BandQuest

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BandQuest [1] is a series of band music for middle-level band commissioned and published by the American Composers Forum, a national non-profit composer service organization based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The series is exclusively distributed by Hal Leonard Corporation based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The idea for BandQuest began in 1995 after a national survey of music educators conducted by the American Composers Forum revealed a need for fresh music for young bands. Many young performers lack the technical ability to play pieces by more established composers. To fill this need, American Composers Forum initially commissioned ten composers to write new works, and created accompanying CD-ROM curricula to support five of those ten works. The CD-ROMs provide an interdisciplinary approach to learning music and teaches students (and their teachers) about the great composers who are living today, including:
Libby Larsen's "Hambone,"
Thomas C. Duffy's "A+: A 'Precise' Prelude and an 'Excellent' March,"
Chen Yi's "Spring Festival"
Brent Michael Davids' "Grandmother Song,"
Alvin Singleton's "Ridgeview Centrum,"
Adolphus Hailstork's "New Wade 'n Water,"
Tania Leon's "Alegre,"
Judith Lang Zaimont's "City Rain,"
Robert Xavier Rodriguez' "Smash the Windows,"
Michael Colgrass' "Old Churches,"
Michael Daugherty's "Alligator Alley,"
Jennifer Higdon's "Rhythm Stand,"
Stephen Paulus' "Mosaic,"
and the latest edition in the series, Gunther Schuller's "Nature's Way."

Current efforts on the BandQuest series involve identifying additional support for additional commissions and enhancing the website to provide more curriculum, tools for teachers, and games for students.

Contents 1 BandQuest Overview 2 BandQuest History 2.1 New Band Horizons vs. New Horizons Band 2.2 1995 Survey of Music Educators 2.3 1996 Report 2.4 Primer vs. Individual Scores 3 The Series 3.1 Mosaic Program Notes 3.2 Hambone Program Notes 3.3 Rhythm Stand Program Notes 3.4 Grandmother Song Program Notes 3.5 Old Churches Program Notes 3.6 Alligator Alley Program Notes 3.7 City Rain Program Notes 3.8 Nature's Way Program Notes 3.9 A+: A "Precise" Prelude and an "Excellent" March Program Notes 3.10 Ridgeview Centrum Program Notes 3.11 New Wade ‘n Water Program Notes 3.12 Alegre Program Notes 3.13 Smash the Windows Program Notes 3.14 Spring Festival Program Notes 4 The CD-ROMs 5 The Process

[edit] BandQuest Overview

BandQuest, an exciting approach to middle level band education, offers fresh, new music written by world-class composers. The product of extensive research with hundreds of music teachers and students, this program presents new works that engage young people, giving them the opportunity to truly experience the varied music and cultures of our time. The series incorporates innovative and interdisciplinary curriculum that meets the National Standards for Arts Education.

Composers
The composers are a diverse group, and every composer worked in residence with a local school during the creation of their piece. This interaction between students and the composers has highlighted the value of these collaborations; during their residencies both students and composers learned from each other. The composers, who typically write for professional ensembles, learned how to write for amateur musicians, and the students learned much from the composers. For example, Chen Yi told students about her experiences in Chinese prison camps; allowed to bring a violin but no written music, she began to compose works of her own. Many of the composers have emphasized that their music transmits their cultural and historical heritage, and they have encouraged students to draw inspiration from their own life experiences.

CD-ROM and Web-Based Curricula
Written to be fun, interesting, and memorable for students and teachers, our expert team of educators developed a series of interdisciplinary curriculum that complements and enriches each BandQuest piece. Incorporating the National Standards in Arts Education and based on the facets model for arts education, the CD-ROM curriculum helps students learn the music and connects it with other aspects of life and learning. For example, the curriculum for Brent Michael David’s piece includes an in-depth exploration of historical and current Native American musical styles, and includes pictures, video clips, and audio examples. American Composers Forum has begun the process of developing web-based materials for the entire series that will soon replace the CD-ROM format.

[edit] BandQuest History

BandQuest formally began in March 1997, developed by the American Composers Forum through a two-year research process, in consultation with dozens of artists and educators. In an early survey, music educators told the Forum:

• Works for young students must be musically interesting and technically challenging if they are to hold students’ attention and motivate them to learn more about the music and their instruments.
• The music itself is what students respond to most, followed by stories about the music and, coming in a very distant third, familiarity.

Since that time the Forum has established National and Regional Advisory Committees for the project, contracted 14 composers for commissions, and retained key personnel for the positions of Music Editor and Curriculum Editor, as well as additional curriculum writers.

The resulting product is a radical approach to creating, disseminating and teaching music for middle school bands. Fourteen diverse and celebrated American composers, including Tania Leon, Chen Yi, Brent Michael Davids, Libby Larsen, and others are collaborating with selected school band teachers to develop music that is not only age-appropriate for middle-level bands, but challenging and interesting as well.

The new pieces represent the immense range and richness of America’s musical traditions and styles: jazz, ethnic, folk and theater music, as well as “classical” works.

[edit] New Band Horizons vs. New Horizons Band

BandQuest originally began as New Band Horizons, but this title was too close to the national band group for senior performers titled New Horizons Band. Shortly before publication the title of the series was changed to BandQuest. Note that the historical documents in this entry refer to the program as New Band Horizons instead of its current name.

[edit] 1995 Survey of Music Educators

Results of 1995 Music Educator Survey
With a grant from the Bush Foundation, the Forum conducted extensive research with hundreds of music teachers, members of MENC (Music Educators National Conference), to determine how we might best utilize our resources to support music education. Of the numerous responses received, 84.4% were submitted by veteran band teachers—majorities of who teach at the intermediate level in public schools nationwide.

The results from the survey and interviews showed that teachers have been searching for middle level band music, which challenges their students and provides supplemental materials to enhance learning and experiences with music. The highest-ranking responses included requests for ensemble works with:
• related theory and historical materials;
• related methods exercises;
• music with flexible instrumentation;
• music that introduces current notation, melodic and harmonic elements;
• sample recordings of the music and similar pieces;
• multi-cultural music;
• music that is relevant to/interests the student;
• activities that engage many of the senses;
• information about the composer with photos;
• a teachers guide;
• a bibliography and information for further study;
• interesting facts; and
• visuals and technology that embrace the students’ “MTV” “computer-age” culture.

