September 28, 2018

HAYWIRE | University of West Georgia Wind Ensemble

George N. Gianopoulos || The Volstead Act for Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Op. 46

It is 1919: you’re sitting in your favorite pub or have just purchased a bottle (or two) of wine to enjoy over dinner. Suddenly, all of the nation’s libation’s are drained, destroyed, and depleted – meet the Volstead Act, America’s driest wet season, colloquially known as prohibition. This thirteen minute roaring symphonic wind ensemble work foxtrot’s through boozy America, swims through bootlegging, and rhumbas into the repeal of one of this countries haziest constitutional amendments.

The Volstead Act for Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Op. 46

Program notes:
On White and Crimson was commissioned by Justin Swearinger for the Monmouth College Wind Ensemble, an ensemble I spent four formative years performing in as an undergraduate student. This piece is inspired by a memory from my freshman year of a professor explaining that flowing beneath the Monmouth campus is an underground river which shaped its hills and influenced the placement of many of the campus’s buildings. Reflecting on this memory, I remembered a quote by Philip Glass which surprisingly connects the idea of the underground river to the ways in which my undergrad made an impact on my conception of music. 

“My experience with music is that it’s like an underground river, it’s always there. And like an underground river, you don’t know where it comes from and you don’t know where it’s going. The only difference is whether you are listening to it or not.”  
								—Philip Glass

Representing the river, most of the wind players have two smooth stones, like those you might find in riverbeds. The sounds created by clicking or gently grinding these stones together are found all throughout the piece, enriching its textures. The title of this piece is adapted from Monmouth College’s alma mater: A Flame of White and Crimson. While there are no musical references to the hymn, this piece is my attempt at writing on my college experience—looking back now over five years post graduation.


performed by the University of Maryland Wind Orchestra, dir. Michael Votta
May 3, 2024

On White and Crimson (2023) for wind ensemble

Last Tuesday (for Wind Ensemble)

Grade 1.5-2.5 band piece. Get at brandonthecomposer.com

Last Warrior

A brief yet charming 'Allegretto' for 11 winds by Michele Carafa (1787-1872), composed in 1845 while a teacher at the Paris Conservatory. Prior to his career as an opera composer, Carafa was a lieutenant in Napoleon's army and composed numerous works for wind band ("musique militaire"). Never published or recorded. World premiere digital performance, created using Finale 27 and NotePerformer 4. Scored for flute, 2 oboes, 3 clarinets, cornet, 2 horns and 2 bassoons.

Michele Carafa: Allegretto for wind ensemble (1845)

In June of 2023 I went on the most exhilarating, awe-inspiring, and spiritually fulfilling trip I have ever been on. As part of the Composing in the Wilderness Lake Clark 2023 program me and five other composers led by our wilderness guides and the founder of the program Stephen Lias camped and explored the wilderness on Lower Tazimina Lake in Lake Clark National Park in Alaska. I’m still speechless about this experience and the pure beauty of the unsullied environment I found myself in. I have always loved being out in nature and appreciating the profound beauty that Mother Earth has provided for us. Being a part of this select group and living within this space was life changing.

As part of the experience each composer received a “creative assignment” that serves a particular purpose within the overall program of the six works. My assignment was to write a “light, humorous, or playful” wind ensemble work. At first, I had a really hard time with this assignment. I did not view this place as “light, humorous, or playful” whatsoever and was having a really hard time coming up with ideas that depicted this. On our first day of hiking, we took short creative breaks where we could contemplate our assignments and come up with ideas. Rather than searching for answers about my piece I found myself being in the moment and simply taking in what my eyes were witnessing. I felt my spirit being intertwined with Mother Earth’s spirit and, in that moment, was the most important thing to me. The ideas can come later, but those moments were dedicated to me and nature.

