Sérénade For String Orchestra E Major Op. 22

SKU: AP.49471S

ISBN 9781470650094. UPC: 038081570877. English.

The folk-like tune of Ruby Mountain Serenade may seem familiar but is in fact an original tune from composer John Atteberry. Beginning in D major, this graceful tone poems opens intimately, with optional soloists from each section. Following the introduction, all sections of the orchestra work to guide the music through statements of the primary and secondary themes, leading to a smooth modulation to F major and an emotional climax. A great opportunity for young musicians to explore programmatic music. (3:00).

SKU: AP.35981

UPC: 038081414904. English.

Here is the perfect concert or festival piece for the high school string orchestra that is almost--but not quite--ready for the Dvorák Serenade! With much of the composer's signature use of folk idioms and lyricism, this piece offers great teaching possibilities, including a slow middle section in E Major with a bass solo. The exuberant accelerando ending will put an exclamation point to this certain favorite with your students and audiences.

SKU: CF.SC88

ISBN 9781491158845. UPC: 680160917563.

William Grant Stillas catalog of works comprises over 200 pieces, including five symphonies, nine operas, four ballets and numerous works for chamber ensembles. He initially found employment as an oboist in pit orchestras in New York City, later as an arranger of popular music for various ensembles, including those by William C. Handy, James P. Johnson and Paul Whiteman. His career as a composer was launched with a performance in 1931 of his Symphony No. 1 aAfro-Americana by the Rochester Philharmonic, conducted by Howard Hanson, who would remain a life-long champion of Stillas orchestral works. By the 1950s the symphony had been performed in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and various European capitals. This notoriety earned Still a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1934, after which he moved to Los Angeles. He is credited as the first African-American to conduct a major orchestra (the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra), the first to have an opera performed by a major company (Troubled Island by the New York City Opera in 1949), and one of the first composers to write for radio, films and television. So numerous were his awards and accolades, including three Guggenheim Fellowships and a variety of honorary doctorates, that he was designated as the aDean of Afro-American Composers.a Still composed his Serenade for Orchestra in 1957 on a commission by the Great Falls High School in Great Falls, Montana. He later transcribed the work for a chamber ensemble of flute, clarinet, harp and strings. The piece reflects Stillas interest in American folk idioms, with conventional melodies and harmonies that nonetheless express a fresh and individual compositional voice.
William Grant Still's catalog of works comprises over 200 pieces, including five symphonies, nine operas, four ballets and numerous works for chamber ensembles. He initially found employment as an oboist in pit orchestras in New York City, later as an arranger of popular music for various ensembles, including those by William C. Handy, James P. Johnson and Paul Whiteman. His career as a composer was launched with a performance in 1931 of his Symphony No. 1 Afro-American by the Rochester Philharmonic, conducted by Howard Hanson, who would remain a life-long champion of Still's orchestral works. By the 1950s the symphony had been performed in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and various European capitals. This notoriety earned Still a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1934, after which he moved to Los Angeles. He is credited as the first African-American to conduct a major orchestra (the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra), the first to have an opera performed by a major company (Troubled Island by the New York City Opera in 1949), and one of the first composers to write for radio, films and television. So numerous were his awards and accolades, including three Guggenheim Fellowships and a variety of honorary doctorates, that he was designated as the Dean of Afro-American Composers. Still composed his Serenade for Orchestra in 1957 on a commission by the Great Falls High School in Great Falls, Montana. He later transcribed the work for a chamber ensemble of flute, clarinet, harp and strings. The piece reflects Still's interest in American folk idioms, with conventional melodies and harmonies that nonetheless express a fresh and individual compositional voice.
William Grant Still’s catalog of works comprises over 200 pieces, including five symphonies, nine operas, four ballets and numerous works for chamber ensembles. He initially found employment as an oboist in pit orchestras in New York City, later as an arranger of popular music for various ensembles, including those by William C. Handy, James P. Johnson and Paul Whiteman. His career as a composer was launched with a performance in 1931 of his Symphony No. 1 “Afro-American” by the Rochester Philharmonic, conducted by Howard Hanson, who would remain a life-long champion of Still’s orchestral works. By the 1950s the symphony had been performed in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and various European capitals.This notoriety earned Still a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1934, after which he moved to Los Angeles. He is credited as the first African-American to conduct a major orchestra (the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra), the first to have an opera performed by a major company (Troubled Island by the New York City Opera in 1949), and one of the first composers to write for radio, films and television. So numerous were his awards and accolades, including three Guggenheim Fellowships and a variety of honorary doctorates, that he was designated as the “Dean of Afro-American Composers.”Still composed his Serenade for Orchestra in 1957 on a commission by the Great Falls High School in Great Falls, Montana. He later transcribed the work for a chamber ensemble of flute, clarinet, harp and strings. The piece reflects Still’s interest in American folk idioms, with conventional melodies and harmonies that nonetheless express a fresh and individual compositional voice.