FANTASY ON A HEBREW CHANT
Grade: 2+
Duration: 3:00
Price: $45.00
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Publisher: Dacker Music
This piece is based on the Yigdal, an ancient Jewish chant which is the basis for the modern hymn-tune Leoni. The composition is in the form of 3 settings of the tune that flow together almost imperceptibly. The first and third settings feature the theme woven into various contrapuntal textures, while the second employs a type of cantus firmus technique, where the primary melody is played in double note values in the lower instruments below woodwind figuration derived from the secondary part of the tune.
In addition to working with contrapuntal lines and octave-tuning practice, Fantasy on a Hebrew Chant also provides opportunities for teaching the three types of minor scales, exploring how elements of all three are used in the same musical composition.
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MINI SUITE
Grade: 2+
Duration: 3:20
Price: $45.00
Publisher: Dacker Music
Originally written in 1970 for the junior band at my first teaching job, then brought out and revised for publication in 2018, Mini Suite is so-named because of the extreme shortness of each of its five contrasting mini-movements, none of which lasts over 50 seconds. But in anticipating the transition from grade 2 to grade 3 band music with expanded ranges and brief excursions into unfamiliar tonal territory, it provides a fun challenge for grade 2 bands that will soon be ready to move on to the next level.
The individual mini-movements, with their locations on the audio track, are listed below.
1. Prelude 0:00
2. Chorale 0:28
3. Fanfare 1:19
4. Nocturne 1:45
5. Romp 2:42
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A LITTLE PRELUDE AND FUGUE
Grade: 2+
Duration: 3:30
Price: $60.00
Publisher: Grand Mesa Music
"Outstanding work which hearkens back to a form which saw its zenith in the Baroque period. The prelude is a straightforward A-B-A form contrasting a bright ‘A’ section in F major with a D minor ‘B’ section which is thematically related to the fugue subject. The F minor fugue itself is an authentic fugue which young musicians find fun to play." (publisher’s promo)
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Read more about A Little Prelude and Fugue
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Recording by The University of Northern Colorado Symphonic Band, Richard Mayne, Conductor
INCANTATION AND FUGUE
Grade: 2+
Duration: 3:20
Price: $45.00
Publisher: Dacker Music
The first section, which provides a rare opportunity for grade 2 bands to explore the use of mild dissonance in a piece at their level, begins mysteriously and gradually builds to a big climax. The second section is a very active fugue in the key of C minor, fairly strict in its form and contrapuntal working out of the thematic material, while giving all the players plenty to keep them busy and interested.
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Read more about Incantation and Fugue
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MINIMALIST SKETCHES
Grade: 2+
Duration: 5:00
Price: $55.00
Publisher: Dacker Music
This newly revised composition is meant to introduce young band members--and perhaps their audiences as well--to a significant trend in late 20th century music. Significantly for students, minimalism forms a bridge of sorts between the techniques of classical and rock/video game music. While full-length compositions in this style may challenge young attention spans, the three movements in this piece are short enough to acquaint students with minimalism in a fun and entertaining way.
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The individual movements, with their locations on the audio track, are listed below.
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1. Conflict 0:00
2. Reflection 1:47
3. Resolution 3:46
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Read More about Minimalist Sketches
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GRADE 3
SEE, THE CONQUERING HERO COMES
Grade: 3
Duration: 3:00
Price: $45.00
Publisher: Dacker Music
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The well-known chorus "See, the Conquering Hero Comes" from George Frideric Handel's oratorio Judas Maccabeus has always been one of his most popular compositions. It was originally written in 1747 for his oratorio Joshua, but then reused for Judas Maccabeus in 1751, a practice that Handel--who was never above recycling a good tune--frequently engaged in with his operas and oratorios.
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This arrangement, for advanced middle school or young high school bands, is in the style of a slow processional march. Also available scored for brass choir under the hymn title Thine Be the Glory.
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A LITTLE CHINESE SUITE
Grade: 3
Duration: 6:00
Price: $75.00
Publisher: Grand Mesa Music
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"Three movement work that uses source material from various Chinese ethnic groups. Two fast, cheerful outer
movements bracket a darker, slow middle movement. Great change-of-pace programming!" (publisher’s promo)
Each movement, named for a legendary person the song is about, along with its location on the audio track,
is listed below.
1. Alamuhan 0:00
2. Gadamaylin 1:45
3. Mayeela 4:24
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Read more about A Little Chinese Suite
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Recording by The University of Northern Colorado Symphonic Band, Richard Mayne, Conductor
HARBOR RIDGE PANORAMA
Grade: 3
Duration: 3:15
Price: $45.00
Publisher: Dacker Music
Commissioned by Harbor Ridge Middle School in Gig Harbor, WA to celebrate the opening of a new addition to the school, which sits on a bluff high above the harbor. The title alludes to the view overlooking the busy harbor, with the blue waters of Puget Sound beyond, and Mount Rainier shining brilliant white in the distance. All the music for this composition is directly derived from the opening 11-note motif, which musically sets the words of the school motto, “a view so great you can see the future.”
