Jeff Girard and M-R Music present
The Wind Band Report
Issue 4 - Entertaining and Educational for Mid Level bands
Vol. 1, No. 4  October 2013

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Hello fellow band director, and  and welcome back to The Wind Band Report. As promised, this time I have some works of note for various mid-level bands. 
 
There's a lot of music available in the grade 2-4 level, and several hundred more titles are published each year. That's a lot for anybody to sort through. So I decided that if I'm going to talk about music in this range, I should  focus my research into one area at a time. Hopefully doing so will make the information more useful to you.
 
As educators, we want to present music of quality that will educate our students. At the same time we are also performers, and we have a duty to both our audience and our players to make them want to come back for more. A well crafted piece of band music, directed by a knowledgeable conductor, can be capable of doing both.
 
So here are a few works from grades 2 to 4 designed to bring a little extra fun to your players and audience, yet still maintain a good standard of musicality with educational opportunities. I've divided these works into their respective grade levels below. 

Click the images to listen to each selection.
Grade 4

Cakewalk
Hershey Kay / Robert Longfield

Hersey Kay is probably best known as an orchestrator for several Broadway shows, most notably with Leonard Bernstein's On the Town and Candide. In 1951 Kay arranged and orchestrated some of American composer Louis Morceau Gottschalk's melodies and piano music to create a ballet for the new York City Ballet called Cakewalk

 

Robert Longfield's transcription of the opening section of the Cakewalk ballet (the Grand Walkabout) is some delightful fun reminiscent of the turn of the century vaudeville style of music. It's a good opener, especially if you follow it up with the Overture to Candide, the Candide Suite, or some other Bernstein work.

 

Regardless, it will set your audience into good spirits for your subsequent pieces. I think students will also greatly enjoy playing this little slice of American musical history they've likely not been exposed to yet. For schools, this can also be a lesson in one of the historical precursors to jazz. If you'd like to hear the complete 25 minute original ballet, here's a link to the Boston Pops Orchestra's performance.

 

 #48022882
Set - $75
March from "Suite for Variety Orchestra No. 1"
Dmitri Shostakovich / James Curnow

There's no need to tell you about the historical teaching opportunities available to you when playing a Shostakoch piece. 
 
The precise history behind this piece can get a bit confusing at first, since for many years this "Suite for Variety Orchestra No. 1" was mis-identified as his "Suite for Variety Orchestra No. 2", also called "Suite for Jazz Orchestra No. 2". Regardless, many educators are familiar with Johan De Meij's adaptation of 6 of the 8 movements from the suite published by Amstel Music. Curnow's setting of the March is very similar, adapting the work for a modern wind band without taking away any important materials. 
 
This march shows a charming and fun side of Shostakovich that many people might not immediately associate with the oppressed composer. It's lively, but not too challenging a work for mid to upper level bands. It can fit in both collegiate and high school/honor band programs. Also, by being a domestic publication, it will be easier to obtain in the US than the De Meij edition can be at times.

#50498728
Set - $75

Grade 3

Erl-King
Franz Schubert / Larry Daehn

 

In 1782 Goethe wrote a poem called Der Erlk�nig (sometimes translated as "The Elf King"). In it he depicts the nighttime horseback ride of a man carrying his delirious son home while the Erlk�nig, who only the child can see, pursues and attempts to take the terrified boy. Franz Schubert set Goethe's text to music to create one of his most challenging Lieds for voice and piano. 

Larry Daehn has taken Schubert's dark and foreboding setting and transcribed most of its musical material for wind band. It's an intense ride, and your players will need to learn how to balance the relentless triplet accompaniment rhythm against the lyric melodic lines. A lot can be learned by examining the original material and seeing how Schubert crafted different "voices" for each of four characters in the poem. 

You can view the original text and its translation at Wikipedia. There are also a number of musical performances on Youtube of vocalists with both piano and orchestra accompaniments (most notably the one by Hector Berlioz) that you can listen to for examples of style. And once you learn the original material, take a listen to Heinrich Ernst's transcription for solo violin for fun.
#DP200408
Set - $76
Curtain Call
John Wasson

If contrast to the serious intensity of Erl-King, this piece is just some light hearted fun. Curtain Call was originally composed for the Dallas Brass as part of a collection of works entitled Brass Grooves. Though originally written for 5 brass players and percussionist, it works just as well if not better for a full band.
 
