 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: FDF
Date: 2009-08-25 03:00
One of the bands I play in has an extremely traditional repertoire, but now our musicians and our audience are aging and diminishing. We need some new music to encourage younger instrumentalists and to gain an audience more representative of the community. Recommendations, please, for legitimate concert band music that has been written and successfully performed in the last half century. Thanks for your help.
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Author: mrn
Date: 2009-08-25 03:43
Blue Shades by Frank Ticheli (1996) is a lot of fun. It's legit (it's actually a serialist piece--although not in a strict sense), but jazz-inspired, and written within the last 15 years or so. You can listen to a complete performance here. It also has a really neat (and fun to play) clarinet solo, which you can hear my interpretation of here (I played this piece in a community band).
Another neat band piece from the latter half of the 20th century is Rocky Point Holiday by Ron Nelson, written in 1969. You can listen to an extremely fast rendition of it from the West Texas A&M U. symphonic band here. When my high school band played this, we didn't take it quite this fast and neither does the Dallas Wind Symphony. The last page or so is a lot of fun.
Another fun piece which is perhaps a little older than 50 years, but not by much is the suite of Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. The original is for orchestra, of course, but there is a nice band transcription of it that I have played a couple of times in different bands.
Another Bernstein transcription for band is the Overture from Candide. My high school band played this one year (it was the year after I graduated).
Another one I just thought of...Johan de Meij's "Lord of the Rings" Symphony. We played a movement of this at Region Band one year when I was in high school. It was written for band in 1988 [so it had only been out a few years when we played it]. (although as of 2001 there is also an orchestral version). The composer has a website here. You can also see a video of mvt. V (the one we played, entitled "Hobbits") here.
Gavorkna Fanfare by Jack Stamp is another recent piece (1991) that's kind of fun. Here's a video of this one.
Another piece we played in community band was Puszta by Jan van der Roost (1987).
Post Edited (2009-08-25 05:03)
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Author: FDF
Date: 2009-08-25 12:07
EEBaum, The general abilities of the band have been quite high. However, the diminution of the band is evident as members retire from their jobs and move or take up new interests. We are aging, as is our audience. The director aspires to create a band that maintains the standards of great concert bands of the past, such as John Phillip Sousa’s Band and to maintain the musical literature of the great march and circus music composers, such as Sousa, Fillmore, and King, in addition to operatic overtures and other traditional concert music. One of our more recent concerts included: "Barataria-Marsch," by Komzak; La Gazza Ladra, by Rossini, "Invercargill," by Lithgow, and as a departure, two numbers by Leroy Anderson.
mrn, thanks for the suggestions. I will listen to everything you posted.
Ben, Your question is "legitimate." Examples of music that is not considered (occasional exceptions) for this band are show tunes, movie music, dixieland, dance music, etc.
All, please understand that I have great respect for this band, and I'm trying to think of ways to help the organization continue. However, I'm not very familiar with more recent works.
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2009-08-25 12:31
Hmm. Quite a short leash, this "legitimate music" definition. Somewhat difficult to attract new generations yet dismiss show/movie/dance music...
--
Ben
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Author: GeorgeL ★2017
Date: 2009-08-25 14:51
There may be a difference between attracting younger musicians and a younger audience. A lot of younger musicians post on this board - they can tell you the music they like to play. Many non-musical people of the same age seem to believe that music is limited to poetry set to a loud bass line. If the Boston Pops has to resort to being a stage band for popular entertainers in order to get a younger audience (my perception from seeing them occasionally on TV), how does a community band reach this audience?
To not play lighter fare seems really strange. I'm happy when the band plays anything except music only a music-major would tolerate. (You know it when you hear it.) Fortunately, I have not been exposed to much of that kind of music since I left college.
Does your band play music by Alfred Reed or Philip Sparke? Both are good for both band and audience enjoyment.
Get your director to learn about Sousa, who played what he thought the audience would like; not what he or the band wanted to play. And he made a lot of money doing it that way.