Following a year of research and study, the final report resulted in a 32-page detailed document. The research and study evaluation was conducted by educational consultant Larry Siegel and marketing consultant Wendy Lukaszewski.

[edit] 1996 Report

The following are excerpts from the detailed report based on the 1995 Survey of Music Educators.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• 1. INTRODUCTION
  
  • 1.1 The idea
    
  • 1.2 Executive Summary
    
• 2. THE VISION
  
  • 2.1 Origin of the NEW BAND HORIZONS project
    
  • 2.2 Why band was selected
    
  • 2.3 Contemporary music for young musicians and audiences
    
  • 2.4 Future versions
    
• 3. THE NEED
  • 3.1 Summary of 1995 Music Educator Survey
    
  • 3.2 1996 technology in music education survey
    
  • 3.3 Music currently on the market
    
  • 3.4 National Standards for Arts Education
    
  • 3.5 Learning music supports other learning
    
• 4. THE PRODUCT
  
  • 4.1 The Format
    
  • 4.2 Selection of musical styles and cultures
    
  • 4.3 Composer guidelines
    
  • 4.4 Composer selection
    
  • 4.5 Demonstration piece
    
  • 4.6 Testing process
    
• 5. THE MARKET
  
  • 5.1 Marketing Objectives
    
  • 5.2 Target markets
    
  • 5.3 Marketing plan pyramid
    
• 6. BLUEPRINT
  
• 7. TIMELINE
  
• 8. BUSINESS PLAN
  
• 9. APPENDIX
  
  • i Acknowledgments
    
  • i Biographies of Advisory Committee and Forum Staff
    
  • iv Interviews Conducted For NEW BAND HORIZONS project
    
  • vi List of Potential Composers
    
  • viii Comparison of Flexible Instrumentation Examples
    
  • xi Comparative Review of Standard of Excellence and Essential Elements
    
  • xiv Components of Various Existing Band Methods
    
  • xvi 1995 Music Educators Survey Form
    
  • xix 1995 Music Educator Survey Results
    
  • xxxi Advisory Committee Responses to Survey Results
    
  • xxxiii Music Educator Survey Respondents Comments on Musical Content
    
  • xlvi Music Educator Survey Respondents Comments on Ideas to Market the Project
    
  • lvii 1996 Music Educator Survey on Technology
    
  • lviii Bibliography
    
  • lx Background on American Composers Forum
    

1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 THE IDEA -- NEW MUSIC FOR BAND

There is almost nothing quite as exciting as the creation of something new -- whether it be a work of art, a piece of music, or a new approach to an old idea. And, once the artist survives the vagaries of the creative process and experiences the emergence of the new creation, he or she simply cannot wait to share it with the world.

So it is with the artists who create the new music of our time. Across the cultures, genders, and geography of America (and the rest of the world), today’s composers are creating new and exciting musical sounds and ideas. Some of the artists build on traditional themes and concepts, while others blaze completely new trails of musical expression, building on their own unique backgrounds and cultural heritage. Sometimes the composers incorporate new technologies into their works, and sometimes they combine old and new ideas into enticing new directions.

It is these new adventures into music that the American Composers Forum seeks to explore and elevate to a higher level of awareness and excitement, especially among young people. Through the American Composers Forum, today’s composers want to make a significant and meaningful contribution to music education, by undertaking the creation of new music especially for young musicians. With this effort, composers hope to:

1. Share their enthusiasm and excitement for new music.
2. Create an understanding of the wide range of musical styles and composers of today.
3. Develop an appreciation for and enjoyment of new music among young people, so as to build audiences for the future.
4. Expand the awareness and understanding of new music among music educators.
5. Help music educators develop a level of comfort with new technologies and new music, so as to enhance the student’s experience and understanding.

There is a serious gap in music education today, a divide that is depriving young people of the opportunity to experience and learn important information about the music and cultures of our time. Contemporary music is alive and vibrant today, but it is virtually unavailable to young people in their schools. There can be found a steady supply of programmatic, familiar music on the market, but very few, if any, publications that are designed to introduce today’s new music.

The purpose of this report is to explore this great divide, and map out a strategy to begin filling the gap for young people in band, beginning at the early-to-intermediate levels. By creating and publishing a collection of new music, written by some of today’s most prominent contemporary composers, the American Composers Forum hopes to begin closing the gap for young people at the earliest levels first, to be followed at a later time by a similar publication designed for more advanced students. This report completes the research phase of the NEW BAND HORIZONS project, undertaken by the American Composers Forum with funds provided by the Bush Foundation.

The goal of this project is to develop an appreciation for and understanding of the music of our time by creating high-quality original music and teaching materials that represent a cultural, ethnic and gender cross-section of American music at the dawn of the 21st century. The goal of the teaching materials is to create an understanding not only of the music, but of the cultures from which it originates, and the composers who write it. The goal is to reach upper-elementary, middle-school and early junior high-school students and their music teachers, as well as educators in many other discipline areas. The project uses the National Standards for Arts Education as a major framework.

In the course of our many interviews, discussions and readings for this project, what began as an idea -- a glimmer of what might be a salable and important idea -- has become an imperative. For the young band student and teacher, there simply is nothing on the market today that presents the excitement of contemporary music. Add to that the new directions in education represented by the National Standards for Arts Education, and it is apparent that new tools are needed for educators of all disciplines, including music, to respond to these new opportunities.

By introducing young musicians to the excitement and challenge of contemporary music, we are introducing them to their own creative processes. They learn about being with others in groups, striving for common goals of excellence and expression. That learning process should start early, before ideas become rigid and possibilities develop edges.

