Very few composers have the creative ability to write imaginative and appealing music for grade one bands. William Himes is one of those composers. Here is a composition dedicated to an instrumental music educator who devoted 35 years of his life introducing students to the joy, accomplishment, and enrichment that comes from music. Hence the title: To the Pied Piper. Therefore, the opening solo lines symbolize a pied piper, playing a contagious tune that eventually draws all instruments and ranges into the music. Students and audiences, alike, will especially love the lyrical and expressive Andante cantabile middle section as well as the Allegro giocoso beginning and closing sections. A must for festival/contest or that special concert performance!
About Standard of Excellence in Concert
The Standard of Excellence In Concert series presents exceptional arrangements, transcriptions, and original concert and festival pieces for beginning and intermediate band. Each selection is correlated to a specific page in the Standard of Excellence Band Method, reinforcing and expanding skills and concepts introduced in the method up to that point. Exciting parts with extensive cross-cueing are presented for every player. Accessible ranges, appropriate rhythmic challenges, and creative percussion section writing enhance the pedagogical value of the series.
Sold individually, each In Concert selection includes a full Conductor Score and enough student parts for large symphonic bands. Each student part also includes correlated Warm-Up Studies. The Conductor Score comes complete with rehearsal suggestions, a composer biography, program notes, a rehearsal piano part, several ready-to-duplicate worksheets and a duplicable written quiz.
