music for band & wind ensemble

To view the master list of music for band, orchestra, and chamber orchestra in the Store, go here. Also, .pdf’s for reading on an iPad can be provided on request for any score or part in addition to the hard copy at no additional cost. If you would like to hear a complete recording to help consider a piece, write to me at newertunes@hotmail.com.

I played trumpet in school bands and wind ensembles from elementary school through my undergraduate years. I was never a great trumpet player, but being around winds & brass for all that time left me with some affinity for those sounds. If you are looking for music for a small-to-medium-sized ensemble, you may wish to consider some of the larger pieces at the bottom of the winds & brass chamber page.

Tango de Hippo (2000)

Scored for full band, grade 2-1/2, with many doublings appropriate for young ensembles; about 3:15. Two hippopotami perform this graceful and passionate Latin dance with much passion, but little grace.  Their comic choreography weaves a wide path of destruction, and they finish with mighty bellyflops in the mud. Details, excerpt, demo performance, and purchase from Imagine Music here.

Polka Impetuoso (1987)

A typical, vigorous polka in 2 with a few comical wrong notes; Grade 5, about 2:30. Commercially available here. Excerpt here.

Three Inventions (1987)

Finally published in 2018 by Imagine Music, available here. Scroll down near the bottom of the page and click on the “preview score” link just below the demo performance button - there you can get a look at the entire score. Grade 4+, about 9:30 in total. Each movement of the set obsesses with a small number of interrelated melodic elements; these have some tendency to alternate large intervals with half steps.  Parallel chord motions are frequent, as are augmented-major 7th chords and similar harmonies.  There are no extra-musical programs other than the mood each movement sets -  I. Fantasia agitato, unsettled and unpredictable, II. Elegy, a mournful lament, and III. Ostinato energico, driving and relatively upbeat.

music for orchestra

A Fifth Season (2008)

Scored for full orchestra, with prominent parts for marimba and harp.  Written to celebrate the opening of the new Fine Arts Center building, I tried to correlate the sequence of events in the work to a broad history of the Fine Arts Center as I saw it: 1. the founding of the school, accomplished against significant odds; 2. the early years of the small, fledgling school, finding its way and its identity; 3. later struggles to expand, diversify, and survive budget crises; 4. the present occupation of the new facility, a triumph over past challenges; and 5., the future, the Fifth Season. Certainly many other arts organizations and institutions can claim a similar history and hope for the future. About 9:15. Details & excerpt here.

Takes Two (2003) - Concertino for flute/piccolo, harp, and chamber orchestra

Challenging. Scored for C flute doubling piccolo, harp, and chamber orchestra; about 22 minutes total. The title of this concertino reflects a number of dualities in the work. It requires two instruments, flute and piccolo, to perform the solo part, and two parts to present the whole: the soloist and the orchestra. The flute and harp also perform briefly as a 2-instrument chamber ensemble. The basic melodic material, thoroughly introduced in the opening flute solo, obsesses with various combinations of major and minor thirds; the harmony does this as well, which leads naturally to the production of two essential harmonic flavors - diatonic and chromatic. Expressively, there is somewhat of a contest between agitated and lyrical elements, with the lyrical side winning out in both movements. And, most importantly, the two movements each have a different “take” - very slow and very fast - on the same melodic and harmonic material. The flute/piccolo part is highly virtuosic and incorporates a wide variety of techniques and range of expression. Details and excerpts here.

In Pursuit (1994)

My concert overture In Pursuit was composed to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Greenville Fine Arts Center in Greenville, South Carolina.  In order that the piece be tied as intimately as possible to the event, two basic symbolisms are employed.  First, the melodic motive G-F-A-C serves as the basis of all harmonic and thematic elements, and the entire piece is structured in 20-beat phrases. Some novel sounds - a typewriter, a skillsaw, a violin tuning up - evoke the varied activities taking place in an arts facility. Not too challenging for a good symphony orchestra, premiered by the Greenville County Youth Orchestra. About 7:45. Details & excerpt here.

