Inspired by ancient dance and music from India, this spirited and rhythmic piece evokes more eclectic music from modern "Bollywood" soundtracks.

Natya (Dance-Drama from India)

Theme song arranged for new show format in 2002 appearing on PBS and The Learning Channel.

Pappyland Theme Song (PBS and The Learning Channel)

An inspiring and spirited setting of the popular Swahili "Bwana Awabiriki", which allows for improvisation and audience participation.

Swahili Folk Hymn

You'll have to bring in the trash for this number.  Rock and Afro-Latin styles are used to feature the percussion on optional "junkyard" instruments--and all players in the group get into the act with this spirited crowd-pleaser!

Junkyard Jam (for Buckets, Garbage Cans, and Band)

Inspired by the famous poem "Hgih Flight" used as an anthem for the Air Force, this spirited, joyful piece calls for players to recreate winds and other sounds of flight in a bravura setting.  Concert Band, Level 1.5.

Dancing the Skies

A lovely, lyrical piece inspired by the Brainard poem of the same name.  Lush harmonies abound and are scored for younger plyers.  A great introduction to chorale-style playing.  Concert Band, Level 2.

I Saw Two Clouds At Morning

Driving rhythms propel this piece drawing from Tahitian drum and Hawaiian hula styles.   Concert Band, Level 1.5.

Oceania Dances

This is the much-anticipated follow-up to the enormously popular "Junkyard Jam", but written at the easier 1.5 level.  It is sure to bring down the house as all players get into the act!

Junk Funk (for Buckets, Garbage Cans, and Band)

This driving, bravura number employs col legno, pizzicato, aleatory and other easy playing techniques.  Audiences and players alike will love the suspense created! Level 1.5 string orchestra.

Dark Visions

Easy playing techniques such as "chops" and glissandi will turn your beginning string ensemble into a rock band. Sure to be a favorite for students!

String Shredder

A spirited homage to the Zulu people, this beginning band piece incorporates both rhythmic Zulu folk music and  “Nikosi Sikelel’ Afrika”, which was a freedom anthem during apartheid and now the South African national anthem.

Zululand

This march incorporates both the "traditional" and "show band" style made popular by historically black college and university marching bands. Students will learn traditional march style with a heavy dose of funk!

Beat Street Strut

This very beginning band piece, using only the first six notes taught in most methods, was inspired by the ISON comet that was hurtling through space in 2014. Students and audiences alike will love this very bravura, powerful piece!

ISON

This is a lyrical arrangment of an African-American lullaby, "Oh, Mother Glasco".  Students will learn legato playing at an easier level (Level 1.5).

An African-American Air

This four-movement work traces the history of a key trade center in the American Midwest.  Humorous, legato, and very bravura all in one piece! (Level 2.5)

River Valley Legacy

This new action-packed piece includes both Indian folk music styles and the dramatic action of "Bollywood" (Indian version of Hollywood) movies.  Introduce your beginners to musical styles of India while providing a spirited piece that players and audiences will love!   

Adventure in India (Concert Band, Level 1; Carl Fischer, Publisher)

Written for the Iowa Bandmasters All-State 8th Grade Honor Band, this very spirited and hard-driving piece evokes chaos.  Your students and audience will love the energy!

Fracas (Concert Band; Level 2.5; Carl Fischer, publisher)

This spirited piece evokes the sound of traditional folk music from India, but is more akin to the popular "Bollywood" (the epicenter of the Indian film industry in Mumbai)soundtracks.  Your students and audiences will love the drama!

Adventure in India (String Orchestra; Level 1.5; Carl Fischer, publisher)

The Cherokee people had a vibrant culture for many centuries in what is now the southeastern United States and the Cherokee Nation is a federally-recognized sovereign government today based in Oklahoma.  With a spirited original middle section, the beginning and ending sections of this piece were based on a lyrical folk tune that is commonly referred to as "Cherokee Morning Song". 

Cherokee Morning (Concert Band; Level 1; Carl Fischer, publisher)

After the popularity of "Junk Funk" and "Junkyard Jam", students, teachers, and audiences asked for another "junk" tune for more advanced groups.  This piece is a catchy, funky shuffle with lots of room for a theatrical presentation.  It will delight performers and audiences and introduce and/or reinforce 6/8 meter.

Junk Funk Shuffle (for Buckets, Garbage Cans, and Band); Level 3-31/2; Carl Fischer, publisher

With both spirited bravura and lyrical sections, this piece draws from tuneful folk melodies and aggressive taiko (drum) ensemble rhythms to introduce students to traditional Japanese music styles.

Japanese Pictures

This uptempo piece in 3/4 meter is both lyrical and spirited at the same time!  Every section takes the melody...sure to be a favorite! 

Dawn Dance

This bombastic piece was Inspired by thrill-seekers chasing tornadoes and other catastrophic weather events.  String students will create a rainstorm with non-traditional sounds at the beginning, followed by bravura playing--a wild chase to the end! 

Storm Chaser (for String Orchestra)

This bombastic piece was inspired by thrill-seekers chasing tornadoes and other catastrophic weather events.  Band students will create a rainstorm with non-traditional sounds at the beginning, followed by bravura playing--a wild chase to the end! 

Storm Chaser (for Concert Band)

This is the third of a 5-movement work for the Syracuse Ballet premiering in October, 2012. The program is about the journeys, both tragic and joyful, of the growing refugee populations in many American cities. This third movement, entitled "Passage", depicts the wistful, but hopeful departure of refugees as they leave their homeland in hopes of a better future in a new place. The piece is scored for flute, clarinet, cello, and piano.

Journeys (for Ballet) Movement III - Passage

"Rolling Tough" is written in a bravura, cinematic movie soundtrack style, containing simple and successful music for the very young student (only the first six notes introduced in most method books). The use of ample percussion will be exhilarating for your ensemble. Your band will sound impressively hard-hitting with this great work for very beginning bands. 

Rolling Tough

Based on Gullah music from the islands off of South Carolina and Georgia, "Juba" is a tuneful, funky piece with tons of percussion and some great solo opportunities for your young players to improvise. Add in some hambone clapping and optional improvisation and you have all the ingredients to change up the pace of your concert program! 

Juba

Kevin Mixon is an accomplished composer and arranger with several published works for band and orchestra available through Carl Fischer Music, Alfred Publishing, and Kendor Music.  He is a National Board Certified Teacher and is currently teaching music in the Peoria (IL) City Schools.  

Mixon is in frequent demand as a conductor and clinician for festivals and conferences such as the International Society for Music Education Convention, The Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic, National Association for Music Education events, and state and regional music conferences, as well as a visiting professor and lecturer at universities and colleges such as VanderCook College of Music, Crane School of Music, Syracuse University, Bradley University, and Onondaga Community College.  

He is author of "Reaching and Teaching All Instrumental Music Students" and contributing author to "Teaching Music in the Urban Classroom" (both NAfME/Rowman & Littlefield Publications).  Several of his articles have appeared in Education Week, Music Educators Journal, Teaching Music, The Instrumentalist, The American Dalcroze Journal, and The National Band Association Journal.  


Kevin Mixon

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