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Author: fontan29
Date: 2009-08-25 15:39
Here's a list of some newer compositions and composers for band/ wind ensemble that you might be interested in:
Steven Bryant (http://www.stevenbryant.com/)- He is an incredible composer! I love the emotion in his pieces. I've performed "Dusk" and "Logic of All My Dreams" and they are fantastic!
John Mackey (www.ostimusic.com)- He writes very high energy pieces that listeners (musicians or not) really enjoy. His most popular piece is called "Redline Tango". He has some other ones like "Turning" and "Kingfisher's Catch Fire" that are fun to play and listen to, and they are also accessible to many audiences.
Jonathan Newman (http://jonathannewman.com/)- Another great young composer. Check out his piece "Avenue X".
David Maslanka (http://www.davidmaslanka.com/)- His "Child's Garden of Dreams" is a masterpiece. Also check out his "Give Us This Day" and "Tears"
I think if you put on high quality concerts of high quality music, then you are more likely to attract an audience, rather than putting on a good concert of mediocre music. Several Pulitzer Prize winning composers are now writing for band! Be sure to check some of their works out: Corigliano, John Adams, William Bolcom, David Del Tredici, Michael Colgrass, and many more! A good place to start is with the Windependence Series by Boosey & Hawkes. They have some great pieces! http://www.boosey.com/teaching/series/Windependence/10130
If you would like more help, please let me know. Also, don't be afraid to contact college band directors in your area, as many of them will probably be more than willing to help!
Post Edited (2009-08-25 15:41)
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Author: mrn
Date: 2009-08-25 16:12
tictactux wrote:
<<Hmm. Quite a short leash, this "legitimate music" definition. Somewhat difficult to attract new generations yet dismiss show/movie/dance music...>>
I might add that some of that "non-legit" music is not easy to play and can be just as challenging as the "legit" stuff to the players. In my orchestra last season, we played a suite of movements from an original John Williams movie score. It was definitely one of the more challenging pieces we played last year.
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2009-08-25 16:26
mrn wrote:
> I might add that some of that "non-legit" music is not easy to
> play and can be just as challenging as the "legit" stuff to the
> players. In my orchestra last season, we played a suite of
> movements from an original John Williams movie score. It was
> definitely one of the more challenging pieces we played last
> year.
Yes. We had "Phantom of the Opera" two years ago and I still remember how many hours I spend behind the music stand practicing these runs. Strauss Waltzes are a walk in the park in comparison.
--
Ben
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Author: Brandon
Date: 2009-08-25 17:00
http://www.woodwind.org/clarinet/Study/BandMusic.html
I find that this list, while not complete and certainly subjective, is a good place to start.
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Author: Brandon
Date: 2009-08-25 17:04
You might also want to look at concert programs from various college wind ensembles. You can also go to a website like www.jwpepper.com and search for band pieces. The pieces often have recordings so you can hear part of the piece. I would look at concert programs of professional wind bands such as the Dallas Wind Symphony. Finally, you might want to look up the Chicago Midwest Band Clinic. They often keep programs of pieces performed archived for you to see.
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Author: mrn
Date: 2009-08-25 21:46
Brandon wrote:
<<http://www.woodwind.org/clarinet/Study/BandMusic.html
I find that this list, while not complete and certainly subjective, is a good place to start.>>
Ooh. There's some good stuff on there!
To save you a little trouble going through such a big list, here are some pieces of note that I'm familiar with (most of these I've played) and feel would appeal to a younger audience:
"The Solitary Dancer" (Warren Benson)
"Short Ride in a Fast Machine" (John Adams)
"Galop" from Moscow Cheremushky (Shostakovich/Hunsberger)
"Festive Overture" (Shostakovich/Hunsberger)
(One that's not on the list, but should be IMHO is "Folk Festival" from "The Gadfly" by Shostakovich)
"Four Scottish Dances" (Sir Malcolm Arnold)
"Celebration Overture" (Paul Creston)
"Danza Final (Malambo) from Estancia" (Alberto Ginastera)
"El Salon Mexico" (Aaron Copland)
And for a more modern take on marches, I like "Crown Imperial" (Sir William Walton).