As you would expect from the title, this piece is a closer or encore number. It's conceived as a tribute to all the great finales, encores and reprises written for the stage over the years. It draws its inspiration from the many musical snippets and sounds of the classic vaudeville and variety show closing tunes and brings them all together. It's flashy, energetic, clever, and a lot of fun without tipping the scale into complete triteness. 
 
Every section of the band is featured along the way, and you and your students could even have some fun tracking down other examples of some of these musical references, like in the musical Chicago. If your program is a little hearvy overall, this can also make a good contrast to close it out on a catchy, upbeat note.
 


 #012-4196-00
Set - $76
*** Click on the images to hear recordings of each piece. ***

Grade 2

Blue Ridge Reel
Brian Balmages

 

Bluegrass music isn't usually associated with wind bands, but it is a legitimate style of American music that deserves recognition in music appreciation. Brian Balmages takes some of the stylistic elements of the Irish reel (a precursor to bluegrass), a New Orleans March, and traditional bluegrass music and incorporates them into this original work.

The percussionists have parts for spoons and washboard to help create an authentic sound, though they can be played on a cabasa and guiro if you don't have access to those "instruments". It's a very catchy and fun tune, with multiple teaching opportunities for rhythm, syncopation, and some historical musical styles.

#B1546
Set - $55
Thrills and Trills
Scott Watson

You may not think this is a grade 2 work when you first hear it, but it lays out well on the instruments so it sounds harder than it really is. It's a good way to teach some history about the style of the circus march tradition without playing grade 4 and 5 marches at breakneck speeds. 

Students will enjoy playing it, and will need to be alert while doing so to play the sudden changes and flashy effects along the way. As the title implies, you can teach the fundamental concept of the trill to most of the players, as well as the concept of maintaining a steady pulse through changing styles.You can introduce a little interesting history as well, so there are several teaching opportunities available to you. 
 #37792
Set - $48
Zooveneirs
Randall Standridge

 

This is a charming set of miniatures for everyone to enjoy. It's a suite of nine movements representing various encounters while visiting a zoo. The music is concise and evocative. Many of the movements are less than 45 seconds long, and the composer states that movements may be swapped about or eliminated to fit your band's needs.

Besides the fact that each movement is a small gem unto itself, the piece as a whole gives you an opportunity to engage your students into describing what pictures they envision when they hear each movement, and why they picture it. If you're feeling adventurous, challenge them to find how the music of each movement is derived from the main theme. Plus they can learn about proper concert etiquette when playing a suite. It's a bit of delightful fun that's open to several teaching possibilities. 
#GMM258
Set - $75
Zydyco Cajun Crawdad Dance
Roland Barrett

Sometimes it's easy to dismiss a piece of music because of it's title. Many times it's justified too (except for jazz band charts and fiddle tunes. Where do they get those names from?). This piece is worth looking at though, and the title isn't as far off as you might think.

Zydeco music is another American born musical style, originating in Southwest Louisiana and blending elements of Cajun music, French dance melodies, and rhythm and blues. It's a catchy tune for young bands that aren't quite up to tackling Balmage's Blue Ridge Reel yet (see above), and provides several teaching opportunities about our American musical heritage. Each section gets a chance to play the melody at some point, and the percussion have plenty of parts to keep themselves occupied.

#39519
Set - $60

I've started researching works in preparation for Midwest, so look for plenty of new works to be showcased here soon. However, even though we're not past Pumpkinween yet, it's nearing the time when directors start thinking about holiday concerts. So look for an issue of Ho-Ho-Holiday works next, and then it's on to the Midwest materials.

I'm still open to suggestions from you. Tell me about a topic you'd like me to research and present. Email me at [email protected] with your thoughts and I'll look for an opportunity to incorporate it into a Report issue.


Jeff Girard
Thank you for your support, and I look forward to 
helping you throughout the school year!

Jeff Girard
Instrumental Specialist
 
Instrumental Music (my direct line): 314/942-1522
 
General phone line: 314/291-4686    Fax: 314/621/4166
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