Jeff Girard and M-R Music present

The Wind Band Report

Spotlight: Studio Music Company

Vol. 3, No. 1 January 2015

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and welcome to the the second semester. I hope you all had a relaxing break, but that's over now for most of us. We've been plenty busy at the store as we take your second semester music calls and prepare for the FMEA conference in Tampa, followed by simultaneous MEA conferences in Missouri, Illinois, and Georgia. I'm certainly going to get plenty of exercise running around for a while.

However, I did want to keep up on the newsletters. This year I'm going to start focusing on particular composers and publishers you may not be well versed with. First up is Studio Music in England. Some of you college directors may be familiar with Studio music from performing Philip Spark's Dance Movements, Malcom Arnold's Padstow Lifeboat march, or Duthoit's Dam Busters march. Studio has been doing a good job of getting some quality English intermediate to upper level literature published and I wanted to share some of their recent better works with you. PLUS - I just discovered that Studio carries the entire Chappel Army Journal library, so all those old warhorses are now available to purchase again.

If your focus is younger bands, Studio publishes young band music as well, and there are some intermediate level works at the bottom of this page. Contact me for more information on what they have available. I have something in mind for a future issue to focus on young bands, so don't worry, I won't leave you out of the loop all year. :)

One more thing - I'll be at the FMEA convention from Jan 12-17, so email access may be sporadic. If you have a pressing order, you might be better off calling the store at 314-942-1522 and talking to my former Shattinger Music colleague, Jim Kerfoot. If we don't have something on hand, he'll have the publisher ship it directly to you, so we can still get things to you in a timely manner.

Click on any image to listen

Bells Across the Atlantic

Adam Gorb (Grade 4.5)

I have a bit of a personal connection with this piece for a couple reasons. Adam's dedication is simple and direct: "Bells Across the Atlantic was written as a tribute to Jim Cochran who, working for Shattinger Music in his side of the Atlantic, has done so much to promote Wind Ensemble music from the UK. I owe him a lot". Jim Cochran was my mentor at Shattinger Music for 16 years and was tireless in his promotion of quality wind music from all over the globe. In addition, Adam and Jim had me help to proofread the work and oversee the final typesetting, so I got to see this piece before it was even published.

The piece is both sprightly and full sounding at the same time, utilizing a variety of themes of different styles that come and go and intertwine expertly throughout, always recognizable, from the bell motif to the brisk upper wind melody to the longer toned chorale melody. The various themes are accessible enough to the ear for the audience to follow the interplay, and the piece has just enough of a distinctly English feel to set it apart from any other American work on a program.

It's a wonderful tribute to Jim, who I owe a lot too also.

Set - $195

Score - $40

Cane River Murals

Martin Ellerby (Grade 5)

This five movement work is based on the African House Murals by Clementine Hunter which are housed and preserved on the Melrose Plantation. The pieces are not representations of the murals, but rather the composer's reactions to them and reflections on their spirituality. Each movement is titled after the names of some of the mural's sections, which are all connected to each other by the Cane River.

Spring Planting (Spiritual) is a miniature overture, announcing the 'river' motif. Wash Day (Scherzo) depicts a good deal of activity and individual endeavor set in a swing tempo with improvised percussion patterns and a wash board to convey the mood.

Baptism, Wedding & Funeral (Triptych) is a three section movement which shares common motivic materials whilst the mood changes as the music progresses through the three scenes. Honky Tonk (Blues) develops a single bluesy melody from a small dance band introduction to a full blown wailing. Pecan Harvest (Celebration) closes with a bright and optimistic conclusion. There's a lot of styles packed into this one piece.

Set - $260

Score - $80

Storm Surge

Nigel Clarke (Grade 6)

Storm Surge is a muscal representation of the devastating North Sea storm surge of 1953 that left thousands dead in the Netherlands, Scotland and England. The surge was a result of a high spring tide and a massive storm over the North Sea.

In addition, the work includes a CD consisting of tracks of specially crafted sound designs that are to be played simultaneously with the work, with each track's entrance and cessation noted in the score. The work also opens with a narrator reading a specially commissioned poem.

It's a very technically challenging and demanding work, but also very powerful when it all comes together.

