A sample of my works for professional and top-level University Symphony Orchestras and Wind Ensembles

Professional Works

Dusk (band version) was written for Andrew Gekoskie and the Langley High School Wind Symphony in 2004. In 2008, I decided to make a version for youth orchestra as well.

Band: http://www.stevenbryant.com/dusk.php
Orchestra: http://www.stevenbryant.com/dusk-orch.php

Dusk

Hummingbrrd

"Parody Suite" is the umbrella term for my four pieces that quote and rework familiar melodies from other popular band works: Chester Leaps In, ImPercynations, MetaMarch, and Suite Dreams. While I've used the term "parody" in this title, I do NOT mean it to imply that I'm belittling or ridiculing any of the original pieces. In fact, I believe it would be more accurate to describe these as 'remixes' of the originals, as filtered through my hazy memory of playing these works when I was a student in various bands.

They can be performed together, or individually, or in any combination. If you're performing all four, the original intended order is:

ImPercynations
Suite Dreams
MetaMarch
Chester Leaps In
This ordering preserves some key relationships I've purposely set up across the works, and helps it to somewhat adhere to a traditional symphonic scheme (slow 2nd mvt., march for the 3rd mvt., etc.). This order is not set in stone, however. A common programming approach with several of these in the past has been to pair them with the parodied work. For example, Chester Leaps In and Schumann's Chester have appeared on a number of programs together.

Parody Suite

Music Player

Grammy Award-winning vocalist Hila Plitmann's live performance of my work, Hummingbrrd, adapted specifically for her for this concert at the Boston Court Theater, Pasadena, CA, May 23rd, 2010.

Hummingbrrd (Hila Plitmann, live)

Centennial Chimes is one of three short fanfares commissioned by the University of North Carolina Greensboro School of Music to celebrate their 100th anniversary (1921-2021). The title derives from the UNCG School of Music centennial occasion of the commission, as well as the prominent use of Chimes and other pitched metallic percussion used throughout the work to give it a celebratory character.

I have a long and warm association with UNCG, including having taught music composition there, and wish the School of Music another successful 100 years of education and inspiration to all those who walk its halls.

The other two fanfares:
A Brighter Light
A Chorus Loud and Strong

Centennial Chimes (live, WAWOP 2022)

Live world premiere recording of my Concerto for Alto Saxophone. Joe Lulloff, Saxophone, Michigan State University Wind Symphony, Kevin Sedatole, conductor. 22 April, 2014, Wharton Center, MSU campus.
PDF score, program note, etc: http://www.concertoforaltosaxophone.com

The studio release of this work is now available on In This Broad Earth: Music of Steven Bryant, by the Michigan State University Wind Symphony.

Concerto for Alto Saxophone (live MSU World Premiere)

This Silver World was commissioned by a consortium of alumni band directors from Campbellsville University, led by the Campbellsville University Wind Ensemble in loving memory of recently-passed director Jennifer L. Tinnell.

“This Silver World captures the shimmering joy that Jennifer brought to any space. The minimal percussive presence in the work represents the felt absence of her life and the tremendous gift that she was to all family, friends, colleagues, and students who are forever changed by her love for each of them and the music she shared.”
-Director Corey S. Bonds

The work is a short, sparkling, yet introspective fanfare, that takes its title from my mentor and first composition teacher, Francis McBeth. I recall during my lessons with him he mentioned that he wanted someday to write a piece with this title that would feature bright, sparkling, metallic percussion. Unfortunately, he never got the opportunity to compose the work. In thinking of how to honor Jennifer Tinnell and her evident mentorship and leadership to the Campbellsville University band community over 20 years, this seemed a fitting way to connect to my own reverence for a teacher, mentor, and friend who has passed.

This Silver World (Live World Premiere)

Aloft evokes the relentless pursuit of powered flight by the Wright Brothers at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, as well as the broader sense of persistence and elation during any creative act.

Aloft is meant to be truly accessible to a very wide range of musicians, conforming to the North Carolina Bandmasters Association MPA grade 2 guidelines, and thus playable by young and inexperienced musicians everywhere.

I am grateful to Danny Green, the Wachovia Winds Youth Wind Ensemble, and all the members of the consortium for creating this unique project for so many North Carolina composers. Special thanks to Philip Riggs for additional consultation on making the work’s technical demands accessible to young musicians.

Aloft (ECU reading session)

A synthetic sound world of neon nostalgia that evolves into an optimistic synth anthem of bliss.

This is a reading session that Glen Adsit and the Hartt School generously did for me. Real performance(s) will be uploaded at some point in the future.

