Born in Havana Cuba in 1895 Ernesto Lecuona is arguably Cuba's greatest serious composer. He was a gifted pianist who wrote hundreds of songs and piano works before he died in 1963. Most of his music is composed in a rich authentic Cuban style. The most famous of his works is Malagueña the sixth movement of his Suite Andalucia for solo piano which was first published in 1928. Malagueña has been recorded as a popular song (with added lyrics) as a serious piano work (even by Lecuona himself in the 1950's) and also as a jazz standard (Bill Holman's arrangement for the Stan Kenton Orchestra in the early 1960's.) Over the years it has been arranged many times for variousother mediums ranging from symphony orchestra to field arrangements for drum and bugle corps.In 1976 James Barnes arranged Malagueña for the University of Kansas Marching Band. A few years later with permission from the publisher he expanded this original arrangement into a full work for symphonic band called Prelude Fantasy and Fandango on Lecuona's Malagueña. After several performances in the spring of 1978 (most notably at the MENC Convention in Colorado Springs) this work along with over 200 other Barnes manuscripts lay fallow in the KU Band Library. While packing up his office belongings when he retired from The University of Kansas in 2015 Barnes came across this long languishing Prelude Fantasy and Fandango which remained in condensed score. In the fall of 2016 he completely re-composed the opening portion of the work reduced the number of required percussion and disposed of the two harps in his 1978 version. This new setting features evocative thinly scored extended solo passages for clarinet bassoon and flute before the full wind band concludes the work with a powerful dramatic setting of the main themes of Lecuona's masterful Malagueña.

from Symphony No. 1 - The Lord of the Rings. Johan de Meij?s first symphony The Lord of the Rings is based on the trilogy of that name by J.R.R. Tolkien. This book has fascinated many millions of readers since its publication in 1955. The symphony consists of five separate movements, each illustrating a personage or an important episode from the book. This transcription for brass band, arranged by the composer has the following movements: I. GANDALF (The Wizard), IV. JOURNEY IN THE DARK (The Mines of Moria and The Bridge of Khazad-Dûm), V. HOBBITS. The symphony was written in the period between March 1984 and December 1987, and had its première in Brussels on 15th March 1988, performed by the The Royal Band of the Belgian Guides under the baton of Norbert Nozy. In 1989, the symphony The Lord of the Rings was awarded a first prize in the Sudler International Wind Band Composition Competition in Chicago, and a year later, the symphony was awarded a grant by the Dutch Composers Fund. In 2001, the orchestral version was premiered by the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra.

from Symphony No. 1 - The Lord of the Rings. Johan de Meij?s first symphony The Lord of the Rings is based on the trilogy of that name by J.R.R. Tolkien. This book has fascinated many millions of readers since its publication in 1955. The symphony consists of five separate movements, each illustrating a personage or an important episode from the book. This transcription for brass band, arranged by the composer has the following movements: I. GANDALF (The Wizard), IV. JOURNEY IN THE DARK (The Mines of Moria and The Bridge of Khazad-Dûm), V. HOBBITS. The symphony was written in the period between March 1984 and December 1987, and had its première in Brussels on 15th March 1988, performed by the The Royal Band of the Belgian Guides under the baton of Norbert Nozy. In 1989, the symphony The Lord of the Rings was awarded a first prize in the Sudler International Wind Band Composition Competition in Chicago, and a year later, the symphony was awarded a grant by the Dutch Composers Fund. In 2001, the orchestral version was premiered by the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra.

Score and Parts-Arranged by Frank Erickson. This exceptional work holds a special place in concert band literature (grades 4-5). In a bright 6/8 tempo throughout the wonderful vitality of Grainger's writing makes for a truly memorable musical experience.

One of Mr. Williams' most requested titles from his distinguished career in film music this jaunty march is skillfully conceived with tuneful strains rousingly aggressive brass writing and superb orchestration.

Score-'RiverRun' was Steven Albert's third work inspired by the writing of James Joyce. The opening movement ‘Rain Music’ is meant to convey the origins of a river. After the sharply accented chords of the movement's introduction themusic becomes quieter suggesting an atmosphere of expectancy. The lightly scored second movement ‘Leafy Speafing’ has a languid cadenza-like opening on alto flute followed by a more tightly focused thematic idea from thesolo viola. The two instruments then engage in a quiet dialogue against the softly changing chords.The third movement ‘Beside the Rivering Waters’ is a fragmented march and scherzo. It opens with a children'ssong. The march for the pit band follows and we are engulfed in a boozy wake. The scherzo brings a return of the current then the march returns abruptly followed by the children's tune - which is in turn transformedinto a raucous pub song. Throughout the fourth movement ‘RiversEnd’ musical ideas from the preceding movements are recalled. Night is falling and the river is moving quietly into darkness. As it approaches the open sea itsmomentum builds and it soon becomes a torrent spilling into the ocean. The work ends quietly.

London No. 12-Joseph Haydn's 'Eulenburg Pocket Score' is the result of his second trip to England in 1794. This work is one of the still popular from the series of the so-called '12 London Symphonies' (Hob. 1/93 - Hob. 104).The work characterized by musical finesse and various sonic stimuli has the following four movements: I. Adagio - Allegro - II. Allegretto (C major) - III. Menuet: Moderato - IV. Presto. The somewhat unusual epithet 'military symphony' refers essentially to the second and the fourth movement ('Allegretto' and 'Presto') in which the instrumentation is enriched by timpani triangle cymbals and bass drum and thereby the evokes the impression of amilitary band. A 'trumpet signal' especially set in the second movement led to such a characterization. On the value and importance of this G major Symphony the following article from the Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung of April 1799 reveals: 'It is a little less learned and easier to grasp than some of the other's newest works but new ones Ideas just as rich as they. Perhaps the surprise in music can not be furthered than it is here by the sudden collapse of full Janissary music in the minor of the second movement-since until then one has no suspicion that these Turkish instruments are attached to the symphony. But here too not only the inventive but also the prudent artist shows. Nevertheless the Andante is nevertheless a whole: for in all the pleasing and easy things that the composer in order to infer from the idea of his coup deceitfully brought it into the first part of it it is nevertheless arranged and worked in a march.' The 'Military Symphony' was premiered on March 31 1799 in London.

Dramatic Poem. Par GADE NIELS WILHELM. 'Kalanus”, a 'dramatic poem for soloists, choir and orchestra” op. 48 was composed between June 1867 and March 1869 and is based on a text by Carl Andersen. A historical event during Alexander the Great's Indian campaign (326 AD) serves as the origin of the material: Alexander met Indian philosopher Kaljana, referred to as Kalanos in ancient sources. Gade had originally intended to unite the composition with 'Korsfarerne” (The Crusaders) (1866), and another work with Jewish-historical content in 'a type of trilogy”, however, he later abandoned his plan and 'Kalanus” remained in its singular form. The reception of the work was predominantly positive in regard to the music, while form and subject received a somewhat reserved response./ Répertoire / Orchestre