By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 20th Century, Classical, Contemporary. Score. 4 pages. Niska Music Publishing #678241. Published by Niska Music Publishing

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).

Piano Solo - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1077068 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 20th Century,Classical,Contemporary. Score. 4 pages. Niska Music Publishing #681210. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1077068). We begin this stroll through the forest with our hearts filled with joy and delight, enjoying the rustling of the leaves and the sunlight-dappled earth beneath our feet. There is a shift in mood as the trees become thicker and the light from above is diminished lending a more disquieting feel to the surroundings. It is not dangerous, nor evil, like the woods of some fabled land with witches and goblins, but there is a sense of unease rising within us. Our pace quickens with the beating of our hearts, but the path is clearly marked and we continue on to eventually find our way back to the sunlit world where birds can once again be heard and our momentary concerns are forgotten. We are at peace.

Piano Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1378689 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 21st Century,Classical,Romantic Period. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #963350. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1378689).

Piano Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1048636 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 20th Century,Classical,Contemporary. Score. 4 pages. Niska Music Publishing #653045. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1048636). There is a playful, whimsical quality to this prelude. The music goes back and forth between phrases which have a more floating quality and those that create a feeling of sudden shifts in direction, much like the dragonflies of the title. As the piece draws to a close, the sun slowly falls below the horizon and the dragonflies take shelter for the night...awaiting another day.

Piano Solo - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1073979 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 20th Century,Classical,Contemporary. Score. 4 pages. Niska Music Publishing #678245. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1073979). There is a Chopinesque quality to this piece, but with a haunting, unsettled aspect more reminiscent of Scriabin as it searches for an ever-elusive rest. It is a walk through the woods at the end of Autumn, when the leaves are all but gone and the ghostly branches reach their skeletal fingers toward the moonlit sky. The clouds float across the sky, blotting out the light of the moon as you find yourself descending deeper into an almost hypnotic trance. There is the tolling of a bell off in the distance. It does not waver, hanging on to a single note as the harmonies change beneath in the left hand while the opening melody returns. There is a change in mood as the music becomes more chromatic while shifting between two chords until it finally resolves and the opening melody returns. As it comes to a close, there is no sense of resolution…rather it ends with a question.

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 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1276116 By Michael Swedberg. By Johann Pachelbel. Arranged by Terrence Niska. 21st Century,Classical,New Age,Pop. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #867876. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1276116). One of the earliest CDs I bought was a CBS Great Performances disc entitled “Pachelbel’s Canon: Baroque Favorites.� I can recall listening to it over and over. Among my favorites were Handel’s “The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba,� Mouret’s “Rondeau,� Albinoni’s “Adagio for Strings and Organ in G minor (which I later discovered was actually written by Remo Giazotto in 1958), and, of course, Pachelbel’s Canon in D.The Canon has been a source of musical inspiration to a great number of artists over the years including Maroon 5’s “Memories� in 2019 and George Winston’s “Variations on the Kanon by Johann Pachelebel� from his 1982 album December.My arrangement is a series of variations starting with a simple statement of the chord progression and gradually making use of the themes as the piece progresses. In this respect, it is more of a chaconne than a true canon. (A chaconne being a type of musical composition which uses a repeated short harmonic progression as a vehicle for variations and melodic invention). It eventually works its way to a section of forte chords based on the rhythm of the second theme before gradually returning to a simpler use of the chords and bass line from the opening.

Piano Solo - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1125812 By Michael Swedberg. By 13th Century Finnish Carol. Arranged by Terrence Niska. Christmas,Contemporary,Holiday. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #726552. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1125812). This carol holds a special memory for me. I was living in Green Bay following my graduate studies and I was teaching private voice lessons at Appleton West High School with my brother and his wife at the request of the choral director, Kevin Meidl. Kevin was also the director of the Appleton Boychoir and one year he asked me to sing the solo part of this carol for a recording they were making. My arrangement of this carol is rather straightforward with very little altering of the basic rhythms found in the original tune. However, the melody in the first verse is found among triplet figures and therefore one must be sure to bring out the important notes. There is a dance-like quality to the music, reminiscent of a gigue from the Baroque period. Following a brief reprise of the opening material the melody shifts to the left hand, starting out as a single note and soon joined in harmony. To me, it represents the page and the king from the story as they walk through the cold, winter night to bring food and fuel to the peasant living near the mountain. The melody then moves back to the right hand, but is now played in half notes indicating the difficult terrain and the snow they must traverse causing them to move more slowly. The left hand rumbles below as a reminder of the wind blowing and the snow swirling about them. The page, fears he cannot go on, but the king tells him to walk in his footsteps and all will be well. Soon, monarch and servant are moving swiftly to their destination. The music slowly fades as they pass into the mountain’s shadow only to grow once again as they arrive at the poor man’s home. The final chords ring out as the door is thrown open and they step inside to share what they have brought.

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).

Piano Solo - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1376865 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 21st Century,Classical,Romantic Period. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #961431. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1376865).

Piano Solo - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1077067 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 20th Century,Classical,Contemporary. Score. 4 pages. Niska Music Publishing #681209. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1077067). A sense of foreboding fills the air as this piece begins. There is a darkness on the horizon and it can mean only one thing: the storm approaches. The simple chords of the intro present a feeling of calm that belies the impending torrent. The music takes a deep breath and then…it begins. In the left hand, a figure reminiscent of Chopin’s “Revolutionary� Etude begins (though not nearly as quick). The rains start to fall and the winds begin to blow as the storm builds in intensity. Measure by measure the music grows in strength until the climax is reached and the gales begin to subside with the last crashes of thunder. For all its fury, the storm is over. The clouds begin to recede across the horizon and in the end, a single ray of sunlight breaks through the gloom.

Piano Solo - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1378676 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 21st Century,Classical,Contemporary. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #963337. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1378676).

Piano Solo - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1357021 By Michael Swedberg. By Terrence Niska. 20th Century,Classical. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #941648. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1357021).

Piano Solo - Level 5 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1125796 By Michael Swedberg. By Traditional Spiritual. Arranged by Terrence Niska. Christmas,Contemporary,Holiday. Score. 8 pages. Niska Music Publishing #726536. Published by Niska Music Publishing (A0.1125796). One of the more technically demanding preludes in this set, it is a definite workout for the right hand as it is nonstop triplets from beginning to end. Not only must the wrist remain loose, but the melody is contained in the right hand amidst the steady torrent of sixteenth note triplets. There is also a wonderful two measure hemiola figure where the meter seems to shift temporarily before returning to the established meter. The exuberance and excitement of the good news of Christ’s birth is the driving force behind this arrangement. Symphonic in its conception, the pianist needs to keep that in mind as they bring all the forces of the orchestra to bear. There are instances of brass chords, swirling string lines, singing woodwinds and thundering timpani, sometimes happening all at the same time. A tour de force and an excellent concert finale!