Piano Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1125814 By Michael Swedberg. By Felix Bartholdy Mendelssohn. Arranged by Terrence Niska. Christmas,Contemporary,Holiday. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #726554. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1125814). Once again the influence of George Winston and Mannheim Steamroller can be heard as this prelude begins with a burst of joy and energy that does not subside, but only grows with each verse. The changing meters make this piece a challenge to play and requires a strong technique to handle some of the scale passages. This arrangement is a far cry from the original music of Mendelssohn, but the lyrics inspired me to create something full of vibrancy and passion to match the glorious news that the angels came to deliver! The first verse establishes the 5/4 meter heard throughout the prelude and is filled with the pealing of church bells in the right hand as they send forth the melody in octaves! Meanwhile, the left hand continues the broken chord pattern established in the opening. In the next verse, the left hand is now rising and falling, while the right is still playing the melody in octaves. Only now it is filling the spaces with eighth notes to match the left hand…essentially combining the two hands of the previous verse. For the final verse, the left hand takes on the orchestral role of brass and percussion with thunderous chords punctuating the rhythm of the melody in the right hand. There are moments of fireworks as the hands break free of the 5/4 meter for some wonderful, albeit brief, scales which increase the growing excitement. The piece concludes with a return of the rhythmic material from the opening as the hands work their way down the piano in arpeggiated fashion only to race back up the keyboard for a final flourish before a resounding Amen: Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace! Glory to the new-born King!

Piano Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1248123 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 21st Century,Classical. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #842686. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1248123). There is a storm brewing on the horizon and the ship is starting to be tossed about by waves which can be heard rolling in the left hand. The captain calls for the sails to be furled lest they be torn to shreds by the gale force winds. They have endured many storms before, but this is unlike any The Tempest has encountered. The men try to lift their spirits with tales of what has come before and the acts of heroism which have helped them to survive. Their bravado is cut short as the storm intensifies. Lightning flashes across the sky and they realize now that there may be no coming back from this voyage. The swells grow ever larger and cracks can be heard throughout the ship as support beams and masts give way under the tremendous stress. There is no hope of reaching the safety of land as she begins to take on water, but the crew does not abandon their posts…they do not know the meaning of surrender. A final series of cracks can be heard as The Tempest slips beneath the waves into the waiting abyss.

Piano Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1125783 By Michael Swedberg. By Traditional French Melody. Arranged by Terrence Niska. Christmas,Contemporary,Holiday. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #726523. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1125783). As much as “O Come All Ye Faithful� is a lullaby, this arrangement is brimming with a sense of hushed excitement right from the opening measures as the two young girls from the title race to tell the town of the glorious events taking place. The first statement of the melody enters in the right hand with rather simple harmony, but the left hand keeps the excitement alive via a flowing stream of sixteenth notes. There is an abbreviated return of the opening material which leads to the second verse, but this time the left hand rises up to ring out with a bell-like tolling to awaken the townspeople. Meanwhile the right hand plays the melody in octaves, ringing out above to announce the news to one and all. By the third verse, the left hand is playing chords like a brass choir underpinning the melody, which now finds itself amid a flurry of triplets as the joyous tidings news spread far and wide. There is a return to the opening section, concluding with a final cascade from the top of the keyboard to the bottom and ending with a final “Amen!�.

Piano Solo - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1414480 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 21st Century,Classical,Contemporary. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #996253. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1414480).

By Michael Swedberg. By John Francis Wade. Arranged by Terrence Niska. Christmas,Contemporary,Holiday . Score. 4 pages. Niska Music Publishing #726517. Published by Niska Music Publishing

Piano Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1125807 By Michael Swedberg. By John Henry Hopkins Jr. Arranged by Terrence Niska. Christmas,Contemporary,Holiday. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #726547. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1125807). The travels of the three wise men as they followed a star to see the newborn King was the inspiration for this arrangement. It starts with the right hand representing the twinkling of the stars in the vastness of the heavens, while the left hand provides the feeling of winds blowing across the desert sands as the magi set out on their journey. Soon the melody is heard in the right hand, though in a more stately rhythm than the traditional, more pastoral original. The left hand continues its sweeping motion unabated and drives the piece ever onward as the wise men draw ever nearer to their destination. The minor mood of the song is replaced in the chorus as the star of wonder shines down upon them, filling their souls with hope. Eventually they arrive at the stable and offer their gifts to the babe lying in a manger: gold, frankincense and myrrh. It is the last of these gifts which foreshadow the death of Christ and his burial in the stone-cold tomb. After they have spent some time praising their new-found king, the three wise men return to their homeland as the music follows them back across the desert sands to their homes in the East.

Piano Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1038540 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Lee Niska. 20th Century,Classical,Contemporary. Score. 4 pages. Niska Music Publishing #643505. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1038540). From the first notes to the last beat this piece captures the constant activity of the bees as they gather nectar throughout the day. The right hand buzzes about in a constant stream of eighth notes, rising and falling, twisting and turning, while the left hand moves along in quarter notes to create the harmonic underpinnings that never really settle until the final chord. It is one one the shortest of the nature scenes, but requires a light touch and strong technique.

Piano Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1371932 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. Classical,Contemporary,Ragtime,Romantic Period. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #956123. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1371932).

Piano Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.950910 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 20th Century,Contemporary. Score. 4 pages. Niska Music Publishing #6361443. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.950910). Driven by an unrelenting sense of anger and urgency, this prelude shoots out of the gate and does not let up until the very end. It is essentially a study in octaves as both hands move up and down the keyboard with the melody in the right hand surrounded and supported by the constant flow of 16th notes moving ever forward.

Piano Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1378688 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 21st Century,Classical,Romantic Period. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #963349. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1378688).

Guitar,Piano,Vocal,Voice - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1373238 By Michael Swedberg. By Johann Sebastian Bach. Arranged by Terrence Niska. 21st Century,Baroque,Classical,New Age. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #957583. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1373238). This has long been one of my favorite pieces by J.S. Bach, so it came as no great surprise that I would come up with my own arrangement of the work. There is an overwhelming sense of peace and tranquility (and a hint of melancholy) to the original movement from his Orchestral Suite No. 3 which explains its popularity over the years. It has become more well-known in August Wilhelmj's arrangement as the Air on the G String, but in writing my own version I went back to the score and to the original key of D major.

Piano Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1048637 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 20th Century,Classical,Contemporary. Score. 4 pages. Niska Music Publishing #653046. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1048637). The winds howl, hurling the snow through the air with a vengeance. It is near impossible to see your hand before your face as the storm rages on and the Icy Breath of Winter threatens to freeze the very blood in your veins. This prelude requires the pianist to have a keen understanding of the multiple voices needed to be brought out between the hands. There is a great deal of arpeggio work in the left hand and the quick tempo of the piece demands a strong technique and lightness of touch.

Piano Solo - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1414465 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 21st Century,Classical,Romantic Period. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #996186. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1414465).

Piano Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1073968 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 20th Century,Classical,Contemporary. Score. 4 pages. Niska Music Publishing #678234. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1073968). The most Impressionistic of Opus 3, the cathedral in this instance is the forest rather than the sunken one from Debussy’s prelude. The canopy of the trees is the vaulted ceiling and the trunks serve as the columns. As one walks down the colonnade, the spaces between the trees serve as windows onto the magnificence of nature. From a musical standpoint, the thick, rich chords of the right hand create a feeling of majesty and awe broken by the melismatic figures of the wind through the boughs. Once again, it is of great importance to balance the chords to bring forth the melody.

Piano Solo - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1414517 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 19th Century,21st Century,Classical,Romantic Period. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #996292. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1414517).