This is My Home - Concert Band

The Odyssee tells the story of Odysseus the undaunted hero. In times long ago the blind poet Homer wrote this famous epic. The 'Odyssey' follows the 'Iliad' the story of the bloody war between the Greek and the Trojans. This battle endsafter ten years thanks to the Odysseys famous trick. the Trojan Horse. The Odyssey is not a war epic but a story about perseverance loyalty adventure and the survival instinct of its ingenious hero. In The Odyssey Homer describes howOdysseus the king of Ithaca had to endure another ten years of affliction after the ten years of war in Troy before he could finally return to his home land. During those years his wife Penelope had to try and keep her many admirers away.These men not only wanted het hand but also the kingship. To prove her husbands worth she played a trick: 'As soon as I have finished weaving this shroud for my father-in-law Laertes I will choose one of you to become my husband' she promisedthem. But during the night she secretly loosened what she had woven during the day prolonging the time until Odysseus would finally return. After twenty long years when he finally stood at the door she wondered: Is this really my husband? Ishe an imposter? Cunningly she asked him to move the bed because only she and her husband know that the bed was immovable and was build around an old three trunk! Odysseus was deeply moved: this really was his wife his Penelope! Nearly threethousands years later the loyalty and strength of this character and all the dangerous adventures that Odysseus survived thanks to courage and intelligence still moves us today. Odyssee by Jan Bosveld is not just an adventure story butrather a characteristic piece in which memories of Homers story can be heard. The composition opens with a firm stirring theme describing our hero Odysseus in detail: This man is not to be taken lightly. The further development of thisshort introduction completes this character sketch: trustworthy perseverant and a genius. After that we can picture Odysseus on the lonely beach of Ogygia. Do the trumpets depict his memories of the war of Troy? Does he think of his wife as werecognise the weaving loom of Penelope in the murmuring eighth? In the solemn plaintive part that follows we can imagine Penelope feeling lonely sitting in the womens room with her servants.One of the girls plays the harp but that does notclear the sombre atmosphere. Then we can imagine seeing the sorceress Circe who changed Odysseus men into swine. After she gives a simple magic sign something follows that reminds us of the sound of pigs grunting. Then the Odysseus theme resounds:the hero comes to savi his comrades. Assisted by Hermes he forces Circe to lift the spell. The piece ends the same way as it began with an animated theme: Odysseus is still the same undefeated and not to be taken lighty!

'Letter from Home was commissioned as a patriotic work in 1944 by Paul Whiteman and his Radio Hall of Fame Orchestra. Composed toward the end of the Second World War this music suggests the emotions of a soldier reading a letter from home. The music has been described as Copland's 'most sentimental' and reflects his own homesickness while visiting Mexico. This sensitive transcription by Brian Belski has produced another wonderful wind band setting from America's most iconic composer.” - Craig Kirchoff (Windependence Series Editor)Instrumentation: flute I flute II oboe clarinet I in Bb clarinet II in Bb clarinet III in Bb bass clarinet in Bb bassoon soprano saxophone in Bb alto saxophone in Eb tenor saxophone in Bb baritone saxophone in Eb trumpet in Bb I trumpet in Bb II trumpet in B

In Letter from Home Philip Sparke portrays the many feelings and emotions that a letter from home can evoke. This intimate work opens with a gentle woodwind melody which gradually becomes more confused as new emotions are introduced. Finally resignation sets in but a sense of peace and balance is restored with the final chorale. In this emotional work Philip Sparke truly captures the highs and lows of being away from home.