This report presents in detail the steps necessary to successfully develop, publish, market and sell this project to music educators across the United States, including:

Composition of the music
Curricular and interdisciplinary materials
Music editing
Financing
Design, layout, music engraving and typesetting
Printing and binding
Marketing, sales, distribution and order fulfillment
Public relations
Legal issues
Project management
Experts/composers/spokespersons

We begin with the vision for this project, followed by the results of our research into today’s band music, what teachers need for themselves and their students, a description of what the NEW BAND HORIZONS project will look like and what it will contain; then we evaluate the band music market, and how it works. We conclude with a detailed plan we call the “Blueprint,” which is the step-by-step plan to bring the project to reality, along with a timeline and business plan. At the end of this report is an extensive Appendix section, which includes details of our survey results and other research.

Many people contributed to the research in this report: especially the over 400 music educators who responded to our lengthy surveys, all the helpful people who willingly responded to my questions (they are listed in the Appendix of this report), our Music Educators Advisory Committee, our composer advisors and of course, to the entire staff of the American Composers Forum. This group of dedicated lovers of the art of music can only be described as incredibly talented, and extremely helpful to me as I have traveled the many twists and turns of this exciting project. I am very grateful to each of them for all their valuable assistance and advice. Wanda J. “Wendy” Lukaszewski, Consultant

1.2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The American Composers Forum seeks to create links between communities, music creators, educators and students, by publishing and selling the first of a series of contemporary music collections for young musicians. This first edition of the series, tentatively called “NEW BAND HORIZONS,” will represent a new genre of publication, aimed at early-to-intermediate level band students, primarily the second-year student (school grade levels 5-8). At the heart of this project is a collection of 15 short pieces (2-4 minutes in length), written in a flexible instrumentation format, and newly commissioned from a culturally and musically diverse spectrum of prominent American contemporary composers. Together, these pieces will represent the immense range and richness of America's musical traditions and styles — jazz, ethnic, folk and theater music, as well as concert works — and displaying the vitality of American composition at the turn of the 21st century.

Accompanying each of the pieces will be a carefully structured array of auxiliary materials, informed by the current National Standards in Arts Education, that will complement existing method books and provide an essential addition to the music teacher's available tools and teaching resources, particularly related to the appreciation for and understanding of contemporary music. These materials will be designed to facilitate interaction across the school curriculum and to promote interdisciplinary exploration.

The collection of newly composed pieces, along with the related interdisciplinary ideas and background materials, will be bound together into books, organized by individual band instrument, for ease of use. A detailed resource guide for the music educator, including worksheets with direct tie-in to the National Standards, and additional curricular material, will be produced. Equally integral to the project will be audio recordings of the pieces in the collection, played in most cases by well-rehearsed student musicians.

To be marketed to band directors, general music teachers, and state and district music supervisors through their professional associations and publications, NEW BAND HORIZONS is intended to augment and expand the band music curriculum nationwide, infusing it with the adventurous spirit of present-day musical composition and tapping its often-neglected potential to excite and educate the audiences of the future.

The curricular concepts modeled in the NEW BAND HORIZONS project could be easily extended to non-band instruments and general music courses, at virtually any level. If the band edition of this project is as successful as anticipated, and if resources allow, work will begin on similar compilations for strings, keyboard and voice, thus creating a series of publications that could remain in use for many years to come.

The American Composers Forum believes that music thrives in proportion to its integration with other human pursuits and with everyday life. Accordingly, the Forum seeks to facilitate interdisciplinary linkages, in an effort to overcome the artificial barriers that have isolated music from other school activities.

The objective of this plan is to create awareness of and excitement for the NEW BAND HORIZONS project within the music education and music retailing communities in the United States, and potentially beyond, and to generate sales in such quantities as to cover expenses and generate revenue to support further educational initiatives by the American Composers Forum.

2. THE VISION

The mission of the American Composers Forum is to link communities, including educators and students, with composers and performers, encouraging the making, playing and enjoyment of new music. Building two-way relationships between artists and publics, the Forum develops programs that educate today’s and tomorrow’s audiences, energize composers’ careers, stimulate entrepreneurship and collaboration, promote musical creativity, and serve as models of effective support for the arts.

3. THE NEED

3.1 SUMMARY OF 1995 MUSIC EDUCATORS SURVEY:

The American Composers Forum conducted a national survey of music teachers in 1995, developed by consultants Wanda Lukaszewski and Lawrence Siegel. The purpose of the survey was to explore the need for practical, accessible and engaging new music for elementary and intermediate-level instrumental music students.

The survey results showed that there is, in fact, strong interest within the elementary and intermediate-level band teaching community for new, high-quality ensemble music for beginning and advanced beginning students. Teachers need and use a wide variety of resources and tools to teach students, because of wide variances in student levels, as well as varying instrumentation available at different times and from year to year. A flexible instrumentation approach seems most appropriate to meet that need.

Teachers are very interested in new music for their students, and in having additional information included so as to make the learning process more informative and interesting for their students. Some respondents commented on the need for contemporary music at this level. A comment made by several respondents related to the “formulaic” or trite nature of the music available today for young bands, and the lack of quality music.

The three-page, 19-question survey was sent to 5000 band and piano teachers, selected at random from the membership roster of the Music Educator’s National Conference (MENC). 332 responses were received, a rate of 6.64%. (According to the Center for Research in Marketing at the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, this response rate can be considered statistically valid, since a randomly selected group was used, and the response group is reflective of the profile of the total group.)

Following are some of the key findings from the survey results. The complete results can be found in the Appendix section of this report.

Profile of Respondents 85% of the survey respondents teach elementary students, and nearly 75% teach intermediate levels. They ranged from new to highly experienced teachers, with roughly equal numbers at each level of experience. Nearly 70% of the respondents teach band instruments, with nearly a third teaching keyboard. The vast majority of respondents teach in public schools, with over half also teaching students privately.

Published Band Teaching Methods Used In order for us to understand what teaching materials are currently being purchased and why, we asked music educators to provide the names of the specific method books and related materials they use to teach music. The responses included a long list of method books, indicating that a wide range of teaching resources are used, both in response to needs of individual students as well as to fit into the individual teacher’s needs and preferences.

