A crunchy, wooden, dynamic, energy-filled piece for a middle school marimba ensemble. We've got 7's and polyrhythms and easy parts, and weird stuff. Perfect for this age group!

Sounds Abound! - Marimba

The Force

This energetic piece for xylophones and speech choir in the diatonic Lydian mode uses the Broken Chord Bordun (B Section) for a middle school ensemble. Minimalist in nature with constantly repeating patterns (Alto Xylophone 2, bass xylophone, maracas) supporting the thematic material (soprano xylophone, alto xylophone 1) and a dense orchestration, Wookie echoes the historical style of composition found in the volumes of Music for Children and documented in The Schulwerk. The form is a seven-part or symmetric rondo, A B A C A B A. Replace the C Section speech with poetry, chanting, a word chain, or other speech as desired.

Sounds Abound

Wookie

From "In the Modes" by Chris Judah Lauder, this great track played on homemade marimbas by Brent Holl is perfect for upper elementary and middle school musicians.

In the Modes

Deep Blue Sea

A great track from Chris Judah Lauder's book, "In the Modes" was composed in class with fifth grade musicians. Played by Brent Holl on homemade, Madin-style marimbas.

In Stride

This is a MIDI realization of a work performed by many fifth and sixth grade classes. It is always successful and always different in the hands of each unique group of children.  The Universal Design element in Dorian Dance is multiple modes of representation of knowledge.  There is differentiation in the parts, giving opportunities for full participation at a variety of levels of challenge.  In addition, students' understanding can be expressed through dance and movement.

Dorian Dance

Steve Owens grew up in upstate NY, and has a bachelor's in musicology, a master’s in Music Education and an MFA in music composition from Vermont College of Fine Arts.  He developed parallel careers as a concert flutist and as an educator in Vermont public schools.  He's published band, choral, and chamber compositions with Hal Leonard and Alry.  Steve has since left academics to pursue composition full time. Recent performances include a woodwind quintet played by City of Tomorrow, and an electro-acoustic sextet performed by The Playground Ensemble. His latest work, "Dysphoria" for the Truberry Duo, explores the inner experience of neurodivergence, drawing on his own experience as an autistic educator.

New tracks tagged #orff Schulwerk