Name of group: High School Symphonic Band Student year level: 9-12 th grade Instrumentation: Flutes, Oboe, Clarinets (1st, 2nd, 3 rd ), Bass Clarinet, Alto Saxes (1st, 2nd), Tenor Sax, Baritone Sax, Bassoon, Trumpets (1st, 2 nd, 3 rd ), Horns, Trombones (1st, 2nd), Euphonium, Tuba, Percussion Years the students have been in the group (approx.): 1-4 years Name of piece: Awakening Hills Composer/ Arranger: Richard L. Saucedo (ASCAP) Instrumentation / voice parts: Piccolo, Flute, Oboe, Bassoon, Clarinet 1,2, and 3, Alto Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Alto Sax 1 and 2, Tenor Sax, Bari Sax, Trumpet 1,2 and 3, Horn 1 and 2, Trombone 1 and 2, Baritone, Tuba, Percussion Level or grade level: 4 Awakening Hills, by Richard L. Saucedo, has an upbeat spirit that focuses on this whole tone scale in Bb. The piece starts out with a syncopated rhythmic timpani part that is eventually traded off between other instruments throughout the whole piece. At measure seven, we see a straight 16 th note motor that passes on each beat between the flutes and first clarinets. Then, we see a quarter note triplet sneaking it s way in beat three. The low voices hold us down with half note chords that support the rhythmic passages scored in the higher register. This introduction builds all the way to measure 11 where the percussion play straight 16ths for 9 bars. Within that 16 th note passage, we feature horn and saxophone with a soaring
solo, again, playing on the whole tone scale in Bb. By the time we get to measure 20, we have syncopated bops that lay underneath a melodic the semi- legato melody. At 26, we shift from Bb to G minor. The slow B section begins at measure 62 where the mallet percussion holds down the V of Eb major. This prolonged V resolves when a flute solo enters in two beats before 69. At measure 69, we have woodwinds playing bell tones on beat one, the and of one, and on beat two, layering Eb major chords. At 86, the whole band enters by playing, what once was, the flute solo. Finally, when we get to 104, we enter back into the A section. This is almost a carbon copy recap of the beginning in the key of Bb. When we get to 124, we see a slight change in bar phrases. It seems that if these phrases become shorter leading up to the big build at 130. At 137, most everybody has the melody in half notes including the low voices. To snag the listener s attention, Saucedo sharp/pointed rhythmic line at 144 followed by the same line offset by 2 beats. For the end, he finishes up with a beautiful, full- bodied, Bb major chord. First of all, I love this piece because I feel that there is so much to teach in here. He starts out by writing a theme on the whole tone scale, which is scary for students but forces them to listen more closely to what they are playing and how this whole tone scale works. We have a great amount of syncopated accent rhythms that seem to make or break this piece. I believe Saucedo wanted these phrases to be with a great amount of space so the teacher might talk about the different styles of articulations and model those for the students. I feel in the A section that one of the most difficult parts of this piece is the straight 16 th note runs. Most, if not all of them,
are slurred but making sure the clarinets and flutes are keeping the consistent rhythmic pulse in their fingers is very difficult. In the low voices, we see that they tend to hold out chords that lay down the foundation of the piece. Some of these chords are difficult to hear so training your students to sing these or buzz them on the mouthpiece would definitely help with these areas of weakness. Phrasing is easily built into the piece by the way it is scored but I feel that there are some parts that are too heavy. The melody trades off in multiple places between different groups so having the students know exactly who has the melody will help with parts that aren t scored so easily. There are parts where I could imagine students would play note by note and not with musical phrases. I m a huge advocate for singing because most of the students in my school are in the choir program, so I would have everybody sing the parts and usually the individual phrasing would fix itself. By the time we get to measure 62, we see that the flutes have 4 part chords. These aren t easy to hear so by playing each note individually leaving the bottom note out, at first, because the 7 th of the chord is scored at the bottom. When the solo comes in, it looks like this is definitely a four bar phrase but I would push my soloist to make this in eight bar phrase because I know the long notes would get cut short. The people playing underneath the melody need to be conscious of how the melody goes and their role within the ensemble. I would have the support people just bop the parts so they can see where they fit in because some have entrances on the and of one. That could be tricky if the student doesn t feel confident in their subdivision counting.
