Brett Dietz’s "Concerto for Marimba and Wind Orchestra" is a wonderful exploration of the marimba’s rhythmic qualities and can be played with high school ensembles and professional groups alike.

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Concerto for Marimba & Wind Orchestra: III - Brett Dietz

"Dream Helix" is a brief yet exciting work that uses overlapping patterns and ostinatos in the vibraphones and marimbas to capture a dreamlike, cyclic state of mind. It can be played as either a mallet sextet or with additional percussion parts.

Dream Helix (perc ens 6-9) - Erik Sargent

This percussive fanfare inspired by the composer's homeland is sure to have an impact on your audience and performers alike.

Watauga (perc ens 12) - Josh Spaulding

“Barbarossa” is a dramatic and exciting intermediate level piece for 11 players. It introduces multiple alternative playing techniques and will develop a strong and innate sense of 12/8 time in the performers.

Barbarossa (perc ens 11) - Adam Bruce

"TBD" is a rock piece for percussion ensemble that suffers from an indeterminate title. Everyone including mallet players get to take part in the drum solo in the middle of this ten-player ensemble, with parts having a wide range of difficulty that allow an opportunity to find the right part for every player. Players and audience alike are sure to have fun as you rock out on "TBD," and are invited to help decide what “TBD” means!

TBD (perc ens 10 + optional bass) - Chris Carmean

Five-Note Jive is a delightful collection of three tunes for beginning band and optional electronic accompaniment that utilizes only the first five notes of the B-flat major scale. The groovin’ accompaniment tracks will have your student begging to play these pieces over and over.

Return of the Gladiators - Ed Kiefer
Hot Cross Beatz - Traditional/arr. Ed Kiefer
Jingle Them Bells! - Traditional/arr. Ed Kiefer

ABOUT CLASSICS REMIXED
When writing this series, I wanted to created a bridge between what young band students hear every day on the radio, TV, & movies with other types of music that they may not be familiar. I also wanted to make sure the
students and their audiences have fun! This is not a new idea. We have added rock/disco beats and jazz swing to Bach and Beethoven before. This series is simply an updated version, infusing good classical music with hip
hop, funk, and more. With each arrangement comes a CD (or you can download the mp3 track from the C. Alan Publications website) with an engaging drum ‘n’ bass beat that complements the arrangements, varying as the pieces progresses, yet remaining simple enough to make it easy to play along. The band will have a blast playing along to a booming bass while learning important classical melodies. The arrangements are easy and well within the reach of younger players. They may also be performed without the recorded track, but it’s much more fun with it! As a middle school band director, I was always looking for fun ways to introduce my students to all kinds of music. I was also looking for a fun way to keep students engaged and help them realize the commonalities between their pop music and other styles. This series will help you with these objectives. Most of all, have fun!

- Ed Kiefer

Return of the Gladiators (from 'Five-Note Jive') by Ed Kiefer

Five-Note Jive is a delightful collection of three tunes for beginning band and optional electronic accompaniment that utilizes only the first five notes of the B-flat major scale. The groovin’ accompaniment tracks will have your student begging to play these pieces over and over.

Return of the Gladiators - Ed Kiefer
Hot Cross Beatz - Traditional/arr. Ed Kiefer
Jingle Them Bells! - Traditional/arr. Ed Kiefer

ABOUT CLASSICS REMIXED
When writing this series, I wanted to created a bridge between what young band students hear every day on the radio, TV, & movies with other types of music that they may not be familiar. I also wanted to make sure the
students and their audiences have fun! This is not a new idea. We have added rock/disco beats and jazz swing to Bach and Beethoven before. This series is simply an updated version, infusing good classical music with hip
hop, funk, and more. With each arrangement comes a CD (or you can download the mp3 track from the C. Alan Publications website) with an engaging drum ‘n’ bass beat that complements the arrangements, varying as the pieces progresses, yet remaining simple enough to make it easy to play along. The band will have a blast playing along to a booming bass while learning important classical melodies. The arrangements are easy and well within the reach of younger players. They may also be performed without the recorded track, but it’s much more fun with it! As a middle school band director, I was always looking for fun ways to introduce my students to all kinds of music. I was also looking for a fun way to keep students engaged and help them realize the commonalities between their pop music and other styles. This series will help you with these objectives. Most of all, have fun!

- Ed Kiefer

Hot Cross Beatz (from 'Five-Note Jive') by Ed Kiefer

Commissioned by and dedicated to euphonium player Mai Kokubo, "Tears of Moon" is a bright, energetic, and uplifting work for euphonium and marimba.