Synthetic Sunlight (Hartt School READING SESSION)

The MIDI realization of my new work for high school-level band + live electronics. Free PDF score and more info: http://stevenbryant.com/coil-band.php

Score

Coil (MIDI)

World Premiere by the University of Texas at Austin Wind Ensemble, Jerry Junkin, conductor.
PROGRAM NOTE and SCORE: http://www.stevenbryant.com/concertoforwindensemble.php

Video series documenting the creation of the piece: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5B6601309A46F5BD

Concerto for Wind Ensemble (UT world premiere)

More info + free PDF score: http://stevenbryant.com/dusk.php

Dusk (Band version)

This is the symphony orchestra arrangement of the band version of Dusk. I believe it works well for youth orchestras, and is in fact a bit easier than the original version because string players don't have to breathe...

Free PDF perusal score: http://www.stevenbryant.com/dusk-orch.php

Dusk (Symphony Orchestra version)

PROGRAM NOTE and SCORE: http://www.stevenbryant.com/suitedreams.php

Suite Dreams

The original Hummingbrrd. Made using only my own voice for all sounds. Editing and processing done in Melodyne and assembled in Digital Performer.

This was with one of the earliest versions of Melodyne, in 2003, and was my first experiment with the software. The ability to "cut out the middleman" and directly sing every line I wanted made for a very quick compositional process (48 hours) instead of my usual snail's pace.

Hummingbrrd - Steven Bryant (2003)

Remix / "mashup" of Percy Grainger's Lincolnshire Posy.
PROGRAM NOTE and SCORE: http://stevenbryant.com/imp.php

ImPercynations

PROGRAM NOTE and SCORE: http://stevenbryant.com/cliwe.php

Chester Leaps In

PROGRAM NOTE and SCORE: http://stevenbryant.com/metamarch.php

MetaMarch

Live performance by the Michigan State University Wind Symphony, conducted by Verena Moesenbichler-Bryant.
PROGRAM NOTE and SCORE: http://stevenbryant.com/radiantjoy-we.php

Radiant Joy

My first work for symphony orchestra. This is the world premiere by the Juilliard Symphony, Jeff Milarsky, conducting. Alice Tully Hall, April 1st, 1997.

Loose Id for Orchestra

This is a personal edit, to correct some erroneous tempos. This is the closest to a correct interpretation that I know of, and you can only hear it here!
More information and downloadable score: http://stevenbryant.com/bloom.php

Bloom (Youth/Community Band)

"The President's Own" United State Marine Band, Lt. Col. Jason Fettig, conductor.

Ecstatic Fanfare (USMB)

Commissioned by the Abilene Civic Orchestra and the Texas Region 6 string orchestra, this new version for string orchestra (and optional harp/piano) was the idea of my dear friend and Abilene Christian University conductor, Steven Ward. While I created a version of Dusk for full symphony orchestra 16 years ago (and the band version turns 20 in April, 2024!), it never occurred to me to create a version solely for strings, but I believe this version exquisitely captures the introspective nature and pacing of the work.

Dusk For String Orchestra (Civic Orchestra Of Abilene)

The new saxophone ensemble version of my work for band. A slow, pretty adagio based on the Robert Frost poem of the same name.

Nothing Gold Can Stay (saxophone ensemble) MSU premiere

Musikkorps der Bayerischen Polizei, Johann Mösenbichler, conductor.
From the album "Das Jüngste Gericht" available on iTunes.
VIDEO SCORE version: http://youtu.be/-cjCZzvsGUo
Score download: http://www.stevenbryant.com/dusk.php


Dusk - Musikkorps der Bayerischen Polizei (Band)

An adaption of the tango movement from The Treachery of Sounds, originally for Pierrot+ and electronics for the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble. This new version removes the electronics and expands the ensemble to a chamber orchestra. Premiered April, 2025, by Marc Sosnowchik and the University of Texas New Music Ensemble, Austin, TX.

The Lovers (UT New Music Ensemble world premiere)

Engines of Wonder seeks to enthrall the players and audience alike with a soundworld of energizing hope. The piece opens with an optional ethereal introduction, and is then propelled by the pulsing groove of the electronics in an ever-growing sense of amazement and wonder.

I hope this music demonstrates to musicians at the very beginning of their musical journey, as well as more advanced players, the power and joy of playing music together in a community, and spurs them to actively make music their entire lives.

Engines of Wonder (grade 1) ASU MIX

The Lovers is an adaptation of one movement from a much larger work, The Treachery of Sounds. Originally scored for Violin, Cello, Flute, Clarinet, Piano, Percussion, and electronics, this new version captures the tango dance of the original, with two masked dancers, for Alto Saxophone and Piano.

The title is from René Magritte’s painting of a couple, kissing while their heads are shrouded. They are simultaneously intimately entwined and kept separate. I envisioned a wild tango, fragmented at first, that gradually gains cohesion, momentum, and passion. A brief, traditional tango interlude sees the dancers in the original version come together unmasked, only to return to the masked, unrequited, unstable dance from before, exhausting themselves.

