Making the Band

The Liberty Bell is undoubtedly one of the most recognizable and tuneful of all Sousa marches. Jay has skillfully retained the flavor of the original while making it accessible to younger players and bands with limited instrumentation.

Durkle Bandrydge is the name of the composers imaginary world but it could very well be anyones invisible dream world with a different name. In this very versatile suite by Bruce Fraser 8 characters are featured each with its ownpeculiarities making Durkle Bandrydge such a colourful place. Do these characters differ that much from us? That is for you to find out! In the last part all characters come together in a special way.Durkle Bandrydge exists at the end ofyour street. It is invisible to humans but Durkle Bandrygators can watch us with great interest. The music will introduce you to some of the characters who live in this unusual place. The parts: Somnanbulyss who is a giant trollguarding the entrance to Durkle Bandryde. At least he is supposed to but he tends to sleep most of the time. His music is therefore very slow moving and sleepy. Long Gwysteen is a tall mysterious and somehow sophisticated character who walls around with a shell on his back. His music glides along rather gracefully. Squelfitch is a rather unpleasant and smelly character who lives in a bog which is why his music sounds rather slimy and a bit like trying to walkthrough quicksand. Perfydlia is a meddling old woman who gossips about everybody and squeals with sudden delight at the small exciting bits of tittletattle about others in the village. In the music you can hear her sudden little squealsof delight. Maryann Lovely is a beautiful young lady graceful gorgeous absolutely devine and her music is obviously just the same. Thistledoo Nicely is a lively character who spends and spends and spends with her credit card buying the latest fashion and never worries about having to pay the bills. Her music reflects her excitement when shopping and het ‘happy go lucky’ approach to life. Marsyn Edginton is the Lord of the manor the richest man in town the‘big cheese’ the man with all the power and of course the biggest house. He is very grand and his music like he could be a king. Jimmy McScotsmyn is a red haired scotsman wearing tartan cap. He misses his home country terribly and eatslots of shortbread oatcakes scotch eggs porridge and drinks an enormous amount of Scotch Wisky which helps him to have fond memories of the kind of music he would like to dance to when he was a younger man. His favourite dance is a Jig andthis is the music he remembers. Grand March of the Durkle Bandrydgators. We hope that you have enjoyed meeting these characters from Drukle Bandrydge and would invite you to listen to all the villagers now march along in a grand parade -it is a pity that you can not see them what is a wonderful sight. If you listen carefully you will hear the melodies which belong to the characters as they march past. Oh what a grand spectacle!

This gem from 1985 has steadily become one of the classic repertoire pieces for young bands. Even though it is heavily cross-cued making it suitable for smaller bands this beautiful work is rich in melodic content variedscoring and marvelous counterlines and harmonies. An effective performance vehicle that also teaches legato style and musical sensitivity. Dur: 4:00 (Grade 2.5)

Vulcan for Concert Band is Grammy award winning composer Michael Daughertys first work for the high school and intermediate level college band. The work is a colorful homage to Gene Roddenberrys interstellar universe as depicted in theclassic American television series Star Trek (1966-69). The title refers to the fiery planet Vulcan home world of half-human half-Vulcan Mr. Spock. As the rational-minded science officer aboard the starship Enterprise (commanded by thehot-blooded Captain James T. Kirk) Mr. Spock grapples with the ?fascinating? predicament of making decisions predicated on human emotion versus Vulcan logic. Daugherty has composed stirring yet highly structured music that alludes to the Vulcan?Pon Farr? ritual Vulcan telepathic mind-melds and the volcanic planet itself. At the the Ann Arbor Michigan world premiere (utilizing the combined forces of the Pioneer Huron and Skyline High School bands) Vulcan was an immediate hit andwill surely become one of Daughertys most performed works.

Glistening chords soaring melodies broad fanfares and gorgeous chorales will fill your concert hall with this evocative work. Best of all From Gold sounds much harder than it actually is. Mr. Hazos background as a music educator is evidentin how quickly directors and students will get to the music making. Written entirely in B-flat with few accidentals the runs are split between instruments for playability and parts are doubled/cued to build confidence. Young bands will soundmature and mature bands will be breathtaking. Dur: 4:35

BandQuest Series Grade 3-American Composer's Forum – BandQuest Series – Grade 3Rhythm Stand pays tribute to the constant presence of rhythm in our lives: from the pulse of a heartbeat to the rhythmic sounds of the world aroundus. Celebrating the regular order in our lives composer Jennifer Higdon incorporates traditional and non-traditional sounds within a 4/4 swing style setting to heighten student awareness and enhance their creativity. Organized inunique compositional and rhythmic patterns this work invites students to explore multiple ways of organizing sounds and making music.

The Liberty Bell is undoubtedly one of the most recognizable and tuneful of all Sousa marches. Jay has skillfully retained the flavor of the original while making it accessible to younger players and bands with limited instrumentation.

American Composer's Forum – BandQuest Series – Grade 3Rhythm Stand pays tribute to the constant presence of rhythm in our lives: from the pulse of a heartbeat to the rhythmic sounds of the world aroundus. Celebrating the regular order in our lives composer Jennifer Higdon incorporates traditional and non-traditional sounds within a 4/4 swing style setting to heighten student awareness and enhance their creativity. Organized inunique compositional and rhythmic patterns this work invites students to explore multiple ways of organizing sounds and making music.

?He alone has the secret of making me smile and touching me to the bottom of my soul ? said Mozart about ?Papa? Haydn and his music. The ?Surprise? Symphony (No.94) incidentally written during the final year of Mozart?s short life has become one of Haydn?s most memorable works.Since this symphony was written during the zenith of the Classical period Timothy Johnson?s skillful arrangement gives you a perfect opportunity to teach your young band ?lightness? and control as essentials of Classical style playing. You can introduce the concept of making the staccato notes ?separated? instead of just ?short? in order to best approximate the sound of the times. It?s a naturalselection for your next festival or concert! Why not give your young band a chance to meet ?Papa? Haydn through this charming arrangement?

You'll appreciate the creative and sensitive compositional technique in James Curnow's engaging new work Genesis. The piece gives your grade 3 band the chance to shine in many ways as it progresses through many styles andmoods. Exciting and expressive moments for every section display the versatility of your band to excellent advantage. Masterful orchestration and several nice solo passages add to the depth and breadth of the music making thispossibly the nicest new work to be published this year. The more you study it the more you find to like.

Par TORSKANGERPOLL IDAR. This piece for beginning band was written as a commission for Norsk Noteservice to the “Music for Beginners” serie. The piece is a feelgood item with limited range for all instruments, suitable for young players. The rhythmic structure is repetitive and polyphony is often in the “call and response” form. Hence it is an easy piece to read and play. The refrain is rhythmically unison making it easy for all to play syncopated rhythms. / Date parution : 2023-07-31/ Répertoire / Concert Band/Harmonie

You'll appreciate the creative and sensitive compositional technique in James Curnow's engaging new work Genesis. The piece gives your grade 3 band the chance to shine in many ways as it progresses through many styles andmoods. Exciting and expressive moments for every section display the versatility of your band to excellent advantage. Masterful orchestration and several nice solo passages add to the depth and breadth of the music making thispossibly the nicest new work to be published this year. The more you study it the more you find to like.

The title just about says it all. This rah-rah piece for beginning band has very limited range and repetitive patterns making it very easy to play. An easy auxiliary percussion part adds to the rock flavor. Shoes or boots not required!