Band

Your young players will enjoy the mystery and grandeur of this descriptive piece about the isolated 12th-century Norman keep. Once a strong fortress, it is now little more than some stone walls and bits of rooms. What history has been made here? The colorful percussion and rich harmonies are expressive and intriguing. There's something for everyone in this stately original. Majestic!

Encourage your band to explore alternative constructs in musical composition. A wide spectrum of interesting and divergent ideas permeate this engaging new work for concert band. Addressing the visual realm through the auditory sense opens up uncharted vistas which James Curnow masterfully explores, much to the enjoyment of the audience and the players alike. Team up with the art teacher for some cross-curricular work, as well as imaginative ideas for the use of visuals for your concert. If you are looking for something different, here it is!

Tielman Susato, one of the most influential musicians of his time, left behind an enormous body of Renaissance compositions. Students of music would do well to be familiar with Susato and the sounds of the Renaissance. James Curnow has carefully arranged two of Susato's dance melodies in such a way that the young band can bring them to the concert stage with the real character and spirit of the original works. Opportunities abound for a study of the Renaissance period in a cross-curricular setting. You'll find this excellent concert and contest publication to be right on target.

Every conductor knows the importance of using excellent teaching materials to aid in the development of all aspects of musical growth. The quality of the band's performance must be continually improving. Each component of the ESSENTIALS OF MUSICIANSHIP series is designed to focus on a specific area of musical performance. By using these materials during the warm-up period, the conductor can mazimize this time, and focus on specific areas that are important to the performance of the music being prepared. This is not a book, but rather it is a sheet music publication just like any other band publication.

James Curnow's grade 1 holiday arrangement is an energetic exploration of four great carols. Nice counterpoint and stylistic subtleties help your band reach for a higher level of performance. Staccato, full value, detached, accented, slurred; it's all here. There is SO much you can teach your band in this arrangement! Plus, it can also be used as an audience sing-along. Outstanding!

Taken in its entirety it would be hard to overstate the enormity of Dvork's output of excellent music, and yet most young musicians are familiar with only one theme from one of his symphonies, if even that. It was his first set of Slavonic Dances (Op. 46) that first brought him wide recognition as a composer. In this new CMP offering, two of Dvork's delightful Czech folk-style melodies are skillfully adapted for the concert band by James Curnow. Explore the kind of music that put Dvork on the world stage, helping to establish him as one of the key composers in the history of music.

An uplifting tone poem for band, this one is a truly beautiful expression built upon rich texture and artfully-phrased melody. From a simple hymn-like opening, the piece builds relentlessly to an intense and inspiring finale. James L. Hosay is one of the modern concert band's literature's great composers of melody. So often modern band pieces are built upon a couple of simple ostinato figures at the expense of any real extended thematic material. It is indeed refreshing and rewarding to have a beautiful melody to play. Play it!