Description:
Playing one wrong note can ruin the performance of a piece, right? Well, composer Thomas Duffy actually wants the performers to make mistakes in this clever composition! The precise imprecision comes to life as students are asked to intentionally play wrong notes in various parts of the march. After performing this work, you and your students will never look at “perfection” the same way again! (Includes score, parts and CD-ROM.)

Thomas Duffy (Composer)
 

Description:
Playing one wrong note can ruin the performance of a piece, right? Well, composer Thomas Duffy actually wants the performers to make mistakes in this clever composition! The precise imprecision comes to life as students are asked to intentionally play wrong notes in various parts of the march. After performing this work, you and your students will never look at “perfection” the same way again! (Includes CD-ROM only.)

Thomas Duffy (Composer)
 

Tania León (Composer)
 

Description:
American Composer's Forum – BandQuest Series – Grade 3

Here is the first published work for young band from award-winning composer Michael Daugherty! Describing a stretch of Interstate 75 that crosses through Florida's Everglades National Park, Alligator Alley celebrates this noble beast that has remained largely unchanged from prehistoric times. The first theme (“Alligator's Theme”) features the woodwinds (predominantly bassoons) while the second theme (“Hunter's Theme”) is performed by the brass. Program notes and staging suggestions are included in this marvelously descriptive work. (4:30)

Michael Daugherty (Composer)
 

Judith Zaimont (Composer)
 

Description:
“Grandmother Song” is an introduction to the Mohican tradition of “sung syllables,” or what Native Americans call “vocables.” Combining them with traditional wood flute songs, composer Brent Michael Davids offers a fresh look at the “sound” of Native American songs. Band instruments are performed less as musical instruments and more as talking sticks, singing reeds, rustling winds and shooting thunder. Through this beautiful ballad, students are given the materials to understand how Native Americans celebrate the world around them through the blending of words and song. (Includes score and parts.)

 

Description:
Grandmother Song is an introduction to the Mohican tradition of “sung syllables,” or what Native Americans call “vocables.” Combining them with traditional wood flute songs, composer Brent Michael Davids offers a fresh look at the “sound” of Native American songs. Band instruments are performed less as musical instruments and more as talking sticks, singing reeds, rustling winds and shooting thunder. Through this beautiful ballad, students are given the materials to understand how Native Americans celebrate the world around them through the blending of words and song. (Includes CD-ROM only.)

 

Description:
Libby Larsen's composition is a great way to engage students in the lives and histories of some of modern music's most influential contributors. From Sedalia, Missouri to Ghana and the Ivory Coast, Hambone combines three styles of music: hambone rhythms, cakewalk melodies and early rock-and-roll. Join in the fun with this rousing and rollicking piece! (Includes score, parts and CD-ROM.)

Libby Larsen (Composer)
 

Description:
Libby Larsen's composition is a great way to engage students in the lives and histories of some of modern music's most influential contributors. From Sedalia, Missouri to Ghana and the Ivory Coast, Hambone combines three styles of music: hambone rhythms, cakewalk melodies and early rock-and-roll. Join in the fun with this rousing and rollicking piece! (Includes CD-ROM only.)

Libby Larsen (Composer)
 

Description:
American Composer's Forum – BandQuest Series – Grade 3

Mosaic is an aural representation of the varied qualities each of us possess and contribute to the whole of our American society. As a kaleidoscope of various musical elements coming together, this work evokes a visual of mosaics – tiny tiles individually glued together to create a broader image. Composer Stephen Paulus integrates layers of sound with varying meters that feature every instrument in the band.