As a member of the Stravinsky Police, I noticed a small error on the list, BTW--"Symphony of Wind Instruments" by Igor Stravinsky should read "Symphonies of Wind Instruments." It's not a symphony, but rather a single-movement piece made up of a collection of musical fragments played together by small groups of instruments. The fragments Stravinsky calls "symphonies" in the sense that they are made up of multiple lines played together.
Post Edited (2009-08-25 22:09)
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Author: Curinfinwe
Date: 2009-08-25 23:50
What about Eric Whitacre? Especially "October," one of my favourite pieces ever. It might be a little more "traditional," but I know he has other stuff, too. It might be worth checking him out.
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Author: davidsampson
Date: 2009-08-26 02:52
Harrison's Dream by Peter Graham is a challenging piece filled with major french horn solos.
http://www.archive.org/details/wsuharrison
There are a few arrangements of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor, of varying difficulty. You have heard this before, its pretty much the 'organ theme'
Symphonic Dances from West Side Story by Bernstein trans Lavendar is an awesome and fun piece to play, but very challenging and long for some bands.
No Finer Calling by Julie Giroux is a 'standard' american piece if you will, with challenging and not so challenging parts and an amazing ending. Movement 3 is the longest, most interesting, and my personal favorite.
http://juliegiroux.www2.50megs.com/HONOR/nofinercalling.html
Frank Ticheli's Nitro is a good concert opener filling with speedy triplets in the woodwinds.
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Author: Mike Clarinet
Date: 2009-08-26 07:48
Philip Sparke has already been mentioned. In a similar vein, what about Nigel Hess? Had a lot of entertainment last year with his Global Variations. Also film music tends to go down very well with players and audiences. Lots of John Williams is worth playing if you can find good arrangements- Try the Johann de Meij (sp?) Star Wars Saga for a real challenge. There are also de Meij arrangements of James Bond, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly (the piece is called Moment for Morricone), and there must be others. Standard fare for British concert bands is Eric Coates - the king of British Light Music. Try the London Suite, Sleepy Lagoon for a slower pace, and the Dambusters March.
(Edited for typos)
Post Edited (2009-08-26 12:00)
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Author: grenadilla428
Date: 2009-08-26 17:36
All of these are composing now, so should fall in your last 50 years criteria. Please do keep in mind that "legitimate" doesn't have to mean heavy. I'm so tired of conductors wanting to do "serious" music and it's all the same thickly-textured, heavy, long, exhausting sound. I could expound on that, but I have work to go do. Explore these composers for their use of color, texture, their lovely melodies:
Jager - Esprit de Corps
Eric Whitacre - almost anything; I've yet to hear a live performance of Equus - it's quite an undertaking!
Martin Ellerby - again, almost anything, including a clarinet concerto!
Frank Ticheli - Blue Shades, American Elegy, Vesuvius, Pacific Fanfare, Postcard, the list goes on
William Brusick - a bit unknown, but I've really enjoyed what I've heard out of him. His tuba concerto is very cool; how 'bout a clarinet concerto, Bill? Please? Pretty Please? :-)
William Barnes - lots of options from symphonies for wind ensemble to highlights from "Porgy and Bess," all very well written
Robert Sheldon - look into his more difficult works - he wrote many for his very excellent ensemble, the Prairie Winds in Illinois; they are fun to play and audiences seem to enjoy them.
Philip Sparke - yes, including a clarinet concerto!
That should be enough to give you a very healthy start.
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Author: FDF
Date: 2009-08-26 18:15
Thanks to everyone for all the wonderful suggestions and comments. I'll forward this thread to our conductor.
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