Soliloquy (1992)

Dark, lush & atmospheric, a bit like Bartok’s “night music” style, with much declamatory melody that consistently emphasizes perfect 4ths and half steps.  Includes a part for synthesizer. Very approachable for a good symphony; youth orchestra possible. About 6:05. Details & excerpt here.

music for chamber orchestra

Wide Open (2021), for Chamber Orchestra and Narrator; texts by Keller Cushing Freeman

For at least college-level players, especially challenging for principal flute and percussionist. About 20 minutes. Scored for strings, woodwinds in pairs, and percussion. Texts, by Keller Cushing Freeman, speak to the need for all to be open to wonder, reason, and responsibility; as such, the work may be especially appropriate for youth-friendly programs. $40 for score, parts, demo recording. Details and excerpts here. Video of the premiere performance is here.

After Long Ventures (2005) - for Clarinet, Piano, and Chamber Orchestra, on a poem of Walt Whitman

Challenging; about 9 minutes. After Long Ventures is loosely inspired by “Beauty of the Ship,” from the 1876 edition of The Leaves of Grass, by Walt Whitman. I love Whitman’s evocation of beauties and characters that are earned rather than inherited, of beauty in things not necessarily intended to be beautiful, of such beauties appreciated later, on quiet reflection.   I have tried to capture some of this same progression in the music, with turbulent gestures resolving consistently into more tranquil ones and the solo clarinet and piano taking, more or less, the part of the ship.  The music goes through episodes of battering and mending, some more violent than others, and finishes in tranquility that acknowledges all that has come before. $35 for score, parts, demo recording. Details and excerpt here.

Three Equivocal Songs (2004) - Concertino for Violin and Chamber Orchestra

I. An Occasional Obsession II. A Latent Lament III. A Reluctant Restiveness

Challenging; about 16 minutes for the whole piece. $40 for score, parts, demo recording. With Three Equivocal Songs I set out to compose a relatively short, practical concerto for violin, emphasizing as much as possible a lyrical, singing manner of violin playing.  In the sense that each movement is “equivocal”— vague and undecided as to fact or sentiment— I tried to capture three states of mind in which a difficult, nagging thought will not leave one alone.  I also like how the word comes apart into “equal vocal,” another emphasis of the singing quality of the solo part.  Though contrasting expressive modes are included in each movement—the most prominent way of manifesting the notion of equivocation—a wistful lyricism wins out in every case. Details and excerpt here.

The Number of Things (1999)

Scored for alto saxophone or clarinet, marimba, and strings - can be done with a full string section or with string quartet. Advanced; about 11 minutes. Along with our natural inclinations to enumerate and categorize, we humans have a way of regarding certain numbers as important milestones of our progress or symbols of our persistence; this piece celebrates our inclination to celebrate. Mostly fast and motoric, with a slower, lyrical section near the end. Includes some 4-mallet playing in marimba. Clarinet substitution for alto sax is very workable. Available also in arrangement for Chamber Orchestra (info here), which adds percussion and bass parts and changes the solo part to clarinet. Dedicated to all who devote their energies to the cause of arts education. $15, including score, parts, and demo disk. More details and excerpts here.

Felis Imperius (1997) - for Single Woodwinds, Percussion, and Strings

Moderately challenging. Scored for one each of flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and percussion, with strings in 5 parts; about 8:25. This is my tribute to Felis domesticus, the imperious household cat, loosely in a sonata form.  In one of those rare moments when he's not sleeping, this de-clawed 8-pound freeloader imagines himself a Bengal tiger in the jungle... he stalks a dust bunny across the kitchen floor as if it were some unsuspecting antelope.  $30 for score, parts, and demo recording. Details and excerpt here.

Rondo Bacchanale (1992) - for Violin Solo, Timpani/percussion (one player), Strings

A rollicking showpiece for violin and timpani, with strings; challenging, about 4:30. Timpanist plays tambourine in the middle section, which can be assigned to a second player if desired. Commercially available from several outlets, including here. Excerpt here.