Letter from Sado is an exciting new piece for young band based on a Japanese haiku of the same name. Sado refers to Sado Island in Japan in which various artists religious and military leaders were sent in exile many years ago. The island has historically had a strong community of taiko drummers and as such the piece incorporates optional homemade taiko drums. Blackshaw writes: To capture the idea of interpretation and the concept of reading between the lines the students are invited to become decision makers about particular sections in the music. For example the opening and closing sections of the piece use the same material which is a selection of repeated melodic figures.The students themselves decide how to play these figures as individuals in small teams and then as a whole band. Their decisions include ideas regarding tempo (how fast?) dynamics (how loud?) and articulation (smooth short or hard?). To inspire them we use the haiku poem; i.e. the opening section invites the students to play the material as if it were a 'stormy wild sea' and the closing section invites the students to play the same melodic figures but this time draw their inspiration from 'Heaven's River ' or as we know it the Milky Way. In-between there is an elaborate heavily textured section that becomes increasingly powerful. The music doesn't rest harmonically until the whole band plays in unison. These multiple layers of sound represent the many thoughts and ideas that would have surrounded those individuals sent to Sado Island in exile the final unison is representative of their own breakthrough experience sending them on a pathway to inner peace and acceptance. Embrace your players' creativity offer them your trust and see how far Letter from Sado can take your band!

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 inspiring work for choir and band is an ideal patriotic feature for school church or community performances. Available: SATB SAB 2-Part ShowTrax Cassette and Concert Band (Gr. 3).

Recorded by American Idol winner Phillip Phillips this dynamic hit song was featured during the 2012 Olympics as NBC's theme for women's gymnastics.

BandQuest Series Grade 4-The Odyssey was written by Homer about 2700 years ago and tells of the adventures of the Greek hero Odysseus during his harrowing return trip home after fighting the Trojan Wars. This work is suggestive of his dramaticencounter with the sirens famous for luring sailors to their death with their beguiling wind-like song. In this descriptive piece you can hear the wind-song becoming evermore insistent the rocking of the ship Odysseus' screams and finally the sirens plunging to their death as they fail in their attempt to lure Odysseus.

Par ZIEGELBACK ANDREAS. Bleak Forest is a piece for smaller concert bands and offers the musicians above all space to improve their sound and their effect playing. The technical requirements are therefore deliberately kept low. With this piece, the composer won the VLAMO International Composition Contest 2022. Thematically, the work is influenced by the composer's childhood memories. In his hometown there was a dark and mysterious forest, that seemed to the children in the small village to be magical. Without a reasonable explanation, every trip into the woods was exciting and somewhat terrifying. There were tales of dangerous animals, which can be heard at the beginning of the piece, as well as magical beasts. The magic of the forest is depicted musically from bar 70 in the andante section. The snapping of the fingers represents single raindrops. From bar 99 onwards, we hear the trek home, with the occasional moments of trepidation as the children spook each other with their fanciful tales. In the end, though, we arrive safely at home because after all, magical beasts only exist in fairy tales… don’t they? Andreas Ziegelbäck studied music education at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, and history at the Paris Lodron Universität, Salzburg. In addition to his studies, he trained in ensemble conducting for wind orchestra with conductor and composer Thomas Doss. It was Doss who sparked Ziegelbäck’s interest in composing. In 2021, Andreas Ziegelbäck completed his composition studies with Johannes Maria Staud. In 2020, he took part in a brass band composition masterclass in Bern with Oliver Waespi, followed by a premiere by the Swiss Army Brass Band. / Date parution : 2023-10-31/ Répertoire / Concert Band / Harmonie

Blues to the MAX! With lots of drive and down home blues harmonies KENNESAW MOUNTAIN BLUES will latch on to your audience for keeps.Very accessible to Grade 2 1/2 bands this is one of the most enjoyable pieces you’ll find for any level of ability. If you have a kickin’ drumset player so much the better. Every section has gratifying parts to play and the easy mixed-meter section sounds so natural but will keep ‘em all thinking.The concert band doesn’t often get the chance to play in styles like this which is a shame because it’s so much fun. How about letting your band try a style that’s about as far from John Phillip Sousa as you can get! Get down with some Blues! KENNESAW MOUNTAIN BLUES is a winner!