Set - $275

Score - $65

Runcorn Bridge

Gary Carpenter (Grade 5)

Runcorn Bridge is named after a prominent through-arch bridge in England that crosses the River Mersey and Manchester Ship Canal. While the composer states he did not create a specific programme for the piece, he was inspired by a variety of photographed and mental images of the famous picturesque bridge.

The piece opens with a quiet oboe solo, followed by a lively march and then a reflective interlude (bridge!) based upon part of the march tune, which leads to a lyrical nocturnal section. A scherzo section based on the opening oboe theme follows, then a return to the nocturnal melody and leading to a short, majestic coda referring back to the march in a gesture of symmetry.

Set - $220

Score - $60

The Snowman

Howard Blake / Philip Littlemore

(Grade 4.5)

The short animated film The Snowman, first screened on Britain's Channel 4 in 1982, was based on a picture book without words of the same title first published in 1978. Like the book, the film has no dialogue, only the musical soundtrack to accompany the story of a young boy who builds a snowman that comes to life at midnight and the adventures they have that night.

The film continues to be a staple in England and it and the music is well known in the US as well. Phillip Littlemore has arranged the entire 26 minute soundtrack for band. It can be performed as is, with an optional narrator part the describes the scenes of the film, or in combination with the video itself. It's a wonderful musical treat that has been long overdue in being transcribed for winds. The link in the picture above goes to a video of the original film.

Set - $260

Score - $75

Silent Movie Suite

Martin Ellerby (Grade 4)

Silent Movie Suite is a light-hearted, fun piece in parody style evoking the lost era of black and white films shown without dialogue and clothed with just a musical accompaniment. Each of the six individual movements has an appropriate subtitle indicative of a style of film scene common during that period.

Hollywood Fanfare - a brief flourish to set the mood; Follow that Cab! - A racy 'swing' idiom evoking a pursuit scene through the streets of 'Tinsel Town'; Gangster's Moll - A soliloquy for the lonely girlfriend waiting for her gangster boyfriend to return home; Bungling Burglars - the robbers break in, fumble around and get more and more animated in their search for the safe; Matin�e Idol -

'Valentino', the darling of them all, reflects on his rise to fame; and Slapstick! - the grand finale: Chaplin, Keaton, the fire brigade, the army a suitable smattering of pies in the face, and the whole ensemble vanishing into the end credits...

Set - $170

Score - $35


Songs of the Great War Rob Wiffin (Grade 3.5) A medley of popular English songs from 1914-1918, including It's a Long Way to Tipperary; Your King and Country Want You; Oh! It's a Lovely War; Take Me Back to Dear Old Blighty; If You Were the Only Girl in the World; Pack Up Your Troubles (In Your Old Kit Bag); Old Soldiers Never Die/Last Post, and others. Set: $125 Score: $30	Salute to George M. Cohan Ed Keeley (Grade 3.5) This medley presents four of the biggest Cohan hits: I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy; Mary's a Grand Old Name; Give My Regards to Broadway; and Over There. It's a very accessible work with a solid scoring that can be a great staple for any pops or patriotic based concert, particularly with community bands. Set: $120 Score: $25	Piping Hot Rob Wiffen (Grade 4) The first of a three movement dance suite by Rob Wiffen. It's a fun piece with a strong Scottish feel and a little tongue-in-cheek fun along the way. The other two movements are available separately, ask me for sound links if you like. Set: $100 Score: $25

Other recent Studio Music titles:

Royal Windsor Portraits Martin Ellerby Grade 4.5 Set - $220; Score - $45	Principio Rob Wiffin Grade 4 Set - $160; Score - $35
Bass in the Ballroom Roy Newsome Grade 4 Set - $85; Score $25	Looking In Tom Davoren Grade 5 Set - $160; Score - $36

Thanks for reading, and a big thanks to all those who stopped by at the Midwest booth for a visit. It was great to see so many of you, and next year we should have some extra staff so I'll have a little more time to spend with you on the floor. Like us on Facebook, and be watching for my next newsletter soon, where I'll be featuring the music of a new wind band composer you probably have not heard of yet. As for me, it's back to working on the WASBE Reading Session for July. I'll let you all in on that list later on. Take care!