Tears of Moon (Duet for Euphonium or Horn & Marimba) - Daiki Kato

Inspired by the powerful, natural phenomenon of earthquakes, this fast-paced work quickly transitions from a faint rumble to a deafening roar. With ﬂexibility at its core, you may perform "Aftershock" as a battery (”drummy”) piece or as a full percussion ensemble with a full complement of keyboard instruments.

Aftershock (flex percussion ensemble 3-12+ players) - Nathan Daughtrey

Hopper's ever-popular marimba solo "Ghost Garden" has been re-imagined for solo marimba with percussion ensemble! Performed by Dr. Brian Zator and his students at Texas A&M-Commerce. Audio recording by Stephen Mann.

Ghost Garden (solo marimba + perc ens 7) - Adam Hopper

Darkness descends, the mood is tense - The Spook is near! It wanders through the darkness enjoying the scary effect it has on those silly Human Beings. Alas, as dawn approaches so does The Spook's arch enemy - light and happiness. It is forced into hiding, but only until tonight.

The Spook - Brian West

Brian West has penned another evocative, programmatic work for elementary band.  Take a trip to a Native American village and have your young musicians introduced to the spirit of this music by way of ostinato rhythms, simple dotted note patterns and approachable dynamics

Geronimo - Brian West

Give the humor of this Fantasy its due. The "Carnival of the Animals" is meant to be enjoyed!

Carnival of the Animals - Camille Saint-Saëns/arr. G. Brand

Silent Movie was inspired by silent movies such as The Keystone Cops and Charlie Chaplin. The music is intended to portray the general "slapstick" action- lots of running around, chaotic action, a villain, a maiden in distress, punches, knocking down and tripping up.

Silent Movie - Brian West

This work allows the conductor to focus on teaching musical imagery and narrative, reinforcing learned rhythms, rhythmic accuracy and note length, consistency in keeping tempo and ensemble development.

The Forge of Vulcan - Tim Fisher

A regal sounding work for early band. Brand's compact band series allows for flexibility in scoring for your ensemble.

See, the Conquering Hero Comes (compact band) - Handel/arr. M. Brand

Performed by the Dripping Springs High School Percussion Ensemble, directed by Matt Ehlers, at the 2025 TCU Percussion Festival

Commissioned by the Aledo High School Percussion Ensemble (Scott Stephens, Director) for performance at the 2024 Percussive Arts Society International Convention, "Luna, Luna" was inspired by the poem "Romance de la luna, luna" (“Ballad of the Moon”) by Federico García Lorca. It is a dark poem ﬁlled with colorful mystical imagery of youthful innocence, a lunar temptress, and mournful gypsies. The piece is a cousin to my piece The Cry, which is also based on a Lorca poem set in Spain.

Luna, Luna (Percussion Ensemble 13-15) - Nathan Daughtrey

In Greek mythology, “Elysium” was the final resting place for the souls of the heroic and the pure. It has come to mean any place or state of bliss or delight. Paradise. Originally written for percussion trio in the collection “Triology,” the piece has been expanded both in personnel and in duration, adding an slow introduction that sets up the ethereal mood.

Elysium (PE 8-9) - Nathan Daughtrey

Inspired by albums by London-based producer Al Wooton, "Shadowfall" pieces features heart-thumping grooves that get passed around the ensemble. The easy-to-digest syncopation will make younger players sound like professionals in no time

Shadowfall (Flex PE 3-8+) - Nathan Daughtrey

"Blossoms" is a powerful work for percussion orchestra that was inspired by the natural process of growth and transformation, yet it does not attempt to depict a specific narrative. Instead, the piece reflects a universal theme of evolution—be it the unfolding of a flower, the development of a musical idea, or the organic progression of time itself. 

Blossoms (Perc Ens 12) - Chris Jones

A Bomba is a secular, recreational style of music originating from Puerto Rico. It is characterized by a challenge or connection between the drummer and dancer, like a “call and response.” The dancer produces a series of gestures to which the lead drummer provides a rhythmic pattern. This flexible percussion ensemble may be played by as few as 6 players or as many as 10.

Bomba para los Niños (Flex Perc Ens 6-10) - Michael Huestis

Steppin’ Out With Poppy was inspired by the composer's black Spoodle, Poppy, who at the time of writing was three years old and quite mad! Poppy loves to go on long runs, hang at the park with her dog buddies but most of all loves chewing on her bones. Don't go near her when she's got one!

Steppin' Out with Poppy (concert band) - Jeff Vague

"Ice" is a duet for marimba and vibraphone with 2 auxiliary percussionists bound to put you in a "chill" mood. Heavily influenced by jazz, both the vibraphone and marimba have moments to shine with melodic features throughout while the other instruments accompany.

