Beginning Band · Easy · Medium Easy · Medium · Medium Advanced · Advanced
This piece is written in a majestic style. It is designed to give the first
year students a strong sense of accomplishment with a minimal amount of rehearsal
time.
may be purchased at www.jpmmusic.com
Written as an overture, this piece is playable by most second year students.
Limited ranges, rhythms, and no key changes (concert Eb) allow much success
for the novice performers.
score and parts $50.00
This piece is built on the first six notes a beginning band student learns.
The piece allows each section of the band to play a featured part. While it
is rhythmically accessible for a first year student, the piece offers enough
challenges that more mature middle school students will also enjoy it. This
piece sounds much more difficult than it actually is.
may be purchased at www.jpmmusic.com
Warriors of the Doric Order is a fantasy piece based on an imaginary civilization
that lived approximately 300 B.C. They were a people who were considered conquerors
- barbaric in their ways. Call and response writing, creative percussion writing,
and use of the masculine dorian mode work together to create a sense of antiquity.
The primitive style is very appealing to young students.
score and parts $50.00
This is an exciting piece suitable for middle school and young high school
bands. It is an overture in ABA form. The A section is a driving theme based
on the mixolydian mode while the B section is lyrical and in 3/4.
may be purchased at www.jpmmusic.com
An Ozark Farewell is a set of variations based on an original hymn song. The
character should be reminiscent of the folk songs of the Appalachian and Ozark
Mountain regions. The opening statements of the piece suggest a sense of innocence
and simplicity. As the piece develops it grows to become a more sophisticated
piece producing a more noble character. This is an excellent piece for a strong
middle school band or high school band.
score and parts $60.00
Based the hymn commonly known as Prospect of unknown origin, this variation
explores many tone colors of the concert band using 3/4 meter and a folk-like
character reminiscent of an Appalachian melody.
score and parts $50.00
This is a fun piece in two parts as the name suggests. The first section is
slow and sustained featuring the clarinet section. The second section is energetic
and filled with many simple meter changes (no compound or complex meters).
may be purchased at www.jpmmusic.com
This is can be considered a “seven minute symphony” in three movements. The
first movement (Sun: Ruler of Day) is sonata form while the second (Moon: Ruler
of Night) uses a simple song form and the finale (Fire: Ruler of Darkness)
is a sonata-rondo. The first and third movements are very percussive while
the middle movement is more ethereal.
score and parts $75.00
An overture for band, this piece was written in 1984 for the town of Martin,
Tennessee, “One of the Nine Happiest Towns in America.” It is challenging with
its use of mixed meter and a delicate chorale section. It requires a good clarinet
section. This piece is currently still in manuscript form.
score and parts $60.00
Based on the hymn commonly known as Come Thou Fount by John Wyeth, Wyeth named
the hymn Nettleton after a well-respected clergyman. This variation explores
many tone colors of the concert band.
score and parts $60.00
Yellow, Blue, and Red are the descriptive titles of this composition in three
movements. Yellow is a bit “mechanical” and sophisticated in mood with hints
of minimalism. Blue is melancholy and concludes with a beautiful cascade (it
is not in blues style). Red expresses anger. Its opening section pays homage to Holst’s Mars.
score and parts $75.00
Based on the familiar American folk song, this setting written in 1984 was
created as a study in orchestration. The first section of the setting uses
the flexible orchestration of Grainger while the second half uses Wagner as
a model. To add another wrinkle to the mix, secundal and quartal harmonies
are prevalent. The piece is deceptively difficult. The final section is in
the key G flat major. The orchestration demands a strong horn section and a
lot of bottom voices.
score and parts $60.00
This piece still sounds as fresh today as it did when it was written in 1983.
Based on Stephen Foster’s Camp Town Races, this fantasy develops the familiar
theme by use of fragmenting the melody and exploration of nonfunctional parallel
harmonies.
score and parts $80.00
Operation Overlord was the name assigned by the military chiefs for what is
commonly known as D-Day - the Allies’ invasion of German occupied France on
the shores near Normandy in 1944. Overlord is dedicated to the memory of all
who took part in that historic operation that turned the tide of War II. Using
program writing and thematic transformation, the piece is very organic. It
grows from a sense of naïve innocence to a majestic conclusion.
score and parts $80.00
This three-movement symphony is based on the events that in 1989 that led
to an end to the cold war. The first movement, Solidarity for Poland is arch
form in design incorporating cold machinelike rhythms. Souls Still Walk the
Tiananmen Square uses voices and Chinese folk motives to create a contemplative
mood reflecting on the students’ failed attempt to realize freedom. The symphony
concludes with a raucous celebration entitled When the Wall Fell. Mixed meters
and bitonal sections attempt to capture the drunken revelry that took place
as the German people began to realize the Iron Curtain truly was falling and
Germany was about to be reunited.
score and parts $195.00