New Music for 2021-22
I hope the summer has been good to you, and you are approaching a sense of normalcy as your school year approaches. As you consider what your groups will study and perform this year, it is my pleasure to share several new works that may be of interest to you and your ensembles. There is a great deal of variety between their styles, and each piece offers an enjoyable musical challenge for your students.
I am delighted to have As Moonlight Falls in press with Wingert-Jones. It is intended for students entering their 3rd year of instrumental instruction, ideally a junior high or middle school band comprised of seventh and eighth grade students. This expressive lyric work includes several optional solos. The piece received a J.W. Pepper Editor’s Choice for 2021.
As many of my colleagues can attest, many debuts of new works did not happen in 2020 as planned. One such work is a piece I wrote for Michael Summers and the Liberty High School Band. The piece was a testament to the people living in Eastern Ohio, but little did we know as we discussed the work in the fall of 2019 that it could become a rallying moment for the many directors and students who persevered through an extraordinarily challenge year. Resilience is now available from Carl Fischer, and was a J.W. Pepper’s Editors Choice for 2021. Now on the precipice of a new beginning for many bands across the country, all of us in instrumental music education must summon resilience to ensure our groups recover, grow and flourish.
My thanks to Keiser-Southern Music (who bought Ludwig-Masters) as they now oversee A Winter Flourish for Wenceslas and Renaissance Round. Both pieces are now back in press, and digital downloads of both works are available at J.W. Pepper. Within A Winter Flourish for Wenceslas, the melody of “Good King Wenceslas” has been slightly altered, making use of syncopation, to provide a decidedly new twist on a familiar holiday tune. It is also intended for use by a Middle School or Junior High Band. For elementary bands, I would encourage directors to check Renaissance Round. It is a short lilting melody in 3/4 time evocative of that era in Music and Art. The three-part round provides great opportunities for every section of the band to perform the melody.
A couple of works lost in the chaos of the 2020-21 school year are Lonely Travelers and As Joy Ignites. I would encourage elementary band directors to consider Lonely Travelers, published by Carl Fischer. Although it is listed as Grade 2, the work is intended for students in their third semester of instrumental music and plays like a Grade 1. The work begins with a setting of the folk song 900 Miles. The programmatic qualities of the work are essentially tied to the main folk song – 900 Miles – and they evoke the idea of where the song found its origins. Both songs connect each of us to the sense of belonging and family that are the human experience and are natural parts of being in band.
Directors of junior high or middle school groups may also want to check out As Joy Ignites, published by Wingert-Jones. This fanfare work was a commission from the Albemarle County Band Directors Association for their 2019 Festival. In light of the last year and six months, I hope joy returns to our rehearsal spaces and performance areas soon and reignites society’s appreciation for the performing arts. It was also a J.W. Pepper Editor’s Choice in 2020.
I am looking forward to sharing a recording of one final project in the coming weeks, a commission for Steve Barton’s Wind Ensemble at the University of Richmond. While we are still waiting for a debut of the piece, I am deeply appreciative of Rob Traugh and the Pittsburgh Creator’s Project who included Canticles of Hyperion on one of their summer reading sessions. Rob is doing some great things to encourage the creation of new music and cultivate interest in the wind band medium.
If I can be of service to you and your students in the coming year, please contact me here or at Messiah University. As Director of Music Education at Messiah, my schedule affords me to make visits for clinics both in person and virtually. The sessions can cover rehearsal critiques, composition advice, leadership, or even discussing one of my pieces should you find one that fits your group’s needs. Please contact me at your convenience if you are interested in exploring a date for a visit. .
Finally, I just want to take a minute to tell all of you – directors, colleagues, and friends thank you for your continued support and encouragement. I am humbled by the fact many of you deem my music worthy to share with your students, and I hope through the process of studying and performing them it has made your band members stronger musicians and people. Best wishes for a fantastic school year and thanks again!
