With a driving Bolero-esque percussion heartbeat, this unique arrangement of the traditional French carol will surely be a holiday concert favorite. Solo opportunities will feature your flute, clarinet, trombone, and timpani players, while ultimately building to a powerful ensemble ending. While this arrangement is intended to be accessible for young bands, there are evident technical challenges for your timpanist and snare drum player, as well as your upper brass. Cue notes have been included in several parts to assist, as needed, important sections of the music. It is my hope that you will enjoy this majestic arrangement of Angels We Have Heard On High!
Are you looking for that perfect holiday concert opener for your mid-level concert band? Well, look no further! You just found it! Chock-full of snippets from some of your favorite Christmas songs, this toe-tapping, up-tempo alla breve piece will get your audience in the holiday spirit right from the get-go. Beware - the recognizable melodies go by fast! How many can you name?
This uptempo samba rendition of Franz X. Gruber's "Silent Night" is sure to get your audience's feet tapping! Add an open solo section, a bass solo with ensemble clapping, an open drum solo, and a half-time swing shout chorus and this chart will surely be a holiday concert favorite for your jazz band!
Paying homage to Pee Wee Ellis' "The Chicken" and Bob Mintzer's "Computer," this funky piece is sure to put a smile on your audience's faces at your next holiday concert! Combining two unlikely holiday melodies ("Auld Lang Syne" by Robert Burns and "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel" by Samuel E. Goldfarb), this infectious funk groove is fun to play and is brimming with musical humor throughout. With plenty of solo opportunities for your players to bring out their best Michael Brecker, Bob Mintzer, Maceo Parker, Eric Marienthal, Miles Davis, Randy Brecker, Wycliffe Gordon, Steve Morse, John Scofield, Dave Weckyl, Jaco Pastorius, Victor Wooten, etc. (you get it)...it's time to jam!
This driving and uptempo work for string orchestra is sure to soar! With rhythmic pizzicato ostinatos and an energetic melody, this fast-paced contemporary string piece will surely give your students the momentum they need to take flight!
Built on three original fugue motifs, Trois Petites Fugues will take the listener seamlessly through three different styles, moods and time signatures while maintaining a steady pulse of 68BPM all the way through. The final measures meld the first and final fugue melodies together to bring the piece to a glorious ending. Harmonically, students will travel through the concert keys of G Major, D Major, E Minor, and briefly visit other harmonic centers through transitional material. This piece is intended for the more advanced ensemble, but is accessible to the intermediate level saxophone quintet.
"Sunrise" is a truly accessible work for string orchestra and piano, and is perfect for celebration of life ceremonies, memorial services, end of year events, and any concert that needs an introspective work to add to its programming. "Sunrise" is a programmatic work intended to depict the beauty and power of a sunrise, specifically in the spring. This music was composed in loving memory of Noah Ram 23, a high school musician that tragically lost his life in a car accident just before the start of his senior year. Noah was an avid multi-instrumentalist, whose principal instruments were the piano, guitar, trumpet and contrabass. It is my hope that this music honors the memory of Noah. The metaphors and symbolism inherent in a sunrise afford the performers and listeners of this music the ability to interpret the melodies and harmonies on a personal level. May this music lift the spirits of all those that have lost a loved one far too soon, and bring feelings of hopefulness and gratefulness with each new sunrise.
"Trust In The Mercy Of God!" is an accompanied divisi choral work intended for advanced high school vocal ensembles, all-state choruses, and collegiate choirs. Originally composed in 2000 and premiered by the University of Miami's (FL) Chorale, under the baton of Jo-Michael Scheibe, this updated 2018 version presents a more accessible arrangement for both the vocalists and pianist, while maintaining the true essence of the text and music. The complex time signatures keep the piece moving forward with contagious melodies that are interspersed with accented and uneven groupings, all driven by the powerful text. Challenging but extremely fun!
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The pieces below are published by Leap Year Music and are available through JWPepper.
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Furioso takes you on an exciting and frolicking ride with A and B-flat harmonic minor scales. With delicate legato melodies, harmonic shifts, and syncopation, this challenging and programmatic work is sure to become one of your students' favorite pieces!
Starting with a beautiful duet between violin and cello, this fantasia rendition of a holiday classic is sure to embrace audiences of all ages. Each section gets a chance to play the melody in either legato or pizzicato.
With its dark harmonies, contagious melodies and bright tempo, this work is enjoyable for all sections.
It captures the essence of the glowing and flickering candles of the menorah.
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Portraying both the reflective and celebratory sides of the Hanukkah season, this piece weaves between minor and parallel major keys, and from legato to staccato articulations creating a vivid musical portrait of Hanukkah. An elegant addition to your holiday program.