We had been led to believe, in the course of the research for this report, that only one or two band method books are used by all teachers. However, our survey revealed that a great variety of teaching method books are purchased and used by music educators. Specific reasons cited for selecting certain methods included: a particular student’s situation, skill levels, a need for instruction in a particular instrument or other unique situations, such as the varying instrumentation available from year to year.

The manner in which music is taught is key to this project, since the new-music concepts being included are not currently well-represented in the music market for this level of student, and the composers and writers need to understand both student and teacher at this level of study. The basic purpose of method books is to teach a student how to play an instrument , including how to hold it, put it together, how to play it and how to care for it.

The band methods cited most often by survey respondents were: 35% mentioned using Standard of Excellence; 28% use Rubank; 24% teach with the Yamaha method; and 21.8% use Essential Elements. Many, many other band methods were mentioned as well. A large number of the survey responses indicated that they use several methods. (A detailed list of the materials listed in the responses, as well as a comparison of two of them can be found in the Appendix.)

While it is not the intention of this project to create a method book, per se, it is important to understand what teaching approaches are most useful to today’s music educators, and which are not, so that the teaching elements that will be part of the NEW BAND HORIZONS project, as related to new-music concepts, can be designed and written with today’s music educator in mind.

Needs Not Being Met In response to the question of what teaching needs are not being met by current materials, the highest responses were pieces for beginners, followed by ensemble pieces for a variety of instrument combinations. Many respondents also indicated a need for teaching aids for specific skill areas, such as rhythm exercises, sight-reading, warm-up, and music to supplement material found in method books. Numerous respondents mentioned music theory and ear training/listening skill development, along with worksheets and exercises.

Format When teachers were asked what format they prefer the music to be in, the overwhelming response was for the ensemble format, followed by anthology (collection of pieces).

We have concluded from these responses that a flexible instrumentation approach may be most useful, one that would be written to assist the teacher in covering missing instruments or weak sections, through doubling and cueing of parts.

Supplemental Teaching Elements Teachers were asked about the teaching components in the various methods they currently use, and what they would like to see in a new publication. Following are the results, in order of the highest number of responses received of what teachers would like to see:
• Interesting facts about the music (63.5%)
• Composer biography (55%)
• Historical information (52.9%)
• Suggestions for further study (52.6%)
• Composer photo (50.2%)
• CD-ROM (49.8)
• Theory/analytical information (48.6%)
• CD/cassette (47.1%)
• Teacher's guide (35.6%)
• Bibliography (31.0%)

Criteria Teachers Use To Select Music By far the most important criteria teachers use in choosing music for their students is that it is written at the correct level for the students — followed by the style of the music, the composer, familiarity of the music, colleague recommendation, then price. Several teachers commented that the music in publication now is simply too difficult for their beginning students. 70% said they actively seek out new music for their students rather than relying on what has been used before.

What Students Respond To And Learn From Best Of three ideas suggested in the survey — the music itself, colors, or stories — the overwhelming response was that the students respond best to the music itself, including hearing it, playing it, or learning about it. Stories about the music that give it context for the students came in second. In last place, far behind, was that the music be recognizable for the student, and include pictures. When asked why various approaches work for the student, the teachers gave a wide variety of responses, the largest group of which was that it increases the student's understanding for and awareness of the music, is interesting and motivating to students.

How Educators Hear About New Music Teachers learn about new music at their meetings/conventions (over 73%) and through various publications (over 68%). Publications primarily include: catalogs, magazines geared to their music specialty, and mailings direct from publishers. The number one source of mailed information for the teachers is the Pepper Catalog, with over 32% saying that is where they get their information. Second is the MENC Journal (28.9%), then publishers as a group (27.9%). 13% said they received demo tapes in the mail.

Note: The complete survey results can be found in the Appendix

3.2 1996 SURVEY ON TECHNOLOGY IN MUSIC EDUCATION

One of the newest facets of music at the end of the 20th century is the increasing use and influence of technology and electronics in the creation, learning and performance of music. As part of the research for the NEW BAND HORIZONS project, in late 1996 we surveyed 348 music educators about their knowledge of and comfort level with these new elements of music, so we could design the project at the appropriate level for the teacher as well as the student. The educators selected for the survey had responded previously to the Music Educator’s survey, or were attendees at the University of Minnesota Wind Band Symposium in August 1996.

Our goal in the survey was to understand the current levels of knowledge and comfort among music educators related to these new technologies, so that appropriate decisions can be made about the form in which the project is developed. For example, one primary question is, “should the music and teaching materials be produced on CD-ROM as well as, or instead of, in printed form? Are teachers ready for that?” So far, there is little music published on CD ROM for the education market, but it is beginning to appear. One retail merchant told us that in the future, this is the only way educators will be able to afford quality music, since printed music is very expensive and budgets are being cut.

Catalogs for previewing and purchasing music are now appearing on-line. Educators will be able to purchase music over the Internet and download it to their own computers. But, as our survey showed, it is premature at this moment to move entirely in that direction. Since we are at this transitional point for education as well as the publishing market, a survey to determine how educators are using technology and at what level was appropriate. It will be important to stay abreast of developments both in technology as well as in music education, to ensure that the project is designed to be at, or perhaps one step ahead of the level of the music educators.

Our survey asked two questions: 1) How comfortable are you with the following technologies:
Computers
CD-ROM
Internet/World Wide Web
MIDI
Multimedia
Music software (such as Finale or Vivace)

2) Would it be useful for you to receive your teaching materials and music on CD-ROM in addition to, or instead of, in printed form?

111 responses were received, a rate of 31.9%, which is very high for written surveys. The results indicate that music educators are increasingly becoming comfortable with computers - those responding that they are either very comfortable (58.5%) or somewhat comfortable (36.9%) totals 95.4%. To the issue of comfort with CD-ROM, 45% said they were very comfortable, 37.8% somewhat comfortable, for a total of 82.8% having some level of comfort with this technology.

The results change dramatically, however, when continuing down the list of technologies. The total number of educators having a level of comfort with the Internet is 56% (compared with 95% and 83% with computers in general), with very similar results in the other categories.

In the responses to question 2, related to receiving materials on CD-ROM, the response was very strong. Over 70% (71.2%)of respondents said they would like music in both CD-ROM and printed forms; 19.8% said in printed form only; and 4.5% indicated CD-ROM only.