As we continued our hike, I started to think how I was supposed to write this “light, humorous, or playful” piece about a place I didn’t view as “light, humorous, or playful,” in fact very far from it. Then, out of the brush, a snowy white bird emerged and flew to a nearby tree making a guttural series of clucking sounds. Our guides identified it as a willow ptarmigan, a type of grouse commonly found in subarctic tundra. It was spectacular to witness such a beautiful bird. As the week progressed, I observed more birds and their songs. One morning we were sitting on the beach eating breakfast and a flock of what looked like sanderlings flew right past us. It was at this moment where I knew how I could write a playful piece, the Alaskan birds, and their various dances. 

𝙅𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙮 𝘼𝙗𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙏𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙖: 𝘿𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙋𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙖𝙣 depicts the willow ptarmigan, represented by the bassoon, and their highly territorial and playful nature along with other various birds I heard while in the wilderness and their interactions with one another.

𝙅𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙮 𝘼𝙗𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙏𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙖 is written as part of the Composing in the Wilderness Lake Clark 2023 program led by Stephen Lias. Premiere performances will be done in spring 2024 by Tamey Anglley and the Stephen F. Austin University Wind Ensemble, Carolyn Barber and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Wind Ensemble, and Kevin Tutt and the Grand Valley State University Wind Symphony.

Journey Above the Tundra: Dance of the Willow Ptarmigan

Working on my arranging chops with "Saturn" by SZA, one of my favorite artists! I hope you enjoy it as much as I have! :)

Saturn (SZA) for Concert Band

"Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light" is an historical drama television series, first broadcast by the BBC in 2024, ten years after the original 'Wolf Hall' series in 2014. It is the second and final part of the adaptation of the 'Wolf Hall' novels by Hilary Mantel, covering 'The Mirror & the Light', the final novel in the trilogy. The series begins with Thomas Cromwell navigating the Tudor court in the aftermath of the 1536 execution of Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn, and the monarch about to marry his third wife, Jane Seymour. Debbie Wiseman returns as the series composer, and her haunting score contains leit motifs for the major characters, but most prominent is Cromwell's, heard on Cor Anglais; this short piece from the soundtrack, freshly arranged for concert band, brings together the main themes in all their intimate majesty. Demands a very resonant acoustic and, preferably, dimmed lights (or even candlelight) to really capture the atmosphere. Arranged as part of an ongoing project to bring more music by women into the worldwide concert band repertoire.

Download the score and parts for your band today: https://www.sheetmusicdirect.com/en-US/se/ID_No/1670541/Product.aspx

Wolf Hall - The Mirror and the Light (Debbie Wiseman) (Concert Band)

A bright, aggressive fanfare in major key. Classical caffeine for your ears!

Fanfare for a New Beginning

A staccato theme, scored in ever-evolving antiphonal complexity among competing tribes of strings and woodwinds, leads to a massive, cathartic brass chorale.

Pursuit

校歌をモチーフにした前作Rose of Februaryを、卒業式の退場用にアレンジしなおした曲です。退場がしやすいようにテンポ変化はしないように作ってあります。別れの季節にふさわしく、どこか切なくそして希望を見いだせる曲として作りました。

また、途中にはここ10年ちょっとくらいの生徒には縁の深い第九のフレーズも追加しました。しっとりと聴かせたいですね。

Rose of Farewell

Dr. Bob Eason, soprano saxophone
Dr. Tamey Anglley, condutor
Stephen F. Austin State University Wind Ensemble

I. Light (Prelude) (00:00)
II. Bison (02:22)
III. Timber (06:27)
IV. Water (10:52)
V. Fuel (15:59)
VI. Light (Postlude) (18:59)

The title of "The Myth of Inexhaustibility" is derived from the notion that our natural resources will never run out. The piece explores the overexploitation of our natural resources through four movements: Bison, Timber, Water, and Fuel, that are bookended by a prelude and postlude, Light. Each is a resource that has been historically overharvested in American history. The work takes inspiration from the sounds of agricultural and industrial expansion with an Americana flavor in the harmonic, rhythmic, and melodic language, covering a broad range of emotions, from frantic development to despair to glimmers of hope, with challenging material for the saxophonist soloist. The piece exists in both soprano sax and wind ensemble AND soprano sax and piano or fixed media versions.