Ice (Percussion Quartet) - Nathan Hervey

"An Erasure" was first conceived as the soundtrack for a theatrical stage production that infused poetry, dance, acting and music to tell the story of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre in commemoration of its centennial. The saxophone and marimba are collaborative partners in a musical effort to spotlight the north Tulsa, Oklahoma neighborhood, to celebrate the achievements of the African American residents who lived there between the years 1907 and 1921, and to remember the catastrophic loss of life and cultural capital brought about by one of the worst incidents of racial violence in U.S. history.

An Erasure (Duet for Alto Saxophone & Marimba) - Jeff Calisi

"A Winter Fantasy" originally appeared on Nathan Daughtrey’s Christmas album “The Yuletide Marimba” as “A Winter Prelude” (solo marimba) and “A Winter Postlude” (marimba quartet). Both arrangements featured different parts and moods of “Jingle Bells.” Both arrangements have now been combined for solo 5-octave marimba. Optional cuts are included to feature one or both of the styles/moods.

A Winter Fantasy: Jingle Bells (Solo 5-octave Marimba) - arr. Nathan Daughtrey

A standard solo and a mainstay for many competitions, "Vintage" combines Gillingham's intimate knowledge of how to write effectively for the instrument.  This composition features wonderful soaring lines in the euphonium (ascending up to high C's) while at the same time mixing in a jaunty and highly rhythmic 5/4 section.  All the technical aspects of the piece, while challenging, are well thought out and effective for performer and audience.

Vintage (Solo Euphonium + Full Orchestra) - David R. Gillingham

Brass bands and audiences alike are sure to enjoy these fun and exciting variations on original theme. A simple marching tune transforms into a Copland-style Rodeo treatment, a beautiful lament and, finally returns in a dazzling finale.

Variations on a Marching Tune (Brass Band) - Zachary Docter

"Save My Sanity" is an intensely driving work for 4-octave marimba with a few moments of introspection.

Save My Sanity [excerpt] (Solo 4-octave Marimba) - Daniel Cathey

A simple chorale opens this set of variations written to commemorate the life of Mother Teresa. The ensuing variations span several different moods and techniques, with such indications as Con Rubato, Playfully, Joyfully, and Ethereally.

A Love Most True [excerpt] (Solo Marimba) - Steve Fitch

Inspired by some of the marimba compositions of Keiko Abe, "In the Sea" features driving rhythms and floating melodies creating a beautiful wash of sound. There is room for improvisation in the middle of the piece.

In the Sea [excerpt] (Solo Marimba with Orchestra) - Jeannine Maddox

"Gum-Suckers March" is the final movements of Percy Grainger’s Suite for Orchestra In a Nutshell, an original work in which no folksongs are used. “Gum-suckers” is a nickname for Australians hailing from Grainger’s Australian home state of Victoria. The leaves of the ‘gum’ (Eucalyptus) trees are very refreshing to suck in the hot Australian summer weather.

The Gum-Suckers March (Sax & Percussion Ensembles) - Percy Grainger, arr. Chal Ragsdale

"Sea Dreams" was written in memory of the composer's wife, Jean. After an introduction, which is not heard again until the end of the piece, the music becomes a rondo allegro, and gradually builds to a big climax. At the very end there is an oblique reference to the Liebestod of Wagner's 'Tristan and Isolde.'

Sea Dreams (Band Gr. 5.5) - Derek Bourgois

2. In My Boat of Dreams (from Debut Concert for Strings) - Anne Svendsen

2. In My Boat of Dreams [piano accompaniment] - Anne Svendsen

Dreadnought (percussion ensemble 11) - Caleb Pickering

This fun and entertaining piece brings the carefree spirit of the Caribbean to your band. With Latin percussion and Zydeco-inspired rhythms accompanying the easy melody the music keeps everyone busy. A key change from concert B-flat to F makes for an uplifting ending and a good introduction to modulation for your young band.

Caribbean Festival (concert band gr. 1.5) - Greg Danner

This free setting of the hymn song “What Wondrous Love Is This”  focuses on the variety of tonal colors and instrumental textures possible with the wind band.  While technically written for younger ensembles, the expressive quality of the music makes Wondrous Love appropriate for bands at all levels.

Wondrous Love (concert band gr. 2.5) - Greg Danner

Luminescence (percussion ensemble 10-12) - Nathan Daughtrey

"Two Illusions" is a pair of fun 2-mallet solos for the developing marimbist – Moonlight Shadow & Vicious Fishes. Each solo pairs simpler technical challenges with elements you would find in a higher-level piece, such as grand staff and mixed meter.

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