The complete survey results may be found in the Appendix section.

3.3 MUSIC CURRENTLY ON THE MARKET

Beginning-level band music is published in a number of ways: 1) as a “method” -- in booklet form by individual instrument, used for study and learning of playing techniques and music concepts; 2) “collections” -- a group of musical pieces bound together in anthology form, usually without teaching information, just the music itself; or 3) as individual pieces of music, with separate parts for each instrument. The NEW BAND HORIZONS project will be quite unique in the market, by including musical concepts, curricular materials, and other learning aids as well as a set of original musical compositions flexibly scored for use by a variety of instrument combinations. According to four music retailers interviewed for this project, nothing of this type exists anywhere on the market. “The market is wide open for this,” according to Jim Cochran of Shattinger Music Company.

In the course of researching this project, ten examples of flexibly scored music for this level were examined and compared. None were found that included contemporary music, curricular materials, or interdisciplinary information. A few included minor performance suggestions, or advice on instrument groupings. Following is a summary of the comparison, in selected categories:

CATEGORY RANGES AVERAGE • Number of selections 8 to 35 17 • Length of selections 8-114 bars • Number of pages in student parts 16-30 21 • Number of parts 2 to 5 3 • Number of student books by instrument 6 to 18 13 • Conductor’s score - number of pages 24 to 116 40 • Price for individual parts $2.50 to $5.50 $4.30 • Price for conductor’s score $3.95 to $19.95 $9.36 • Total price for one complete set (one of each part and one score) $28.95 to $110.00 $54.53

Another important factor to consider is the creative format of the publication. Following is a comparison of the same 10 examples used above:

• Type of cover design
7 of 10 had four-color glossy; 2 two-color; 1 B/W
• Use of color and graphics inside pages
9 of 10 used black only; 1 used 2 colors of text
• Teaching elements included
5 had instructions on ensemble groupings, 1 had performance notes and fingerings, 3 had none

Only one of the above included information about the composers or information about the works. None used pictures. The musical content of all these books all consists of arrangements of existing and familiar pieces.

It is apparent from this research and the conversations conducted in the course of this project, that nothing of the type of publication that we propose exists in the market today. Much of the band music currently available is based on a “predictable” and “formulaic” approach, using popular music, familiar songs, and movie themes as its basis. While this music has a definite place, there is an apparent gap in the market as it relates to contemporary, or “new” music. It is that gap that this project addresses and seeks to begin filling.

Flexible Instrumentation

According to Lawrence Siegel, educational consultant to the project, “the absence of flexible instrumentation is a frequently heard complaint of band directors. It is especially important for those with smaller programs, but also important in enabling pieces to be used year after year while numbers performing the various instruments may change. Also, works sound better when they can be effectively presented with whatever group is available. The music must be written to allow for performance by the widest possible number of ensembles.”

3.4 NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR ARTS EDUCATION

Background - The push for national standards began in 1992, when the National Council on Education Standards and Testing called for a system of voluntary national standards and assessments in math, English, science, history and geography, “with other subjects to follow.” The arts were the first of these “other subjects” to receive federal funding. With the passage of Goals 2000: Educate America Act, the arts have been recognized for the first time as a fundamental academic subject.

From 1992-1994, the Music Educators National Conference (MENC) received $1 million from a variety of governmental and nonprofit arts sources to develop voluntary national standards for the four arts disciplines — music, visual arts, theater and dance, in grades K-12. These voluntary standards describe the knowledge, skills and understanding that all students should acquire in the arts, providing a basis for developing curricula.

The standards are organized into three sections by grade level: K-4, 5-8 and 9-12. Within each section are Content Standards that specify what the student should know and be able to do in the arts disciplines. Following each Content Standard are Achievement Standards, which specify the understanding and levels of achievement that students are expected to attain at the completion of grades 4, 8, and 12. (Source: Music Educator’s National Conference memo 5/26/94)

Standards for grades 5-8(the relevant age group for the Primer Project)

The period represented by grades 5-8 is especially critical in students’ musical development. The music they perform or study often becomes an integral part of their personal musical repertoire. Composing and improvising provide students with unique insight into the form and structure of music and at the same time help them to develop their creativity. Broad experience with a variety of music is necessary if students are to make informed musical judgments. Similarly, this breadth of background enables them to begin to understand the connections and relationships between music and other disciplines.

By understanding the cultural and historical forces that shape social attitudes and behaviors, students are better prepared to live and work in communities that are increasingly multicultural. The role that music will play in students’ lives depends in large measure on the level of skills they achieve in creating, performing and listening to music.

Every course in music, including performance courses, should provide instruction in creating, performing, listening to, and analyzing music, in addition to focusing on its specific subject matter. (Source: Music Educators National Conference “What Every Young American Should Know and Be Able To DO in the Arts, ©1994)

The NEW BAND HORIZONS project of the American Composers Forum has been specifically and intentionally designed to support all of the National Standards for Arts Education in Music, and will include a discussion and worksheet for each of the pieces that addresses its relationship to the National Standards.

Following are the National Standards for Arts Education in Music (noted in bold text), and some explanatory comments from our advisors:

Standard 1 - Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music

Some may believe that instrumentalists need not concern themselves with a standard that mandates singing, but Professor Timothy Gerber, of Ohio State University believes that singing the music helps improve pitch and ensemble for instrumentalists. He told band directors at the University of Minnesota Wind Band Ensemble Clinic in August of 1996, that “if you can’t sing it, you can’t play it.”

Elizabeth Jackson, music educator in Hopkins, Minnesota, says that singing can be easily incorporated into contemporary compositions as simple vocalizations, for example, as in Tim Mahr’s “Passages,” and Joseph Schwantner’s “and the mountain rising nowhere.”