Voyage au Centre de la Terre-This composition was based on the world-famous novel by the French author Jules Verne. This novel describes the attempt to reach the centre of the earth. The descent of the crater of the volcano called Snaeffels situated in Iceland marks thebeginning of this voyage to the sublunary world. The German geologist professor Lidenbrock is accompanied on this trip by his nephew Axel and an Icelandic guide named Hans. The last mentioned will be helpful in many occasions. Dark colors & mist The composer tried in this single work to give a musical expression to various significant moments from this novel. In the introduction he sketches an image of the dismal ambience on the island by using dark colors. Risingfragments of mist reveal the flanks of the monumental mountain Scataris. The composer tries to catch this image in a majestic and broad chorale. Away from Iceland Subsequently the ostinato rhythmicity and virtuosity representthe hectic descent of the crater of the volcano. The party descends ever more and more and travels south away from Iceland. On the way they see all kinds of rock formations fossils and minerals. At a depth of thirty hours walking distance atabout 150 kilometers below the surface they reach a sub terrestrial sea which is called the Lidenbrock sea. Genuine eruption of sounds Strange electric manifestations and unpredictable weather conditions accompany thissingular phenomenon. An orchestral tutti-episode expresses this impression musically. On a make-shift raft the party continues its voyage heading to the south coast of this huge sea. Once ashore an enormous rock obstructs the passage. The blowingup of this obstacle unleashes a genuine eruption of sounds in the orchestration. Spat out by the volcano But the explosion has an unforeseen side effect. The sea - travelers and raft included - is sucked upwards into a dark hole.Again our heroes are accompanied on their involuntary voyage while left to fend for themselves by an ever increasing ostinato rhythmicity. Before an irruption can destroy the raft the threesome manages to escape and climb up through acave towards the daylight. They seem to be spat out by the Stromboli volcano on the island of Sicily far from home. The composition ends with triumphant sounds that represent the scientific triumph of these adventurers.

Flamenco for Band-Flamenco is a style of music usually played on the guitar to accompany dancing and singing that has its home in Andalusia in southern Spain. It has its roots in the years of Moorish rule of the region (711-1492) although the modern flamenco style dates only from the 18th century. La Caracola (which is the Spanish name for the triton sea shell) is an annual festival of flamenco that takes place around the region’s capital Seville annually in May. This piece does not contain any traditional flamenco melodies but does capture wonderfully the colour passion and energy of this seductive music in a ‘must-have’ work for Beginner Bands.

In Greek mythology Boreas is the God of the North Wind. When thinking of the north wind we particularly think of the bleak wind coming from the freezing cold north but in Homers' work we see a more varied picture. As shown in the following two stories Boreas often does play the role of a storm wind that blows forth heavy dark clouds while whipping up the dark waves of the tempestuous sea to mountainous heights. When the stake of the fallen Patroclos refuses to burn Achilles begs for some wind. When Iris the swift messenger of the Gods asks the winds for assistance they raise themselves up with tremendous roaring and rush to Troy. Upon theirarrival they blow the divine fire of Patroclos' stake far up into the sky. When Troy was destroyed the Greeks returned home. After many wanderings Odysseus however ends up with the beautiful nymph Calypso who keeps him as a prisoner. As ordered by Zeus Calypso frees him and sends him off on a handmade wooden raft. At sea Odysseus is threatened by the aggressive sea god Poseidon who stirs up the winds and thrashes the waves with his trident. The goddess Athena stems the violence of all the winds except for the north wind and thus it is Boreas who sends Odysseus to the land of the hospitable Phaiakes. Jan Bosveld composed Boreas for OLTO a music association in Loenen The Netherlands for which he had served as conductor for many years. Turbulent movement in both tempo and dynamics characterize this composition. The result is a whirling piece that races by in a positive manner. Boreas is in de Griekse mythologie de god van de noordenwind. Bij noordenwind denken wij vooral aan de gure wind uit het ijskoude noorden bij Homerus echter zien we een meer gevariëerd beeld. Natuurlijk speelt Boreas zoals uit de twee onderstaande verhalen blijkt meestal de rol van de stormwind die de zware zwarte wolken voor zich uit blaast en de donkere golven van de onstuimige zee torenhoog opzwiept.

from Home Alone 2: Lost in New York-From the movie Home Alone 2: Lost in New York this beautifully distinctive melody by John Williams offers a wonderful holiday option for your winter concert. Very nicely scored for young players.