Concert Band - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1516625 Composed by David Woodcock. 21st Century,Celtic,Classical,Contest,Festival,Irish,Medieval. 187 pages. David Woodcock #1090797. Published by David Woodcock (A0.1516625). This is an heroic piece for Concert Band in three movements. Programme Notes:From a young age, I was always interested in castles and history, and have visited many castles in my home country of Wales, which is sometimes called the “castle capital of the world”. At one time Wales had about 600 castles, of which over 100 are still standing, either as ruins or restored buildings. The remainder have been reduced to ditches, mounds and earthworks. Visiting these amazing historically significant buildings has allowed me to reflect on their importance and purpose. In their day they were the centres of thriving communities and it is through their value as the focus of the community, that the three movements have developed their individual characteristics. The first movement depicts a large formidable castle, towering over the neighbouring lands, exuding power, authority and law, complete with noblemen and knights; the second movement describes the pastoral scenes around the castle, and the commoners going about their ordinary lives; the third demonstrates the military function of the castle which was to protect: when coming under siege, the people eventually triumph, the enemy defeated.

Concert Band - Level 2 - Digital Download SKU: A0.726432 Composed by Traditional. Arranged by Kenneth Baird. Christian,Folk,Gospel,Patriotic. Score and parts. 28 pages. Kenneth Baird Music #6057991. Published by Kenneth Baird Music (A0.726432). Amazing Grace - This classic hymn has played a beloved role in American history for generations and is recognizable all around the world. Here, in an inspiring new setting for young concert band, virtually every instrument gets an opportunity to play the melody. Unison clarinets (or an optional clarinet solo) open this arrangement by stating the melody in the key of concert Bb. As the arrangement unfolds, all of the low instruments are featured on the melody in the key of concert F. Following an impressive band tutti in the key of concert Eb, the music winds down as the melody is passed around from section to section and the arrangement concludes with a couple of surprise chords and then fades with a whisper. Ample cross-cuing and a rehearsal piano part are provided for smaller bands missing instrumentation. Perfect for a second or third year band, and even playable at the end of the school year by an outstanding beginning band! Approximately a Grade 1 ½ or 2.

Concert Band - Level 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1145793 Composed by Giacomo Puccini. Arranged by Juan José Peláez Vilanova. 20th Century,Classical,Contest,Festival,Opera,Romantic Period. Score and parts. 43 pages. John Joseph #745992. Published by John Joseph (A0.1145793). Giacommo Puccini, represents the union of Italian and German opera traditions, greatly influenced by Verdi, of whom he is considered his successor, and also by Wagner, Bizet, and Debussy. The main feature of his style was the eclecticism, the incorporation and assimilation of various languages and resources in his profession. Many of the musical concepts, as well as the connection between music and the stage, were the harbinger of what would rule in film music a few decades later. Puccini tooks from the French opera, under the influence of Bizet and Massenet, the taste for the exotic and historical location of his operas. In the case of Turandot, set in ancient China, the opera tells the story of the cruel princess Turandot who, in revenge for a sullied ancestor, beheads her suitors if three riddles are not answered. An unknown prince –Calaf– postulates by answering her three enigmas and challenging her to be the one to find out her name. Turandot orders that no one sleep in Peking until the name of the prince is known, Calaf, who has issued the challenge that if his name is not discovered, princess Turandot must marry him. At the beginning of the third act, the prince sings the aria –Nessun Dorma– convinced that the princess's efforts to discover his name will be in vain. Puccini began the composition in January 1921 and in March 1924 he had already completed the opera up to the final duet. However, a few months later he would pass away, leaving unfinished sketches of the end of Turandot. Franco Alfano was commissioned to finish it, premiering it two years later, in 1926. Currently, it is the fourth most performed Puccini opera worldwide, after the well-known trio La Boheme, Tosca and Madama Butterfly.

Concert Band - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1416191 Composed by Keiron Anderson. Classical,Contemporary. 88 pages. Songburd Music #997877. Published by Songburd Music (A0.1416191). The Search for Hope is a work for wind orchestra comprised of three distinct motifs that tell a story of looking for hope.  Beginning with a crisp and airy feeling, this intensive work gives us a sense of taking flight over a diverse human landscape in the time reflecting the global pandemic, and the ensuing personal struggles, economic problems and conflicts that continue to have lasting consequences for so many people in the world.  Opening with a “questioning phrase,� illustrated by using a rising minor third motif, the music develops into a more ominous melody that is carried by the bass instruments.  From that questioning phrase the music sharply transitions into a second motif where the music picks up the pace with its own distinctive phrase and musical features, suggesting a time of invasions and military clashes, while tugging and moving our emotions back and forth with a single impression, and raising the question:  Where is hope found? With the final motif the tempo begins to slow and express a more tempered and solemn course of thought, punctuated by the higher brass that takes the lead in carrying the phrase of the music by using a descending minor third to carry the mood.  Allowing the music to reflect and express the vocal inflections used as when a mother gently speaks the name of her child with love and support—the very essence of hope.