Standard 2 - Performing on an instrument

a. Performing in an ensemble
b. Using expression and technical accuracy
c. Playing, with appropriate expression, music from diverse genres and cultures
d. Playing by ear
e. Playing at the middle range of difficulty, including some solo work from memory

According to Lawrence Siegel, educational consultant for the NEW BAND HORIZONS project, “part of the original discussion with Professor Craig Kirchhoff and the advisory committee focused on studies which would exemplify the particular style or technique associated with one of the commissioned pieces. These would serve as preparatory exercises and reinforce the material. Thus there ought to be roughly as many etudes as there are styles, if not actual preparatory exercises for each piece. These should be crafted by composers working on the project as part of, or in close consultation with the committee. Etudes will help most especially in categories b and e (above). The goal of diversity is explicitly noted in category c. Many respondents to our Music Educator Survey were eager for studies to help teach various technical and musical aspects. The project will be able to accommodate many of these by providing commissioned music which includes these aspects, and building studies around them.”

Standard 3 - Improvising melodies, variations and accompaniments

Elizabeth Jackson comments that “many early programs include jazz. Often the ‘improvisation’ associated with the repertoire at this level is simply a written-out solo; some include chord changes, many don’t. Even the most simple introduction of the blues scale and a basic progression of I-IV-V-I is easily understood by young students. When given simple rules to follow, students find improvisation fun and exciting. If simply told to “make something up,” students are intimidated and often will not participate or tend to make fun of the process. The use and introduction of simple improvisations should be a major selling point of this project. Many directors recognize the value of improvisation, but simply lack the knowledge or are intimidated themselves.”

Standard 4 - Composing and arranging music within specific guidelines

a. Compose short pieces within specified guidelines
Elizabeth Jackson says that by using new music as models in NEW BAND HORIZONS students will be fascinated by compositional techniques that can be related to something they already understand. For example, serialism in music can be related to word games (take 12 letters, and using only those letters, make as many words as you can, try writing some of the words backwards, etc.)

b. Arrange simple pieces
The flexible instrumentation format of NEW BAND HORIZONS will offer simple examples of focusing on different instruments at different times, with the lead parts varying from one instrument to another.

c. Use a variety traditional and nontraditional sound sources and electronic media when composing and arranging
The project will incorporate a variety of electronic media

Standard 5 - Reading and notating music

“Rhythm and note reading tend to be the focus of early band education. Ear training is extremely important yet frequently ignored. When students are introduced to this concept early in their musical lives, the typical fear associated with identifying intervals by ear is usually eliminated. Band directors would value a simple and relevant ear training method incorporated into the project.” (Elizabeth Jackson)

Standard 6 - Listening, analyzing and describing music

a. Describe the music you are playing, using appropriate terminology
Jackson says that “second-year students may or may not know the definition of a major scale, let alone complex contemporary concepts. We must keep it very simple and provide numerous examples (both playing and listening).”

b. Analyze elements of music in aural examples representing diverse genres and cultures
The project is designed to present a broad base of cultural diversity, and enhance knowledge through interdisciplinary linkages, and accompanying information about each of the composers represented.

c. Demonstrate knowledge of the basic principles of meter, rhythm, tonality, intervals, chords and harmonic progressions
Jackson recommends keeping it simple. As noted in Standard 4, “Students will be fascinated by compositional techniques that can be related to something they already understand. It would be helpful to have accompanying worksheets that allow the students to try these techniques out for themselves.”

Standard 7 - Evaluating music and performance

a. Develop criteria for evaluating the quality and effectiveness of...performances and compositions.
According to Jackson, “at this level, simply asking the students to explain why they like or don’t like something is of value (they are often told at this age why they should like or not like something). Guidelines are important, as long as there only a few of them and that they are easily understood. It might be helpful to begin with music that is typically enjoyed by the majority of that age group (such as popular music stations), and to try and understand why it is so popular.”

b. Evaluate...the students’ own and others’ performances, compositions, arrangements, and improvisations.
Jackson cautions, “this should be left to the director’s discretion. Personal critiques at this tender age can easily be misinterpreted as personal attacks.”

Standard 8 - Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts

a. Make analogies between music and other arts.
Performance suggestions could be included which would outline a collaboration between music, movement (phy ed) and art. Many schools are doing this anyway -- without guidelines. (Jackson)

b. Describe ways in which the principles and subject matter of other disciplines...are interrelated with those of music (locate works of art in social contexts)
Identify subject matter that is typical for sixth or seventh grade social studies classes (e.g., Africa, Native American Studies, etc.,) Contact classroom teachers for ideas. Important to tie musical materials together with concepts that are being introduced elsewhere. (Jackson)

Standard 9 - Understanding music in relation to history and culture

a. Describe distinguishing characteristics of representative music genres and styles from a variety of cultures.
The music chosen is extremely important. Find examples that are unique and that inspire young imaginations. It is more important that the students remember the feelings this unfamiliar music instills in them than to remember lists of characteristics. (Jackson)

b. Classify by genre and style...a varied body of exemplary musical works and explain the characteristics that cause each work to be considered exemplary.
1) Siegel suggests that this standard may be met through listening assignments, lists of works and reasons they are important.

2) Jackson reminds us to “consider the age group we are dealing with here. They don’t care if the use of varied rhythm in the ‘Rite of Spring’ is a dominant compositional element. They care that the use of varied rhythm and unexpected accents sounds like an ancient battle between Power Rangers and the forces of evil. We should not consider this text as a simplified version of Music History 101. Our goal is to entice these young people with sounds that they would not normally be exposed to, to peak their interest, to instill in them a desire to find out more about this ‘cool music.’ Later versions of this project (geared toward older students) should include more compositional and historical detail.“

3) Jackson further suggests that the “inclusion of biographies and photographs will allow the students to associate a musical style with a face and a life. Typical facts such as degree such-and-such from such-and such school, and this award and that award are not relevant to sixth-grade minds. They want to know weird little details that will make these faces and this music come alive for them. They want to know that composers are real people, like themselves.”

c. Compare, in several cultures of the world, functions music serves, roles of musicians, and conditions under which music is typically performed.
Each of the compositions included in the NEW BAND HORIZONS project will include information about the composers and the type of music they have written. This, according to Jackson, will be an “excellent opportunity to highlight the diversity of our students’ backgrounds. It will be important to make the history that the teacher presents seem as relevant as possible (most frequently heard comment in sixth grade: ‘This is boring.’)”

