Par CURNOW JAMES. A joyous and exuberant sparkler for your next concert! This bright little bijou from James Curnow is a great way to start the show. It’s as inviting as they get and will engage every listener from start to finish. The easy excitement will motivate your Grade 2 band to their iridescent best. For groups playing regularly at a Grade 3 level EXCURSIONS also works well in the program following any heavy major work you may have chosen to perform. It’s a perfect way to lighten the mood and recapture those listeners who may be new to the art of listening to larger forms. Use it anywhere, anytime of the year. It’ll be quick to prepare, effective in concert, and has much more tooffer educationally than the typical “pop/movie tune” type of fare. Take a look! / Niveau : 2 / Ouverture / Répertoire / Concert Band

Arr. Naohiro Iwai. Par STRAYHORN BILLY. The ‘New Sounds for Concert Band’ series has guaranteed success in your concert programme for many years. The latest addition to the series is a classic from the jazz orchestra repertoire. Follow the great jazz master Duke Ellington and delight your band and audience with Take The A-Train. / Niveau : 3 / Musique légère originale / Répertoire / Concert Band ou Harmonie

Par CURNOW JAMES. A bold trumpet motive will grab attention right from the start! What follows is a majestic theme, tuneful and bright, that will let young musicians sound their best. Colorful writing, lovely counterpoint in the woodwinds and good use of pitched percussion are just a couple of the notable elements. This is a solid choice for festival or concert programs! / Niveau : 2 / Pièce de concert / Répertoire / Concert Band

Par VAN DER ROOST JAN. A spectacular dive via an extended chromatic scale immediately submerges us in a charged and somewhat archaic-feeling atmosphere. Trumpets, horns and trombones resound in rhythmic patterns, buttressed by restless motifs in the percussion. A second theme, in the woodwinds, begins much calmer but is quickly pushed aside by that same brass offensive. This introduction is the musical expression of the sometimes tumultuous early history of the town of Peer in Belgium. It closes with a D scale played over two octaves and repeated three times, symbolizing the church steeples that dominate the townscape. Peer has the credentials of a town, and people should know about it. There followsa rhythmic, turbulent passage: in the course of history, Peer has not been spared the ravages of war, arson, occupation, epidemic and other evils. In contrast, a slow, pastoral, lyrical part expresses the periods of peace and prosperity the town has known, as well as the serene geographic setting that still characterizes the place. Various instruments in groups are developed in solo style while the accompaniment displays vast, painterly images of sound. Now and then an exotic intonation is heard: a variety of peoples and cultures have left their mark on the town. This episode of tranquility and peacefulness comes to a sudden end when, via a surprising, almost chaotic transitional passage, we are in effect transported back to our own time. A hopeful, festive march expresses the confidence in the future that the Royal Concert Band of Peer exudes. This confidence is wholly justified: under the direction of conductor Willy Fransen, the 95 members of the concert band have experienced an extended period of good fortune, and the 75 musicians of the youth band - and the 45 little musicians of the mini-band - are involved in thriving operations. / Niveau : 6 / Pièce de concert / Répertoire / Concert Band ou Harmonie

Par VAN DER ROOST JAN. A spectacular dive via an extended chromatic scale immediately submerges us in a charged and somewhat archaic-feeling atmosphere. Trumpets, horns and trombones resound in rhythmic patterns, buttressed by restless motifs in the percussion. A second theme, in the woodwinds, begins much calmer but is quickly pushed aside by that same brass offensive. This introduction is the musical expression of the sometimes tumultuous early history of the town of Peer in Belgium. It closes with a D scale played over two octaves and repeated three times, symbolizing the church steeples that dominate the townscape. Peer has the credentials of a town, and people should know about it. There followsa rhythmic, turbulent passage: in the course of history, Peer has not been spared the ravages of war, arson, occupation, epidemic and other evils. In contrast, a slow, pastoral, lyrical part expresses the periods of peace and prosperity the town has known, as well as the serene geographic setting that still characterizes the place. Various instruments in groups are developed in solo style while the accompaniment displays vast, painterly images of sound. Now and then an exotic intonation is heard: a variety of peoples and cultures have left their mark on the town. This episode of tranquility and peacefulness comes to a sudden end when, via a surprising, almost chaotic transitional passage, we are in effect transported back to our own time. A hopeful, festive march expresses the confidence in the future that the Royal Concert Band of Peer exudes. This confidence is wholly justified: under the direction of conductor Willy Fransen, the 95 members of the concert band have experienced an extended period of good fortune, and the 75 musicians of the youth band - and the 45 little musicians of the mini-band - are involved in thriving operations. / Niveau : 6 / Pièce de concert / Répertoire / Concert Band

Par KIDD BRYAN. Get to know the music of Bryan Kidd. He follows the resounding success of his recent release The Road To Chancellorsville and preceding that, his exquisitely beautiful rendition of Be Thou My Vision with this commanding new original composition. Energetic and expansive, Blue Ridge Summit makes full use of the additional excitement and compositional maturity that Grade 3 guidelines permit. If you have used one of Mr. Kidd’s previous CMP publications with your band you are sure to want to add this vigorous new composition to your library. If you are not already familiar with this outstanding composer, now is your chance to try one of his works. Superb! / Niveau : 3 / Pièce de concert / Répertoire / Concert Band ou Harmonie

Par BLANKEN JOHN. COME ONE AND ALL! Come see the great Circus Bamboni! This four movement work, with flexible four part instrumentation (+ Drum Kit), will amaze and charm you like no other. The first movement features the band as it tunes up and prepares for the show. Then the talented trapeze artists make an appearance as they fly through the sky high above the audience. The elephants parade around the ring with their very own Elephant Samba and the clowns follow leaving you in stitches! A thunderous chord and lots of applause bring the show to a breathtaking finale. / Niveau : 1.5 / Musique légère originale / Répertoire / Concert Band ou Harmonie ou Fanfare

Par KIDD BRYAN. Get to know the music of Bryan Kidd. He follows the resounding success of his recent release The Road to Chancellorsville and preceding that, his exquisitely beautiful rendition of Be Thou My Vision with this commanding new original composition. Energetic and expansive, Blue Ridge Summit makes full use of the additional excitement and compositional maturity that Grade 3 guidelines permit. If you have used one of Mr. Kidd’s previous CMP publications with your band you are sure to want to add this vigorous new composition to your library. If you are not already familiar with this outstanding composer, now is your chance to try one of his works. / Niveau : 3 / Pièce de concert / Répertoire / Concert Band

Praise to Thee, Jesus Christ. Gelobet seist du Jesu Christ (We Praise You Jesus Christ) is an old Christmas hymn dating from the 16th century, which can still be found in many hymnbooks today. John Blanken has created a varied and imaginative arrangement on four verses of the hymn. After the introduction, derived from the opening notes, the hymn is first accompanied by an agile harmonisation. Next, we hear the chorale in a four-part setting with a percussion accompaniment. Then follows a short prologue to the third verse and finally its time for fireworks as the arrangement takes a stylistic leap in time with the festive prelude to the fourth and last verse. / Niveau : 3 / Hymnes et chorals / Recueil / Concert Band ou Harmonie