Join the consortium here: https://www.benmorrismusic.com/mythconsortium

YouTube video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmisvDmG5Y8

The piece exists in both soprano sax and wind ensemble AND soprano sax and piano or fixed media versions.

Thank you to Stephen Lias and Nathan Stansbury for recording video, and Byron Reinhardt, Stephen Bacarisse, and Hugh Taylor for audio and technical assistance.

The Myth of Inexhaustibility

Learn more or join the consortium: https://www.alawsonmusic.com/symphony1.html

Program Notes
"Symphony No. 1 - The Light Shines" finds its origins in, of all places, a poem by the late author J.R.R. Tolkien titled Noel. This poem is one of Tolkein’s few explicitly religious writings and is focused on Christmas. The title of the piece comes from a passage in the New Testament, John 1:5, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." The musical journey taken throughout follows a path from the darkness into the light. This music is of a greatly personal nature to me as a person of faith. Throughout the work, melodies and motifs are borrowed from the 371 Four-Part Chorales by J.S. Bach and three traditional carols, "Coventry Carol", "Greensleeves", and "Adeste Fidelis". While my original intention was not to create a Christmas-themed work, as the music evolved it began to take on a journey from darkness to light, and more elements, including the use of traditional carols and hymns, began to be incorporated.

I. Moderato (m. 1 - 201)
The beginnings of Symphony No. 1 are in that of darkness, portrayed at first through quotations of the traditional English carol, Coventry Carol. From here, motifs derived thereof and other original material capture the gloom, melancholy, and bleakness described in the opening stanza of Tolkien’s poem. Elements of the first movement include soft, bleak moments, followed by quick, chaotic frenzies, bombastic brass, a fugal segment, and dark, majestic brass. The movement closes as softly as it began.

II. Adagio (m. 202 - 314)
The second movement is sparse in nature, portraying the vastness of the world and the bleakness of a cold winter night. The theme here, Greensleeves, which is presented in augmented and segmented forms, is accompanied by bird calls and other brief disruptions mimicking descriptions of nature given by Tolkein in his poem. This is followed by a powerful surge of Greensleeves and is then diminished back to the nature theme, fading out to a single voice in the clarinet. 

III. Brillante (m. 315 - 420) 
The third movement is largely based on a choral from Johann Sebastian Bach's Christmas Oratorio - Brich an, o schönes Morgenlicht (Break forth, O beauteous morning light). Presented in a sort of reverse theme and variations, the third movement begins with a jarring fortissimo statement in the winds and percussion, followed by a series of variations on the chorale theme in two distinct styles. These variations are followed by the chorale in its natural form, presented by a woodwind choir. 

IV. Gioioso e luminoso (m. 421 - 625)
The final movement of this work takes themes from the first and second movements and presents them in a different light. Following these re-imaginings of established themes, we hear two quotes from movement 1, followed by a surge of flurrying woodwinds and percussion building to a triumphant statement of "Adeste Fidelis" across tutti brass and woodwinds. 

Symphony No. 1 - The Light Shines

Atiran Srichada-First Pagoda

Atiran Srichada-Ashita March

Atiran Srichada-The Holy Land

Sean Klink is a composer and educator currently pursuing his DMA at the University of Maryland.

Email: seanmichaelklink@gmail.com

Ceruliyan composes orchestral, wind band, guitar, and percussion music for stage, screen, and streaming.

Ben Morris is a composer whose music tells unconventional stories and crosses genre boundaries. He is Assistant Professor of Composition at Stephen F. Austin State University.