Concert Band - Level 2 - Digital Download SKU: A0.917410 Composed by Gregory Fritze. 20th Century,Classical,Contemporary,Instructional,Standards. Score and parts. 267 pages. Musica Nova USA #6078853. Published by Musica Nova USA (A0.917410). Sinfonietta (alternate title Sinfonía de Vino y Aceite de Magallon) is a composition for concert band that can be played by any band whether it has 100 players or 30 players. It is at grade 3 level of difficulty and has several substitute parts for ensembles that may not have complete instrumentation. Although the scoring includes piccolo, oboes, bassoons, and French horns, these instruments are not needed to command a good performance.Sinfonietta adheres to classical forms of symphonies by composers such as Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven. The forms are very clear so the players of the band can learn this important history. The first movement is in standard Sonata Allegro form.The second movement is in A B A form and features a solo trumpet. The third movementis in a Rondo form (A B A C A) with three distinct themes. The work was commissioned in 2017 by the town of Magallón, Spain in celebration of the town’s industries of wine and olive oil.  The mayor of the town of 1,000 inhabitants, Victor Manuel Chueca Rodriguez, was specific in his request for a composition at grade 3 level of difficulty. He also suggested the title as Symphony. Since it a three-movement composition instead of a four-movement composition (the normal Minuet and Trio movement is not included in this piece), the title of Sinfonietta instead of Symphony is used.Gregory Fritzeis a prize-winning composer and Fulbright Scholar, as well as an active performer and conductor. His compositions have been performed more than one thousand times in over twenty-six countries. He has written over ninety compositionsfor orchestra, band, chamber ensemblesand soloists.  He has won over sixty composition awards both nationally and internationally, including First Prize in the 1st WASBE (World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles) International Composition Contest2017, First Prize Winner of Reneé Fisher Composition Prize, First Prize Winner in Concurso Bienal de Composición de Musica para Banda, Ciudad de Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Spain), Menzione d'Onore  (highest award given) of the Mario Bernardo Angelo-Comneno International Music Competition by the Accademia Angelica Costantiniana Arti E Scienze (Italy), First Prize in the TUBA International Etude Composition Competition, the IBLA Grand Prize (Italy), 2nd Prize in the 2nd WASBE International Composition Contest 2019, several awards from The American Prize, annual composition awards from Standard Awards Panel of American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers and many others.  He has been commissioned by The Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra, The Army Band Pershing’s Own of Washington, DC, The Banda Municipal of Bilbao, The Primativa de Lliria, and others. His compositions include works published by several publishers in the United States, South America and Europe and have been performed extensively throughout the world. He has thirty-three compositions commercially recorded on Albany Records, MSR Classics, Crystal Records, Mark Records and others. He has been a guest lecturer, conductor and performer at many colleges, universities and music festivals in the United States, Canada, Japan, South America and Europe. He was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania in 1954 and has Composition degrees from the Boston Conservatory and Indiana University. He now resides in Daytona Beach Shores, Florida.

Concert Band - Level 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.979775 Composed by Anon. Arranged by Robert Luke Thompson. Christmas,Contemporary,Holiday,Renaissance,Traditional. Score and Parts. 38 pages. Monkspath Music #6098173. Published by Monkspath Music (A0.979775). The Coventry Carol originates from a medieval mystery play entitled The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors. The play depicts the Christmas story, from the Annunciation (where the Angel Gabriel appears to Mary), to the Massacre of the Innocents (where King Herod of Judea orders the death of all male infants near Bethlehem under the age of two). It is this tale that the Coventry Carol depicts, taking the form of a lullaby sung by the mothers of the murdered children. As is appropriate, the music is in a minor key – this arrangement uses G minor and D minor as a homage to well-known harmonisations by Thomas Sharp and Henry Walford Davies. It is unknown when the words were first set to music, but a proposed date is 1591, or earlier! Other interesting musical features include the use of a ‘Picardy third’, and ‘false relations’, contributing to the haunting quality of this enduring piece, both in the heart of the English Midlands, and further afield. This arrangement is suitable for all bands of beginner-intermediate ability or higher. There is plenty of interest for both experienced players, and for newcomers. The instrumentation is designed to facilitate both a full sound, but also for flexibility, which is often desired by school, youth, and amateur wind bands / concert bands / wind orchestras.