I am grateful to Andrea Edlbauer and Oksana Kuzo for their fantastic musicianship and generous help in testing this new version and giving the world premiere of the work!

The Lovers

The Lovers (Duo Edlbauer Kuzo)

All Stars Are Love (UT Wind Ensemble)

Perusal Score, program note, and more: http://www.stevenbryant.com/music/catalog/in-this-broad-earth-band

In This Broad Earth (MSU Premiere)

One of the two world premieres of my Concerto for Trombone, written for Joseph Alessi. University of Texas Austin Wind Ensemble, Jerry Junkin, conductor. 19 February 2016. Bates Recital Hall.
Free perusal PDF score and more info: www.stevenbryant.com or www.concertofortrombone.com
NOTE: this was recorded only using the overhead mics, without any specific mic on Alessi, so while you can hear him quite well, it's not quite as accurate as it would be live.

Concerto For Trombone (UT Wind Ensemble Premiere)

Score and more: http://www.stevenbryant.com/music/catalog/nothing-gold-can-stay

Nothing Gold Can Stay was commissioned as a surprise gift for Kevin Sedatole in honor of his first ten years at Michigan State University. His conducting students spanning that decade, led by Jamal Duncan and Armand Hall, banded together and approached me at the 2015 College Band Directors National Convention in Nashville about writing the work, and I knew immediately that I couldn’t refuse this special project, made all the more appropriate because my wife, Verena, was one of Kevin’s very first students at MSU.

The music is my deliberate attempt to write a chorale – something simple, beautiful, and familiar. The deceptive surface simplicity of Robert Frost’s poem seems to coincide with this music, particularly the paradoxical descending of dawn to day, all embodying the concept of felix culpa, or “lucky fall” – the idea that loss can bring greater good, and is in fact necessary.

Nothing Gold Can Stay (MSU World Premiere)

The Baritone Sax version of Hummingbrrd, played live by Chemie Ching at Michigan State University.

Hummingbrrd - Baritone Sax (Chemie Ching)

The official studio recording of my Concerto for Alto Saxophone by Joseph Lulloff and the Michigan State University Wind Symphony, as recording on their release, In This Broad Earth. Kevin Sedatole, conductor.

In This Broad Earth

Concerto for Alto Saxophone: III

Concerto for Alto Saxophone: II

Concerto for Alto Saxophone: I

Euphonium solo (plus backing track) version of my Hummingbrrd, commissioned by Robert Benton. You can buy this track as part of Robert's CD release, Mirrors, at justforbrass.com.

Sheet music (PDF or paper available!): http://www.stevenbryant.com/hummingbrrd-euphonium.php

iPhone/iPad app for performance and practice: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hummingbrrd/id846029437?mt=8

Hummingbrrd (Euphonium version)

Tau Beta Sigma/Kappa Kappa Psi NIB World Premiere, July 2017.

5) Irrational Joy

4) The Low Arc Of The Sun

3) Eristic Zeal

1) Introit: Tin Riot

The MIDI realization of my work for young band + electronics. Commissioned by a consortium of middle schools and high schools in North Carolina, led by Arris Golden. Premiere: May 10th, 2012.

The Machine Awakes (MIDI realization)

World Youth Wind Orchestra Project 2012 live performance, July 2012, Schladming, Austria. Douglas Henderson, conductor

The Marbled Midnight Mile (WYWOP 2012)

Reading session of The Machine Awakes, by the University of North Carolina Greensboro Symphonic Band and Kevin Geraldi. Oct. 9th, 2012.

The Machine Awakes is a work for band and electronics designed for beginning and community musicians.

Download a free PDF perusal score here: http://stevenbryant.com/the-machine-awakes.php

The Machine Awakes (UNCG Symphonic Band reading)

United States Marine Band "The President's Own" live performance of Ecstatic Waters. May 2nd, 2010, Alexandria, VA, Col. Michael J. Colburn, conducting.

Free PDF perusal score and more info: http://stevenbryant.com/ecstaticwaters.php

Ecstatic Waters - US Marine Band (live)

Live performance by the World Youth Wind Orchestra project ensemble, Gary Hill, conductor. Part of the Mid Europe festival every July in Schladming, Austria. More info: wywop.org

Score and more info about the music: https://www.stevenbryant.com/music/catalog/the-automatic-earth

Shout-out to Francisco Borja-Prieto (Clarinet solo) and William Hueholt (Piano)!

The Automatic Earth - WYWOP 2019

My dear friend and extraordinary cellist graciously came over and recorded both parts of this duet for me in May, 2019, without any prior rehearsal, and no click track to guide the interplay and timing of the two parts. http://www.carolinestinson.com/Default.aspx

Duet (Caroline Stinson, cello)

Shortened version of my fanfare, In This Broad Earth, to demonstrate the Flex and Brass Ensemble versions of the work.

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