趣味で作曲をしているものです。
お気に召していただければ幸いです。

Andrew E. Lawson is an American composer, arranger, orchestrator, and music educator. Since 2019, he has served as Director of Bands at the Innovation Academy of Robertson County in Springfield, TN. His responsibilities at Innovation Academy include directing the Beginning Band, Middle School Concert Band, High School Band, Jazz Band, Percussion Ensemble, and Athletic Bands. In 2022, Lawson was honored as a Marquis Who's Who in America Biographee for his contributions to music education and music literature, and in 2023, he was named Distinguished Educator of the Year at Innovation Academy.
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As a composer, Lawson writes for a variety of ensembles, including band, orchestra, brass band, brass choir, and chamber ensembles. He is a three-time winner of the Dallas Wind Symphony's International Fanfare Composition Competition (2016, 2019, 2020) and, in 2020, had compositions named a semi-finalist and finalist for The American Prize in Wind Band Composition. In 2022, he joined the arranging staff at SouthCoast Music and Design. Over the last decade, Lawson has written over 250 arrangements for churches across the Southeastern United States and continues to write and arrange for the church on a regular basis. Andrew's music has been commissioned and performed by middle school, high school, collegiate, and professional ensembles across the United States, including the Roane County High School Wind Ensemble, Tullahoma High School Band, Tennessee Tech University Symphony Band, University of Georgia Wind Ensemble, Texas Tech Concert Band, Vandercook College of Music Symphonic Band, and most notably, the Dallas Wind Symphony. His music has also been featured at state and national band conferences including the Virginia Music Education Association Conference and the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic. His music is currently published with Lovebird Music, BrookWright Music, and Murphy Music Press.

Andrew is a graduate of Tullahoma High School in Tullahoma, TN, and holds a Bachelor's Degree in Instrumental Music Education from Tennessee Technological University. During his time at TTU, he was a member of the Wind Ensemble, Symphony Band, University Orchestra, Bryan Symphony Orchestra, Horn Choir, Clarion Wind Quintet, Aureus Wind Quintet, and the Golden Eagle Marching Band. Lawson has also performed as a guest artist with the Sewanee Symphony Orchestra. and has served as a counselor and instructor at the Summer Music Institute at Tennessee Tech University. During his undergraduate studies, Lawson studied under the instruction of Mr. Joseph Hermann, Dr. Eric Harris, Dr. Greg Danner, and Dr. Jeff Miller.

Lawson’s professional affiliations include active memberships in the Middle Tennessee School Band and Orchestra Association (MTSBOA), Tennessee Music Educators Association (TMEA), Tennessee Bandmasters Association (TBA), High School Band Director's National Association (HSBDNA), National Band Association (NBA), American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), and the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). When away from teaching, composing, and performing, Andrew spends his time hiking, bike riding, kayaking, volunteering at his church, spending time with friends and family, and playing disc golf.

Official SoundCloud of composer Katahj Copley

Darius Edwards is an award-winning saxophonist and composer based in Nashville, Tennessee. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville with a Bachelor's degree in Music Education with an emphasis in Saxophone Performance and a minor in Music Composition.

Dr. Trevor Frost is a freelance educator, conductor and composer based in Nebraska. Frost received his Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in Wind Band Conducting with a related area in Composition from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His duties at UNL included work with the Ensemble Performance Lab, Symphonic Band, Campus Band, the Big Red Express pep bands, and the Cornhusker Marching Band. Prior to joining the team at UNL, Frost served as the music director at Paul Elementary School in Wakefield, New Hampshire creating a band, chorus, and general music program. He received his Master of Arts in Music: Music Conducting degree from the University of New Hampshire in 2021, and his Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from the University of New Hampshire in 2016. Frost remains active as a composer receiving commissions from the New Hampshire Youth Band, the University of New Hampshire Wind Symphony, the Keene State Concert Choir, Lebanon High School (NH), and Pittsfield High School (MA). Frost was also selected as one of six composers for the “Composing in the Wilderness 2023 Lake Clark” program led by Composer-Adventurer Stephen Lias.

I am an active composer and arranger in the USA. Please visit brandonthecomposer.com for more information.

New tracks tagged #windensemble