3.5 LEARNING MUSIC IMPROVES BASIC READING AND MATH, and S.A.T. SCORES

Recent research in two Pawtucket Rhode Island elementary schools produced strong evidence that sequential, skill-building instruction in art and music integrated with the rest of the curriculum can greatly improve children’s performance in reading and math. The study, led by Martin Gardiner, research director at The Music School, demonstrated that students who participated in a program that integrated music and visual arts into the regular curriculum, and who were behind in achievement test scores, had caught up statistically in reading and had pulled ahead in math after seven months.

The team leading the study believes that “learning arts skills forces mental stretching, which is useful to other learning areas, such as math.” The team believes that the keys to the improvements in math and reading include the sequential skill-building arts curricula and the integration with the rest of the curriculum. Source: Teaching Music, “Learning Improved by Arts Training” September 1996 .

Students of the arts continue to out-perform their non-arts peers on the S.A.T., according to reports by the College Entrance Examination Board. In 1995, S.A.T. takers with coursework or experience in music performance scored 51 points higher on the verbal portion of the test and 39 points higher on the math portion than students with no coursework or experience in the arts.

Students with coursework in music appreciation scored 61 points higher on the verbal and 46 points higher on the math portion. Studies show that prolonged study in the arts over a period of years similarly impacts test scores. Source: “Music USA,” published by National Assocaition of Music Manufacturers (NAMM) ©1996.

4. THE PRODUCT

4.1 FORMAT

STUDENT VERSIONS Music

The first edition of the NEW BAND HORIZONS project will consist of a set of 15 pieces of music, written by a group of accomplished American composers, representing the diversity of musical styles and cultures of our time. The selections will be composed for the early-intermediate level of band (second year), written in a format of flexible instrumentation, one of which is the lead part, to accommodate the broadest possible range of instrumentation. The duration of each piece will be approximately 2 minutes. The music for each instrument will be published in a separate volume, 20 student versions in all, for the following instrumentation: Flute, Oboe, B-flat Cornet/Trumpet, B-flat Clarinet, E-flat Alto Saxophone, B-flat Tenor Saxophone, Horn in F, Bassoon, B-flat Bass Clarinet, Trombone, Baritone T.C., Baritone B.C., Mallets, Percussion, Keyboard, Electronic keyboard, Electronic bass, String Bass, Tuba

Curriculum and Interdisciplinary links A distinctive and unprecedented feature of NEW BAND HORIZONS is to reflect the conviction, embodied in many of the programs of the American Composers Forum, that music thrives in proportion to its integration with other human pursuits and with everyday life. Accordingly, we seek to initiate a broad spectrum of curriculum-wide links between music and other disciplines, hoping thereby to overcome the artificial barriers that have historically isolated music from other school activities.

The project will incorporate a wide range of music-specific information for each of the ten pieces, written to be fun, interesting and memorable for the students, rather than a dry recitation of dates and pedigrees. The writing style to be used will be similar in tone to that of the John Thompson Series, where comments are written to be informative, yet fun for the reader, and as such, better learning and overall enjoyment of the experience.

Key topics and how they will be approached:

• Introductions to the exciting range of possibilities in the creation of contemporary music, including: jazz/improvisation , alternative notation, aleatoric practices, extended (non-traditional) instrumental techniques, non-tonal harmony, the use of technology in contemporary music-making, minimalist music, rap/instrumental vocalizing, vocal psychomotor instrument techniques.

• Brief biographies and photos of the composers (with emphasis on the human side, i.e., hobbies and enthusiasms with which young people can connect, as well as sketches of their cultural backgrounds and artistic outlooks). We want the students to know and understand the composers, where their ideas come from and how music is created.

An example from the John Thompson Modern Course For The Piano Series: “Edvard Grieg was born in Berge, Norway, June 15, 1843. He received his early musical training from his mother. At the age of 15 he met the idol of his dreams, the noted Norwegian violinist, Ole Bull, who related astounding stories of his journeys to America. This paved the way to direct Grieg’s musical career. At his death in 1907, 57 governments sent official representatives to attend his funeral. Grieg had his inspiration for this song from a performance of Shakespeare’s MacBeth. Written in lyric style, it is a simple song depicting the humming of a night watchman.” pg 50.

• Easily digestible doses of musical theory, history, and vocabulary, written in a way that is fun and interesting for the age level of these students.

“TARANTELLA: An Italian dance which derives its name from the legend originating in Taranto, a city in the mountain country, in the “heel of the boot” of Italy. This city gave its name to the venomous spider -- the tarantula. According to tradition, if anyone bitten by the dreaded spider will dance the Tarantella hard enough and long enough, he will prevent himself from falling into a coma and eventually yielding to the deadly poison.” pg. 52

• Suggestions and worksheets for classroom activities, performance and further study.

Here is an example of the instructions given on how to play a piece called “Romance” by Anton Rubenstein: “Play with your best possible singing tone and try to give the interpretation a feeling of deep sentiment and poetic elegance.”

• Suggestions for interdisciplinary applications with other curriculum areas. We will, for example, guide teachers and students to investigate:

- Where musical sounds come from; the physics of sound production and the physiology of hearing in science classes;

- How a composer’s cultural and regional background could affect his or her writing of music, in geography classes;

- How historical events can affect the making of music, in history classes, and how music can affect history;

- The dynamic relationship between music and poetry, in English classes.

CONDUCTOR’S SCORE/TEACHER GUIDE

Our research indicates that many music educators lack comfort with contemporary musical concepts. NEW BAND HORIZONS is designed to be user-friendly, in an easily accessible format, a welcome aid for teachers in presenting new concepts to their students. The teacher’s guide/score will contain all parts and instrumentation, a piano score, the same supplementary materials that appear in the student versions, and more:

• Explanation of the flexible instrumentation format, with examples
• Related history, learning tools and techniques for each style and/or piece
• Music history, theory and vocabulary information to enhance the learning of the new music
concepts presented
• Worksheets for classroom activities and further study
• Specific information related to each of the National Standards for each musical selection
• Performance suggestions
• Composer photo and bio, as in student version

The goal for the teacher’s guide is that it be easy to pick up, understand, and use immediately. Both the student parts and teacher/conductor’s guide will be available in both print and digital versions, incorporating the latest technologies so that the project itself enhances the learning of both teacher and student.

