Wind Ensemble / Concert Band

View website for more information: http://stephensonmusic.com/product/american-fanfare
Played by many orchestras across the country, this "grand and stirring" (Omaha Herald) 2-minute fanfare now has been re-scored to work for band as well. A great opener to either half of a concert.
Sample of orchestras who have performed this work:
LA Philharmonic (Hollywood Bowl gala), Detroit Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic, Florida Orchestra (awarded best fanfare), and many more.


American Fanfare, Concert Band

John Marchiando, trumpet
The University of New Mexico Wind Symphony
Eric Rombach-Kendall, conductor

August In York - James Stephenson

More info here:
http://www.stephensonmusic.com/product/concerto-1-for-trumpet/

Concerto #1 for Trumpet (2007)

for solo trumpet and wind ensemble

duration:  22’

Concert Band version made possible through a generous grant from the Charles Schlueter Foundation. Premiere performance by the U.S. Coast Guard Band May 29, 2007  Jeffrey Work –  soloist and CDR Kenneth W. Megan – director

The Concert Band / Wind Ensemble version was commissioned by the Charles Schlueter Foundation for premiere at the 2007 ITG conference held at UMass Amherst, again with Jeffrey Work as soloist, and accompanied by the US Coast Guard Band, directed by CDR Kenneth W. Megan. Especially noteworthy and meaningful to me was that the conference was hosted by my very good friend and colleague, Eric Berlin, and that the new version was sponsored by none other than my college trumpet professor, Charlie Schlueter!

Program Notes – Concerto for Trumpet (2003) – James Stephenson, III

The Concerto for Trumpet, James Stephenson’s second major work written for the trumpet, is a product of a long-time friendship between Jeffrey Work, for whom the concerto is written, and the composer. As a trumpeter himself, Stephenson had spent many years admiring the abilities of Work, first as a fellow student at Interlochen’s summer music festival (the two sat next to each other as high school students in the camp’s orchestra), and later at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. After Work’s performance of Stephenson’s Sonata for Trumpet and Piano, the idea of a piece composed especially for the soloist began to germinate, but lacked a host to commission and perform a new piece. The Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston, of which Work is a member, provided the final piece of the puzzle, and the Concerto for Trumpet was born.

Concerto - For - Trumpet - Band - 2

Concerto - For - Trumpet - Band - 1

More info here:
http://www.stephensonmusic.com/product/devils-tale/

Devil’s Tale (2013) Narrative

for Violin, Contrabass, Clarinet (A/Bb), Bassoon, Trumpet, Trombone, Percussion (1 player) Solo Narrator. Options available for dancers, actors – staging.
Devilʼs Tale – ʻhidden elementsʼ in the story by Jim Stephenson

My version of this familiar story of Joseph, the devil, et al, is called “The Devilʼs Tale”. Its inspiration comes from basically telling Ramuzʼ story backwards, in effect, as one giant palindrome.

This all began with imagining starting my story where Stravinskyʼs leaves off, with the somewhat ambiguous drum solo. (it is sometimes played with a crescendo, sometimes with a diminuendo). It was this ambiguity which led me to realize that it could almost be the beginning to a piece as well.

I have had many dreams myself, where I am convinced that I hear the stroke of a drum, and am startled and awakened – only to realize, of course, that it was just a dream. That was the impetus for the starting-off point for my story – that the solo drum is all part of one giant dream. In fact, to take it a step further, that the whole Soldierʼs Tale (it is a tale, after all) was just one giant dream of a present day Joseph, who is in actuality situated in Las Vegas, as a pit musician for a show. Once I knew that I would start with the percussion solo, and that it was a giant palindrome, I knew I needed to end with walking “down a hot and dusty road”. The task at hand was then to just fill in all of the blanks…

A few things I knew:

1)  I didnʼt want this to be about the violin. That has been done, masterfully, by Stravinsky, and frankly, if this is to be done as a sequel, and in the same concert as the Stravinsky, I think the violinist needs a break. Therefore, all musicians get featured at one point or another, and generally speaking, the low instruments represent the devil, and the upper, Joseph/Hannah, or “goodness”.

2)  I wanted it to be more relevant, more obviously universal, and so the general theme is more about love and love-lost. Ramuz story never gripped me entirely, so I wanted to create something more easily grasped.

3)  I wanted to create more of a part for the female character – in my case, Hannah, Joeʼs girlfriend. This leaves more opportunity for dance, which I think could be quite compelling.

4) I wasnʼt sure whether to make mine just prose, or in a rhyming scheme. My final decision was to rhyme it, but leave the rhythm rather loose, leaving it open for interpretation by the narrator or actors. I think this is somewhat similar to my interpretation of Ramuz, or at least the translation thereof that I know.

Once I came up with the palindrome idea, I searched for some existing palindromes. I immediately found that many of them include the word devil, which suited my purposes.

Beyond that, I found those that were inspirational, and used the ones that suited my story, and could both fit the narrative and the music simultaneously.

The story is then filled with palindromic words and phrases. There are also many symbolic references to the devil – by using terms that have come to be known over the years.

The Devil's Tale

A combination of your favorite Christmas carols with famous bassoon orchestral excerpts. Enjoy!
Versions for 2 or 3 bassoons with orchestra, or with band, or with piano: https://composerjim.com/works/bassoon-it-will-be-christmas/

The Devil's Tale

James M. Stephenson