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Read More about Harbor Ridge Panorama
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OAK MOUNTAIN MARCH
Grade: 3
Duration: 3:00
Price: $45.00
Publisher: Dacker Music
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This is a traditional march in the Sousa-Fillmore style. It is named after the ski mountain in my Adirondack home town, and was written for the local community band there, which is named “A Pretty Good Band.” After hearing them and deciding that they lived up to their name--and since some of my former classmates are members--I promised to write a march for them. It is, so far at least, my only march.
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Recording by The Albuquerque Concert Band, John Sanks, Conductor
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A YULETIDE RHAPSODY
Grade: 3
Duration: 3:45
Price: $50.00
Publisher: Dacker Music
A light holiday entertainment medley consisting of 4 Old English Christmas Carols: The Wassail Song,
Coventry Carol, Good King Wenceslas, and We Wish You a Merry Christmas.
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Read more about A Yuletide Rhapsody
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ADIRONDACK SKETCHES
Grade: 3
Duration: 8:00
Price: $50.00
Publisher: Dacker Music
Also written for "A Pretty Good Band," this is a suite of four short movements, descriptive of my memories of places and events in and around my home town in the Adirondacks. It was commissioned by the Town of Lake Pleasant, NY to celebrate its bicentennial observance in 2012.
The individual movements, with their locations on the audio track, are listed below.
1. Sunrise over Lake Pleasant 0:00
2. School Picnic at Moffit Beach 1:58
3. Canoeing on Kunjamuck Creek 3:59
4. Hiking up Hamilton Mountain 5:57
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Read more about Adirondack Sketches
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PONDEROSA
Grade: 3+
Duration: 6:20
Price: $75.00
Publisher: Grand Mesa Music
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"The title for this Western flavored overture comes from the ponderosa pine, a large conifer that is native to the mountains of the western United States. The music stirringly portrays the wild and rugged landscape that is home to these majestic trees. Loosely derived from the classic sonata-allegro form, Ponderosa utilizes a variety of moods and styles to create an engaging musical tableau." (publisher’s promo)
It also features an espressivo horn solo, which is played at the start of the middle section and reprised at the end, so if you have a horn player you want to show off, this is a good choice.
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Recording by The University of Northern Colorado Wind Ensemble, Kenneth Singleton, Conductor
CIMARRON
Grade: 3+
Duration: 6:45
Price: $75.00
Publisher: Grand Mesa Music
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“Cimarron is named for a town in Northeastern New Mexico, famous for its association with wild-west outlaws, some of whose ghosts are said to still inhabit the historic 140-year-old local hotel. The title refers to the western, open-spaces character of the music.” (from the preface to the score)
"Superbly crafted western overture." (publisher’s promo)
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Recording by The University of Northern Colorado Wind Ensemble, Kenneth Singleton, Conductor
FANFARE FOR A FALLEN SOLDIER
Grade: 3+
Duration: 4:00
Price: $55.00
Publisher: Dacker Music
Originally composed in 1968 to honor 2 classmates lost in Viet Nam, this piece has been revised and now is dedicated “to all who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country.” Besides its obvious use at Memorial Day and other patriotic events, this music is also appropriate for concert and contest.
With constantly shifting tonality and no key signature, three basic motives are developed within a short moderately slow fanfare format.
Royalties from the sale of this composition are donated to Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.
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Read More about Fanfare for a Fallen Soldier
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Recording by The Albuquerque Concert Band, John Sanks, Conductor
CHORALE AND DANCE
Grade: 3+
Duration: 3:45
Price: $55.00
Publisher: Dacker Music
A worthwhile challenge for grade 3 bands, this composition (like Fanfare for a Fallen Soldier, which was written only a year earlier and has some thematic kinship), features rapidly shifting tonality and no key signature. The opening chorale leads without pause into the fast dance section, which develops material from the chorale along with some new themes. In its present form, Chorale and Dance represents a major revision and retitling of a much earlier composition.
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Read More about Chorale and Dance
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KOREAN SUITE
Grade: 3+
Duration: 5:00
Price: $55.00
Publisher: Dacker Music
Since seemingly every piece of band music that is based on Korean source material ever written has used Arirang, it seems time to give some of the other--equally fine, but not as famous--Korean folk songs some exposure. So this three movement piece consists of settings of some lesser-known (at least to the outside world) Korean folk songs. Two dark, swirling 6/8 outer movements bracket a lyrical middle movement.
The individual movements, with their locations on the audio track, are listed below.
1. Sae Taryung (Bird Song) 0:00
2. Toraji Taryung (Bellflower Song) 1:34
3. Nil Li Ria (Witch Song) 3:25
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A RACHMANINOFF RHAPSODY
Grade: 3+
Duration: 5:20
Price: $55.00
Publisher: Dacker Music
Written in 2018 in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the death of Sergei Rachmaninoff, A Rachmaninoff Rhapsody presents some of the great Russian composer's best-loved music in a colorful new arrangement for concert band.
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Read More about A Rachmaninioff Rhapsody
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