New Music for 2022
I hope you have enjoyed a restful summer vacation. As we near August, I hope I might take a few minutes to share some works with you to consider for your ensembles to study and perform this year. 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 four new works available this year.
For Country and Courage is a new patriotic tribute to veterans everywhere. The piece is built around My Country ‘Tis of Thee with snippets from each of the armed services interspersed. It is an ideal work for a Junior High or Middle School Ensemble (grades 7 & 8) that can be incorporated into a Veteran’s Day performance, contest, or a spring concert near Memorial Day. The work is available from Wingert-Jones.
Link for For Country and Courage:
With renewed interest in the cosmos and space travel, Beyond the Nebula might be a compelling choice for you to share with your mid-level band. The programmatic work is an exciting and tension filled three-minute voyage across the stars. It is an ideal contest selection and has natural connections for cross-curricular discussions. The work is available from Wingert-Jones.
Link for Beyond the Nebula:
Promise on the Horizon is a new fanfare work in 6/8 time that is available from Carl Fischer. While the piece reinforces several basic 6/8 rhythmic patterns and encourages ensembles to play with a light and precise style, the work is about the opportunities that await us and how our powerful, positive choices play a role in that future.
Link for Promise on the Horizon:
If there ever was a folk song that I should set for band, then this next work is likely it. The Wellerman Come is a setting of the New Zealand Sea Shanty “Soon May the Wellerman Come”. There are several solo opportunities, singing and chants from the “crew”, and a rollicking experience for the entire ensemble. It is an ideal work for a change of pace or even a concert closer on a spring program. The work is listed at a Grade 3 from FJH Music.
Link for The Wellerman Come:
A number of directors have been contacting me regarding A Winter Flourish for Wenceslas and Renaissance Round. Both pieces are currently available through digital download 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.
Link for Winter Flourish for Wenceslas:
Link for Renaissance Round:
I would invite 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. 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. The second folk song in the work, Wayfarin’ Stranger, connects each of us to the sense of belonging and family that are the human experience and are natural parts of being in band.
Link for Lonely Travelers:
If you are a director who makes use of Smart Music, the following pieces that I composed are currently available: Dancing Under the Stars (Bandworks Publications), Festival and Ballade for Winds (Wingert-Jones), Eyes of the Dragon (FJH), Monsters of Myth (FJH), The Last Stagecoach Heist (FJH), Jubilant Flourishes (FJH), and Yankee Fanfare (Grand Mesa).
As you make plans for adjudication/contest/festival appearances with your ensembles in the spring, I would encourage you to check out the pieces below that appear on many state lists.
Tale of a Medieval Warrior (AL Band Class D, FBA Band Grade 2, WV Level 2)
Festival of Flight (LA Band Grade 2, MD Concert Band Grade 2, TX Band Grade 2-Complete)
Eyes of the Dragon (AL Band Class C, MD Concert Band Grade 2, NC Concert Band Grade 2)
A West Highland Fanfare (IN ISSMA JH/MS Band Group II)
The Last Stagecoach Heist (IN ISSMA JH/MS Band Group II, MD Concert Band Grade 2)
Peat Fire Flame (SC Band Grade 3)
Yankee Fanfare (FL Band Grade 2)
American Visions (GA Band Grade 5)
Dreamchaser (WV Grade Level 3)
Pirates! (TN Grade Level 3)
Siege of the Dark Castle (MD Concert Band Grade 1, OH OMEA JH Band C)
Moravian Dance (CA SCSBOA Concert Band Grade 4)
The Shady Grove (AL Band Class D)
A Scottish Sunrise (AL Band Class B)
Irish Jig For Young Feet (PA Band Grade 2)
A number of my works have been receiving repeat programming over the past 10 years. I am very appreciative from the support of directors and glad to hear the positive experiences enjoyed by the students. If you have not already checked out these works, please consider sharing them with your ensemble: Winds of Joy (Grade 1.5 – Elem/Young MS, Barnhouse), Siege of the Dark Castle (Grade 2 – JH/MS, Barnhouse), Sugar Plum Samba (Gr. 2.5 – JH/MS/Young HS, Wingert-Jones), The Shady Grove (Gr. 3 – HS, Wingert-Jones), Chasing Mercury (Gr. 3.5 – HS, Carl Fischer), Moravian Dance (Gr. 3.5 – HS, FJH), and Pirates! (Gr. 3.5 – HS, FJH). I always appreciate hearing if you are studying one of my pieces with your groups and would love to hear about their experience. If I can be of service to you and your students in the coming year, please contact me. 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. As always, if you wish to be removed from this mailing, please let me know.
To all band directors at all levels – I appreciate and applaud your continued diligence and dedication to instrumental education. Best wishes for a fantastic school year and thanks again!