For the most part, this piece is in common time except for the end of occasional phrases throughout. Even though 5/4 and 2/4 have the constant quarter note beat, I would have the students clap their part while saying the beats as we rehearse. This will help them through the irregular bar phrases. In the end, I know this piece is a great piece because this gets the students thinking about subdivision, what role they play in the ensemble, whole tone scales, articulation, and phrasing. It has the works! Name of piece: Shine Composer/ Arranger: Michael Markowski Instrumentation / voice parts: Piccolo, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet 1,2, and 3, Bass Clarinet, Bassoon, Alto Sax 1 and 2, Tenor Sax, Bari Sax, Trumpet 1,2 and 3, Horn 1 and 2, Trombone 1,2,and 3, Baritone, Tuba, Percussion Level or grade level: 4 Signature : Ab Major, A Minor, Bb Major, C Major Tempo: 4/4 152-160 BPM Articulation: Staccato, Accented Rhythms: 8 th note motif, odd syncopated entrances, dotted 8 th note passages Signs: Straight Through Shine, by Michael Markowski, is a piece that I believe requires a high level of musicianship because of it s independence of melodies between parts, syncopated lines, precise articulations, and careful attention to the ranges of instruments. This piece is challenging, yet rewarding piece of music because of how intricate it seems
to get. Most of the players seem independent and come in at different times. I feel that this would be a great teaching moment to talk about subdivision. When these lines intertwine with each other, we see that dynamic contrast is key or parts sound like mistakes. This ABA format piece allows for melodic phrasing even when playing rhythmic passages. In the B section, parts are extremely exposed so we would definitely work on deep breathing and concentrate on coming in confident with a dark sound. I would create warm- up exercises that would allow for each section to come in at their own specific time to overcome playing by themselves. This piece is complicated enough to challenge my students but wouldn t be so complicated that we couldn t handle it. For the most part, it is simple independent counting. Since I feel that counting is the hardest part, we would practice with a metronome extremely slow and bring it up to tempo. We don t even have to play the correct notes for this to work, either. Taking it back to bare bones, we could have the group play on a concert Bb to dial in these crisp offbeat entrances. Name of piece: O Magnum Mysterium Composer/ Arranger: Morten Lauridsen transcribed for band by H. Robert Reynolds Instrumentation / voice parts: Flute, Oboe, Bassoon 1 and 2, Clarinet 1,2, and 3, Bass Clarinet, Alto Sax 1 and 2, Tenor Sax, Bari Sax, Trumpet, Horn 1,2, 3, and 4, Trombone 1,2,and 3, Baritone, Tuba, Timpani, Suspended Cymbal Level or grade level: 3
Signature: Eb Major Tempo: 4/4 adagio, molto legato e espressivo, 3/2 Articulation: Legato, Dah Syllable tongue, Rhythms: Quarter note melodies, Nothing hard Signs: Straight Through O Magnum Msterium, by Morten Lauridesen, is a beautiful piece that was inspired by text based upon the birth of Jesus Christ. I believe that this piece is a great piece for my band because it takes an incredible amount of air support to sustain these long and drawn out phrases, which makes this piece deceptively difficult. Not only do we need air control to help us sustain but we need air control to help us make beautiful music with each phrase. Tuning is a big issue for any high school band. This piece would force my ensemble to listen across, tune, balance, and blend together. We would talk about who has the melody and who has the countermelody, we would talk about the sound pyramid and where each section fits into that model, and we would talk about warm, dark, and full sounds. We have some time signatures that change throughout that definitely would need to be discussed but I feel that the group would understand how these worked rather quickly. In my opinion, this piece is of high quality because of the overall quality of music we are able to take from it. Every single band needs more practice at sustaining pitches. In my warm- up exercises, I would sustain pitches at all dynamic levels for a given duration of time and I would expand that duration over time. I