Stephen Paulus (Composer)
 

Description:
From the composer: “Nature's Way for intermediate level band was commissioned by BandQuest, a project initiated by the American Composers Forum. Their mission is for major composers of national reputation to write works of high quality that take into consideration the (still comparatively limited) levels of musical development--both technical and conceptual--typical of such ensembles. I eagerly accepted the commission and the challenges implied thereby--that is, to reign in my creative imagination to some extent and limit the technical/conceptual demands to a more moderate level than is to be found in my previous compositions for band. Nonetheless, since the process of rehearsing, studying and performing a work created specifically for the school student market is--and must be, in my view--primarily educational, it was very clear to me that my work would (and should) challenge the players at least to their top levels, and even a little beyond that. Thus Nature's Way in no way represents a compromise of my personal style, nor my long held concepts of form, continuity, texture, and instrumentation. I have known for a long time that young, inquisitive minds are eager to learn from new experiences, from previously never encountered challenges, that is to say, to be pushed--gently--to rise above their present levels of achievement. That's what education is all about.”

Gunther Schuller (Composer)
 

Description:
A contemporary adaptation of the traditional African American spiritual “Wade in the Water.”

Adolphus Hailstork (Composer)
 

Description:
Gregorian chant is one of the earliest forms of notated music, using free flowing rhythms and simple melody. In Old Churches, composer Michael Colgrass uses these elements to create an aura of voices echoing in the monastery. Using easy graphic notation, students have a fun and creative way to explore sound production along with the compositional process. (Includes score and parts.) (5:20)

CD-ROM Now Available!

Designed to enhance the musical experience, the CD-ROM for Michael Colgrass' Old Churches includes video clips of the St. John's Abbey monks singing, photos of various sacred spaces such as Ayer's Rock in Australia, as well as a history of standard Western notation. In addition, this CD-ROM enables students to explore graphic notation and composition with built-in notation software Finale Notepad®. Guaranteed to engage your students and provide added insight into this unique work.

04002010/$14.99 (CD-ROM)

04002702/$60.00 (Band set with CD-ROM)

Michael Colgrass (Composer)
 

Description:
Gregorian chant is one of the earliest forms of notated music, using free flowing rhythms and simple melody. In Old Churches, composer Michael Colgrass uses these elements to create an aura of voices echoing in the monastery. Using easy graphic notation, students have a fun and creative way to explore sound production along with the compositional process. This package includes the band parts and a CD-ROM.

 

Description:
Gregorian chant is one of the earliest forms of notated music, using free flowing rhythms and simple melody. In Old Churches, composer Michael Colgrass uses these elements to create an aura of voices echoing in the monastery. Using easy graphic notation, students have a fun and creative way to explore sound production along with the compositional process. (Includes CD-ROM only.)

 

Description:
American Composer's Forum – BandQuest Series – Grade 3

Rhythm 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 around us. 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 in unique compositional and rhythmic patterns, this work invites students to explore multiple ways of organizing sounds and making music.

Jennifer Higdon (Composer)
 

Description:
Ridgeview Centrum is a fanfare written in composer Alvin Singleton's style of subtle spontaneity, which is experienced through a fusion of classical and folk music elements. In the historic tradition of fanfares, this work was written by Singleton in honor of the students and band teacher he worked with during his BandQuest residency at Ridgeview Middle School in Atlanta, Georgia. (Includes score and parts.)

Alvin Singleton (Composer)
 

Description:
Smash the Windows is a vigorous piece full of energy and motion. The work is based on a traditional Irish jig with the same name. Robert Xavier Rodríguez calls the piece a “toccata moto perpetuo,” the music gradually builds from its quiet beginning to a brilliant flourish that, with sound effects, truly befits the title.

Robert Xavier Rodríguez (Composer)
 

Description:
The Chinese Lunar New Year is a celebration of renewal and reconciliation. It is also a holiday steeped in ancient melodies and traditions. Composer Chen Yi's piece captures the spirit of this month-long event and brings Chinese culture and customs to the traditional band setting. (Includes score, parts and CD-ROM.)

Chen Yi (Composer)
 

Description:
The Chinese Lunar New Year is a celebration of renewal and reconciliation. It is also a holiday steeped in ancient melodies and traditions. Composer Chen Yi's piece captures the spirit of this month-long event and brings Chinese culture and customs to the traditional band setting. (Includes CD-ROM only.)

Chen Yi (Composer)