Brass Quintet (2007) was commissioned by the Aspen Music Festival and is dedicated to composer Alan Fletcher. The piece is cast in a one-movement, loose sonata form. The work begins with a lyrical and slow exposition, marked ?distant, unfolding.? A horn solo interrupts the lyrical lines, anticipating the development section. The development is faster in pace and jagged in contour, beginning with all five players in interlocking harmonic interplay. Out of this texture, a series of three duos (trumpet/tuba, horn/trombone, and two trumpets) emerge. The final trumpet duo presents the opening lyrical ideas re-cast as a herald fanfare. A brief, slow interlude leads to the recapitulation, marked ?excited, relentless.? A series of hocketing ostinati create the backdrop over which the original material returns. Though the music has a very different mood, the structural template is the same as in the exposition. The piece drives forward to its conclusion.? The set includes both parts for Bb or C trumpets.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Ballet The Nutcracker debuted in 1892. One of the best-knownscenes from the work is The Dance of Sugar Plum Fairy for its celeste solo. This version forbrass quintet respects the source material but also adds a little extra whimsicalness to thefinal iteration of the tune; at bar 37 the melody is frequently passed from instrument toinstrument and the parts marked with "play out" are bits of the tune. -full duration 2:00

While still in his twenties, Debussy composed two arabesques for piano. The first, tempo marked ?Andantino con moto,? is probably the more familiar, and it has appeared in a number of different instrumentation settings. With respect to brass quintet, ?Arabesque No. 1? seems written specifically for Horn in F to take the lead, and that is what this arrangement features. Trumpets and Trombone do help out, but for the most part it is the Horn that shines forth. (And, for once in a Les Smith arrangement, the tuba has it relatively easy.) This arrangement was completed in 2012, and performance time runs about 4 minutes, 38 seconds. Contact the arranger, Les Smith, at lessmith@ufl.edu. For more arrangements by Les, enter "Sweetwater Brass Press" (without the quotation marks) in the SheetMusicPlus search box.