Grade 4 - 6
Band GRADE 4 - 6 ⧫ Band GRADE 2 - 3 ⧫ Band GRADE 1 - 1.5 ⧫ Works for Strings ⧫ Concert Works ⧫ Films Scored ⧫ The Goat (silent film comedy) ⧫ Best Sellers (Alfred)
Works By Theme - Looking for a specific type of piece? CLICK HERE!
BAND GRADE 4 - 6
Alfred Publications (Grade 5): Click to See & Hear
The PMEA Journal said of this four-movement piece for band and narrator: "What a sheer delight these wildly contrasting settings of the Fables are to audiences of all ages. Watson has taken four familiar episodes and brought them to life with narrator and a large wind ensemble instrumentation...The work has a very wide audience appeal -- story lines and imaginative musical interplay captivate children and adults alike. It is without a doubt the finest programmatic/narrative that we've ever come across for band. FOUR STARS!" Commissioned by the West Chester University Wind Ensemble, Kenneth Laudermilch, director and selected as Finalist in the G. Schirmer Young American's Band Competition.
Movt. 1, "The Tortoise and the Hare"
Movt. 2, "The Boy Who Cried Wolf"
Movt. 3, "The Dog and the Bone"
Movt. 4, "The Wolf an His Shadow"
Figurations
Concert Works Unlimited (Shawnee Press, Grade 5-6): Click to hear 30-second clip (Movt. 1) , (Movt. 2), (Movt. 3)
The material for each movement is based on its own 3- or 4-note motivic cell (a set), out of which figurations emerge and develop. The figurations are mostly textural. Small melodic cells progress in each movement as they unfold, shift, build and develop. Although there are cyclical relationships, each of these three Figurations may be performed as a satisfying, stand-alone piece or in any combination desired.
TRN Music Publisher (Grade 5): Click to hear
Flourish On An Easter Hymntune is an exciting setting of the familiar Easter hymn, "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today." Features 10/8 (3+3+2+2) time signature and other mixed meter, a driving timpani part, and an antiphonal approach to brass writing. Colorful metallic percussion - five minutes of celebration and exultation! Flourish On An Easter Hymntune was chosen for the 2014 Bandworld Top 100 listing and Reading Sessions at the Western International Band Clinic in Seattle, WA (Nov. 2014) and American Band College (June 2015). Available from TRN.
Queen Mab
Available from the composer (Grade 5): Click to See & Hear
Shakespeare describes Queen Mab as the spritely queen of the faeries and the midwife of dreams. Mab flits around at night driving a miniature chariot, landing on the noses of sleeping men and women to plant dreams in their minds. The dreams she instigates may be about the fulfillment of wishes, love and desire, bravery in battle, mischievous fun, or even frightening visions. Mab's fantastical exploits are musically portrayed in this programmatic tone poem for winds and percussion. Commissioned in 2016 by a consortium of 12 university and high school ensembles across the U.S. under the auspices of Composers and Schools in Concert (CSIC).
Alfred Publications (Grade 4): Click to hear
The powerful, exciting piece opens atmospherically in tranquil beauty - like a serene lake, a calm sea, or an eerie underwater scene. Shortly, however, the piece bursts into spirited 6/8 material that suggests either water creature or craft moving fast and playfully through the waves. Specifically, however, Aquatica is a musical tribute and remembrance of band director and, later, school superintendent, Robert Gross. Aquatica was commissioned by the Salisbury High School Concert Band, Rachel Reinecke, Director, premiered May, 2013. Alfred Concert Band Series, a 2014 JW Pepper Editors Choice, reviewed enthusiastically in The Instrumentalist (Oct. 2014). Available in SmartMusic.
Concert Works Unlimited (Grade 4.5): Click to hear
Based on phrases from the 18th-century tune, "Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes," The Instrumentalist magazine calls this piece "an outstanding instrumental fantasia." The PMEA Journal calls it "an expansive work with waves of color and textures abounding." Commissioned by the Whitehall High (PA) School Band, Rick Hilborn, Director. Distributed by Hal Leonard.
Wingert-Jones (Grade 4): Click to hear
A Golden Legacy was written to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Lehigh County (Pennsylvania) Band Festival. The piece celebrates the significant impact of the band experience on the lives of so many, and alternates between two themes: one a fanfare that becomes a purposeful march, and the other a chorale (or hymn tune) that undergoes several variations. The last of these variations erupts in celebration with full woodwind scoring, brass fanfares, and exciting runs by the bells and chimes. A 2017 J.W. Pepper Editor's Choice, selected for the 2017 Bandworld Top 100 listing.
Wingert-Jones (Grade 4): Click to See & Hear
This musical portrayal of the vivid mechanical imagery and scenic beauty in Theodore Roethke's poem about a late night train ride was commissioned by the Massachusetts Instrumental & Choral Conductors Association (MICCA) for premiere at the 2007 Massachusetts Music Educators Association Conference in Boston, MA. Published by Wingert-Jones and named a 2011 J.W. Pepper "Editor's Choice." Available in SmartMusic.
Alfred Publications (Grade 3.5-4): Click to See & Hear
Hope helps each of us face life’s challenges with courage and optimism. Gift of Hope musically captures musically both of these aspects of hope. Opening dramatically, the piece soon settles into an upbeat, joyful main theme. Slower contrasting material follows, building from a tender, transparently-scored opening to a climax full of resolve. The optimistic main theme returns, leading to a dramatic, heroic conclusion. Gift of Hope was commissioned by the Bernards High School Symphonic Band (Bernardsville, New Jersey), Mr. Fred Trumpy, director and is dedicated to the selfless work of hope done on behalf of critically ill children by Give Kids the World Village (gktw.org), Orlando, Florida. Gift of Hope is a 2021 Stanton's Music Five Star Feature!
Featured Recording
Queen Mab (Grade 5)
"...the spritely queen of the faeries and the midwife of dreams. Mab flits around at night driving a miniature chariot, landing on the noses of sleeping men and women to plant dreams in their minds...Mab's fantastical exploits are musically portrayed in this programmatic tone poem for winds and percussion.
Performance by the Montgomery County Concert Band, Asst. Director, Bret Mascaro, conducting.