would also work this piece without conducting because I feel that listening across is an important skill to learn while in band class. Name of piece: A Longford Legend Composer/ Arranger: Robert Sheldon Instrumentation / voice parts: Piccolo, Flute, Oboe, Bassoon, Clarinet 1,2, and 3, Alto Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Alto Sax 1 and 2, Tenor Sax, Bari Sax, Trumpet 1,2 and 3, Horn 1 and 2, Trombone 1, 2, and 3, Baritone, Tuba, Percussion Level or grade level: 4 Signature: Eb Major, C Minor, F Major, D minor Tempo: 2/4 Jauntily, Pesante, 4/4 Larghetto, Poco piu mosso, Slowly, 6/8 Allegro Articulation: Ti Ti Ti, light, fluffy, Staccatto, Accented, Rhythms: Triplet 16s, Hemiolas, syncopated entrances, Grace notes, Signs: Straight Through A Longford Legend, by Robert Sheldon, is a piece based upon three poems. So being programmatic, there is an underlying story behind what is being played. I think it is very important for the students to convey the feeling that the poems give off so I would formal assess them on their knowledge of the poem. The first movement has a gigue feel with light and fluffy articulations in the woodwinds but counterbalanced with difficult rhythms that might trip up the average high school student. There are a couple of interesting hemiola s throughout the piece that makes for an interesting feel. The second movement, in C minor,
opens up with a beautiful saxophone solo as the euphonium plays countermelody underneath. Dynamic contrast is incredible in this movement and gives a sense of emotion as the poem states that Molly Bawn has been shot. The third movement is in 6/8 in F major which I would turn into a teaching moment because my group hasn t played in 6/8 this semester. In measure 254, it feels like straight 16ths in 4/4 but it s still written in 6/8. I would have the class count in 6/8 for 2 bars then switch to 16 th keeping the dotted 8 th note pulse. We would then move that to the instrument by playing only on Bb. Then, we would play the music slightly under tempo. I would pick this for my ensemble because it teaches our students how to play in 6/8, odd syncopated rhythms, it s programmatic, it fits within the comfortable range of each instrument, and has beautiful solos that I have the players for. Overall, I really like this piece and plan on using this when I am in the field next year. Name of piece: Hands of Mercy Composer/ Arranger: Julie Giroux Instrumentation / voice parts: Flute 1 and 2, Oboe, Bassoon, Clarinet 1,2, and 3, Bass Clarinet, Contrabass Clarinet, Alto Sax 1 and 2, Tenor Sax, Bari Sax, Trumpet 1,2 and 3, Horn 1 and 2, Trombone 1, 2, and 3, Bass Trombone, Baritone, Tuba, Contrabass, Timpani, Cymbals, Bass Drum Level or grade level: 4 Signature : C major, G major, D minor
Tempo: ¾ Andante poco piu mosso, con moto, con passione, un poco piu mosso Articulation: Legato, Dah Syllable tongue, Rhythms: Dotted 8ths, quarters, halfs Signs: Straight Through, Molto rit. Hands of Mercy, by Julie Giroux, is a beautiful tune that features melodies that are in constant motion. I believe this is an appropriate piece of music for my ensemble because this piece requires focused playing weather it be from constant warm air and control or simply the direction of where the phrases go. The piece starts out in C major but constantly changes to other keys including G major and D minor. There are two climaxes throughout but end on deceptive cadences creating suspense yet oddly satisfying. The piece oozes with expression because it was written in memory of Julie Giroux s daughter. I feel that this is an important aspect of the piece and would be a way to illustrate emotion throughout parts. I would have the ensemble sing their lines and think about a particular person that they care about. Explaining this might help the ensemble understand the direction of the piece. This piece demands constant dynamic contrast and I believe it would be hard for my ensemble to obtain this because we do not play enough music that has this dynamic range. I would tailor my warm up exercises to help with that controlling pitch and air consistency. The intricate tonal characters are also a rather difficult role in this piece because the tonality doesn t ever settle until the last chord of the piece. I would play each phrase with my ensemble and slowly build multiple phrases together to get a sense of tonality direction.
Overall I would love to perform this piece with my ensemble simply because I feel that it s difficult, yet obtainable by the players in my group. I wouldn t choose this piece if I didn t have a good euphonium player because there is a solo at measure 70 but I do and she would be great!