SKU: A0.953862

 REVELATION FOR BRASS QUINTET is a transcription of a solo trumpet piece written Jack Stone a former performer in the famous UNT One O'clock lab band.  It is a high energy piece with a with a big ending. It is written for good performers with advanced technique. Playable by top flight high school level to professionals. Ranges are not extreme and the one High C for Trumpet It has an ossia available. The tuba uses pitches up to the top of the bass clef staff.  Hope you enjoy this piece.

SKU: A0.1489487

One of my last assignments as an Air Force musician before being stationed in Japan was to perform music in support of the 50th commemoration of what has become known in America as “Vietnam Memorial Day.”  It is observed on March 29 every year, the date when the last U.S. troops withdrew from Vietnam in 1973.  After the memorable ceremony in 2023, I lingered to talk with those mature veterans and to hear some of their experiences.  It was a strange feeling when I told them that my first assignment at my new duty station in Japan would be a series of cultural exchange performances in Vietnam.  What a somber generational bridge.

I was only in Japan for a matter of days, including some intense rehearsals, before Pacific Brass (the brass quintet from the U.S. Air Force Band of the Pacific) packed up and headed to Hanoi to start our brief musical outreach in three cities.  My reflections were sobering as I contrasted my military service in Vietnam with the veterans whom I had just honored three months prior.  During some off-duty time, all five of the Pacific Brass military musicians found our way to the well-known Hòa Ló Prison, infamously known as the “Hanoi Hilton.”  Indeed, how vastly different was my brief military service in Vietnam!

To the Vietnamese people, the “American War,” as they call it, is ancient history.  They are extremely forward-thinking, putting those dark years far from them, looking to the bright future that is theirs.  What an educational bridge of paradigms.  Although it was important for us as U.S. Servicemembers to witness the Hòa Ló Prison firsthand, our lot was to experience the beautiful present-day Vietnam with its rich culture of food, street shops, temples, dance, music, and other wonders that awed us all—including gongs!

Our trombone player purchased a gong in a shop that sold little else besides gongs of all sizes and pitches.  That struck me as quintessentially Vietnamese, and the sights and sounds of that modest shop lingered in my imagination.  As we absorbed the extraordinary majesty of the Temple of Literature in Hanoi, ideas for this musical composition started to formulate as a bridge connecting American musical culture with Vietnamese traditional gongs.  For practicality in both notation and live performance, I scored the consort of 18 glorious “gongs” in my head for orchestral tubular bells.  It is a passionate hope that someday in a video presentation, a masterful cultural bridge of the two diverse countries will be crafted.  Better yet, what an experience it would be to have a legitimate gong consort perform live with Pacific Brass!

The year of our visit, as we were coached many times by the Embassy’s Attaché, was a milestone landmark between the two nations, worthy of praise and celebration: the ten-year anniversary of the U.S.-Vietnam Comprehensive Partnership, signed by Presidents Obama and Sang in July 2013.  This bilateral relationship has bridged both nations’ commitment to economic engagement, cultural exchange, tourism, education, and human rights.  This composition is in celebration of this Comprehensive Partnership and a gift to the wonderful people of Vietnam.  May this music contribute to a continuing growth of positive relations bridging the two nations.

SKU: A0.1158365

The poem and melody were written in August 2014. The setting for brass quintet and vocalist came about in 2020 for the USAF Heartland of America Band's Offutt Brass to perform as a tribute to all the mothers and fathers who are deployed as military members to preserve the freedoms we hold dear. A tear-jerker in this light, to be sure! In normal performance settings, it is extremely heartwarming and packed with deep parental emotions. The trumpet parts call for flugelhorns to increase the warm nature of the composition.

