SKU: CF.YPS207F

ISBN 9781491152959. UPC: 680160910458.

Factory Child is a protest song against child sweatshops. The piece depicts the factory life of children laboring many hours a day and manufacturing the shoes and clothes that end up in American retail stores. Young performers will find this thought-provoking piece an excellent way to use their musical voice to affect change.
Factory Child is a protest song against child sweatshops. Written in memory of Mrs. Peterson, who loved children dearly, the piece depicts the factory life of children laboring 16+ hours a day, manufacturing the shoes and clothes that end up in American retail stores.Factory Child begins with factory sounds and an oppressive, repetitive pattern that supports the melody carried by the upper voices. The second section is composed of wistful, dream-like sounds and melodies that have traces of children’s songs that remind us that these children forced into labor would love to have the opportunity to play, attend school, and dream, but cannot and realistically have little hope for a life we consider normal.  The middle section gives way to more sounds from the factory. The climax is a raucous circus-like waltz using themes from both sections.The percussion parts can be covered by six players. Some players will need to cover two parts. Use someone from the wind section if you do not have six, as some of the parts, although important, are not very difficult. The second clarinet never goes over the break and the bass line is usually doubled in the euphonium as well as in the low reeds.This piece is an excellent way for young performers to use their musical voice to affect change. It is a great discussion starter for researching where our apparel comes from and why to stay away from some brands. It can also make students aware of the fantastic opportunity they have to attend school that children in other parts of the world do not. Young students will find this piece very thought provoking.Ed Kiefer .

SKU: KJ.WB485F

UPC: 8402704837.

Take a trip through the Donut Factory! Donut Factory is a lighthearted beginning band piece inspired by the idea of a factory where donuts travel a conveyor belt and get shaped, glazed, iced and sprinkled. It features a fun bass line for the low brass in which the trombones play a glissando. Various auxiliary percussion instruments are used throughout to depict the various stages of the donut making process. Simple quarter- and eighth note rhythms and limited pitches are ideal for the young band.

About Tradition of Excellence: Excellence in Performance

Excellence in performance is a concert band repertoire series correlated with the Tradition of Excellence Comprehensive Band Method by Bruce Pearson and Ryan Nowlin. The compositions in the series correlate to a specific page in Tradition of Excellence Books 1, 2, or 3 and reinforce and expand on skills and concepts introduced in the method.

/Selections include exciting parts for every player, grade-appropriate cross-cueing, accessible ranges and rhythms, creative percussion writing, electric bass and rehearsal piano parts, and full conductor scores with rehearsal suggestions, program notes and composer biographies. In addition, the Grade 1 works provide an Advanced Snare Drum part for percussionists who have achieved a higher level of ability, playable simultaneously with the more basic Snare Drum part to facilitate differentiated learning.

SKU: BT.DHP-1033347-140

This imaginative new work portrays the rich history of the textile industry through music. The decline of the industry is expressed in the opening slow movement with an authentic 12 bar blues. The second movement uses a jazzy rock style blues to show the optimism and solidarity of the mill workers and the final movement uses a strong vocal-style blues to look forward with optimism to the future.

Deze blues in twee delen verklankt de nagenoeg verdwenen textielindustrie in het oosten van Nederland. Aanleiding voor de compositieopdracht was de sluiting van de blekerij te Eibergen in Gelderland. Het werk begint met een meeslepende, langzame, authentieke blues die staat voor de vroegere textielindustrie - waaraan deze streek zijn identiteit ontleende. Daarna volgt een snelle blues in een jazzy rockstijl, waarin een hernieuwde identiteit het optimisme voor de toekomst weergeeft. Vervolgens horen we nog een klein stukje hang naar het verleden (‘Sing the Blues’), maar alles komt uiteindelijk goed in het krachtige slotakkoord.

Ein mitreißender, langsamer, authentischer Blues, gefolgt von einem schnellen Blues im jazzigen Rockstil: das ist The Blues Factory. Das Stück erzählt von der Geschichte der ostholländischen Textilindustrie, deren Niedergang sich im langsamen Teil des Werkes ausdrückt. Der zweite Teil zeugt mit seinen optimistischen Klängen von der starken Bindung dieses Landstrichs an seine Geschichte und von Hoffnung für die Zukunft. Im wehmütigen Sing the Blues kehrt noch einmal die Erinnerung an die Vergangenheit zurück, bevor das Stück sich mit einem kräftigen Schlussakkord endgültig der Zukunft zuwendet.

The Blues Factory dépeint l’avènement et le lent déclin de l’industrie textile de l’Est des Pays-Bas. Cette bipolarité se traduit dans l’œuvre par un blues lent, authentique et insouciant, suivi d’un blues aux inflexions de jazz-rock. Mais de la nostalgie et de la résignation renaissent peu peu l’espoir et l’envie de se tourner vers l’avenir qui, au travers d’un accord final brillant, semble optimiste et prometteur.