SKU: A0.1158382

Brass quintet in six short movements. Duration, approx. 8 minutes. Movement I: “Family Vacations.� Fond memories of childhood vacations as well as leading out on road trips as a father, are reflected by the excitement of this movement. Feel free to reminisce on your own family trips as you listen to or perform this movement. Movement II: “Jovial Banter.� I was going to call this movement “Roughhousing,� but that is only part of what this playful piece conjures. Besides wrestling my five boys (with my one girl amusedly watching off to the side), friendly joking with friends about rival universities, and playing harmless pranks on friends and family, all seem to be rolled up into this truly jovial movement. It has its own tricks and surprises to one who has never heard it before. Movement III: “Holiday Foods.� This waltz displays more elegance and structure than most of the other movements. It primarily elicits memories of the distinctive Thrower Christmas feasts, for which we created a unique tradition. Our yuletide banquets hail from a different country every year. Through the decades, we have discovered and adopted many international favorites that we continue to enjoy! Note the middle section of the waltz gets a bit spicy… Movement IV: “Pets.� Though as an adult I have not had the pleasure of enjoying personal pets, my youngest son developed an affinity for YouTube videos about funny cats and dogs. Nevertheless, my favorite childhood pet was “Blackie,� the splendid satin feline featured on the cover of this work. Pets are often quirky and extremely fun, as is this music. If it doesn’t put a smile on the listener’s face, someone in the line of musical communication may have failed. Movement V: “Sharing God’s Wonders.� Slow and wondrous, the music in this movement yearns to be shared. The theme, though only somewhat related to the other variations, strays to its own content after the first motivic notes. The melody is borrowed from a 2010 band composition of mine titled “Tribute to Joel Robison,� an ancestor, and a Texas hero. One passion I have enjoyed through the years is family history, truly a God-given legacy from which I draw much inspiration. Movement VI: “Personal Triumphs.� Indeed a subject to celebrate, triumphs of self-mastery, conquests over difficult tasks, and achievements of monumental goals all prompt me to break out in triumphant fanfares!

SKU: A0.1360003

Jarabe Tapatío (the Mexican Hat Dance) - Brass Quintet

Parts for Orchestral Brass, and British Brass Band transpositions. (Horn in Eb, Trombone Treble Bb, and Bass in Eb Bb treble)

Jarabe Tapatío, famously known as the Mexican Hat Dance, is a jubilant, fun piece for quintets of all levels looking for a light number in their next concert. This arrangement is simple to play, but stays extremely true to the traditional form and textures of mariachi music.

SKU: A0.1489490

Three of these seven short pieces are worthy to open any brass quintet concert or recital.  Two fanfares are too short for a concert feature but work extremely well in a ceremony or celebratory setting.  The last two short pieces aptly serve contrasting special purposes, as explained below.

“Fort Pierre Fanfare” is about 40 seconds in duration, and was composed to open the feature concert at the South Dakota Bandmasters Association convention in 2022.  Offutt Brass, from the US Air Force Heartland of America Band, was invited to perform that concert.  Before the final piece of the concert, when gifts were exchanged between the sponsor and performers, beautiful presentation copies of the sheet music were presented to the sponsor.  In performance, staging directions on the music can be extremely effective or cringy, depending on how they are conveyed.  If there is any inkling that there may be a cringe factor, ignore them, and play the fanfare already on stage.

“Enduring Freedom Fanfare” is nearly a minute of music.  It was composed as a gift for the outgoing Commander of the US Air Force Heritage of America Band, Major Rafael Toro-Quiñones.  His leadership was strong and inspiring, and he held a place of high esteem among many of the fine military musicians that he led.  The Change of Command ceremony was toward the end of the Covid-19 shut-downs, so the work was not performed at the ceremony.  Chief Remley, from the command’s satellite location in Nebraska, hand-delivered some finely printed presentation copies to Major Toro-Quiñones.

“Noble Eagle Fanfare” is slightly over a minute in length, and, like “Enduring Freedom Fanfare,” was composed as a gift for another outgoing Commander of the US Air Force Heritage of America Band, Captain David Neil Regner.

“Pilgrims’ Fanfare” was composed on what many Americans acknowledge as “Pioneer Day,” 24 July 2023.  Not only honoring the thousands of pioneers that settled the western United States, but also the pilgrims that voyaged across the ocean to settle in the new continent.  It is about 15 seconds in duration and is effective for any occasion in need of a magnificent fanfare.

“Flightline Fanfare,” as its title implies, was composed for the ribbon cutting ceremony of the dedication of the newly renovated flightline at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska.  Unfortunately, the ceremony itself was altered last-minute, and the 15-second fanfare was not used.  However, like “Pilgrims’ Fanfare,” it is very handy for any event demanding a splash of pomp.

“American Interlude” is a soft 75-second underscore for an MC’s moving speech or dedication.  It was originally composed as a smooth segue between two moving patriotic pieces of different keys in a concert setting, but can be used in any similar appropriate situation.

“Troop 184” is dedicated to my childhood BSA Scoutmaster, Gerry Nielson, who molded me in significant ways into the man I am decades later.  It is functional music, akin to a fight song, and can be easily marched to.  Words may be crafted as a customized hiking ditty, or it can be featured before or after ceremonies as prelude or processional music.  The duration can also be customized, as there is a written optional repeat, lengthening the tune from 45 seconds to a minute and a half.