4.2 SELECTION OF MUSICAL STYLES AND CULTURES

A key ambition of the project is to present a diversity of musical styles and cultures in the music and the composers that will ultimately become a part of it. Following is a preliminary listing of contemporary musical styles developed by the Advisory Committee and staff for consideration, divided into two lists intended to indicate priority, followed by a list of cultures.

A-list: -
• Jazz/improvisation/blues
• Alternative notation
• Aleatoric
• Extended instrument techniques
• Minimalist music
• Electronic/technology
• Vocal/psychomotor/instrumental techniques
• Rap/instrumentalists vocalizing
• Multi-musics/spatial
• Non-tonal
B-list:
• Latin
• Folk
• Post-modern and conceptual
• Popular
• Modes/meter (e.g., Indian Tala, Raga, or chants)

Cultures:
Native American
Latin American
African-American
Caribbean
India
Asian
Africa
Middle Eastern
Caucasian

4.2.1 GLOSSARY OF SELECTED TECHNICAL TERMS

Aleatoric music – Music in which the composer introduces a degree of chance, unpredictability, randomness, or indeterminacy into the composition, its performance, or both. In some cases, pitch, duration, intensity, and other musical elements are controlled by such procedures as dice-throwing or through the performers’ interpretation of graphic designs or other alternative notation; in others, performers choose from specified alternatives at various points in a piece, thus “creating” the work at the moment of performance.

Alternative notation – The use, in a musical score, of symbols, words, and graphics not conventionally associated with musical notation. Often devised by a composer for use in a single composition; sometimes elaborated into a system employed consistently in a composer’s work. Frequently associated with aleatoric music.

Conceptual music – Music conceived as much for the mind as for the ear. Conceptual works are frequently presented in the form of verbal instructions for action or contemplation, and may or may not require or entail the production of actual sounds.

Extended instrumental techniques – Non-traditional techniques that enlarge the repertory of expressive resources available to composers and performers by augmenting the range and variety of sounds that an instrument may produce and by expanding the activities in which performers may engage to include vocalization, theatrical gesture, etc.

Minimalism – A style of composition, developing in the U.S. after 1960, based on the extended repetition of deliberately limited musical materials. Within the framework provided by these repeating patterns, a series of minute, incremental changes slowly unfolds, often generating musical structures of great complexity. Minimalism is associated particularly with the names of composers Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and La Monte Young. Since the 1970s, many composers who cannot be described as minimalists have nonetheless made some use of minimalist techniques.

Modality – The compositional use of harmonic and melodic formulations based on the church modes, a medieval system of scales, as opposed to the major and minor scales characteristic of 18th- and 19th-century tonality. The term most often refers to the use of modal idioms in the context of tonal or post-tonal music.

4.3 COMPOSER GUIDELINES

Market: 5th & 6th grade elementary school programs; Middle school programs

ASSUMED LEVEL 1 & 2 SKILLS: 1) Rhythms: • WW, Brass, Percussion Mallets, Timpani, Aux. Perc.: whole/rest half/rest quarter/rest eighth/rest dotted half/rest dotted quarter/rest

2) Articulations & effects: • WW: tongue, accent, slur

• Brass: tongue, accent, slur (trb: legato tongue, slide slur), consecutive harmonic slur (lip slur), flutter-tongue possible

• Percussion: single paradiddle (include sticking & use with musical intent), flam, flam accent, ruffs (double flams), 5&9&17 stoke rolls, rim shot

3) Ties: whole to whole or half or quarter; half to quarter; quarter to eight

4) Dynamics: pianissimo, piano, mezzo-piano, mezzo-forte, forte, fortissimo, forte-piano crescendo, subito piano, sforzando, crescendo, decrescendo

5) Tempo: Largo, Andante, Moderato, Allegro, ritardanto (rit.), accelerando (accel.)

6) Meter: 4/4 3/4 2/4; 3/8 (rare); simple mixing of meters is also possible

7) Tonality: Concert C, F (tends to place brass too high), Bb, Eb, Ab major; Concert d, g (adds F# and C#), and c minor

8) Instrumentation with ranges and transpositions:

CORE INSTRUMENTS CROSS-CUED INSTRUMENTS (Any instrument can cue the following, per the register and/or timbre.)

Woodwinds: (8 instruments; 7 books) flute oboe Bb clarinet Bb bass clarinet/bassoon Eb alto clarinet/Eb alto saxophone Bb tenor saxophone

Brass: (5 instruments; 6 books) Bb trumpet/cornet french horn in F trombone tuba baritone (both treble & bass clef books)

Percussion: (2 books: Mallets+drums, Timpani+aux. perc.) Pitched mallet: wood: xylophone metal: vibraphone (Note usable range: Middle C up 2 octaves) marimba (somewhat rare) bells, chimes

Pitched skin: timpani (only 2 pitches per piece) — optional

Non-pitched or relatively-pitched wood: claves, wood blocks (high, middle, low), ratchet, castanets, maracas, temple blocks (usually 5)

Non-pitched or relatively-pitched metal: suspended cymbals (high, middle, low), crash cymbal, triangle; cow bells (high, low), finger cymbal, anvil, brake drum

Non-pitched skin or relatively-pitched skin: snare drum bass drum bongo (high, low) tom-toms (high, middle, low) tambourine with head

Non-traditional acoustic sources: (foot stomps, clapping, spoken text, clay pots, bird calls, pans, jars, toy pianos/accordions/harmonicas, various easily found junk).

The use of Orff instruments might be coordinated with the vocal or general music teacher.

Electronic: (2 books) Electric bass (1 book) Electric guitar(book shared with piano) — optional Piano or electronic keyboard (book shared with guitar) and/or: Electronic music (pre-recorded material for playback via CD)

OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR THE COMPOSER:

The foregoing list is the expected repertoire of skills and knowledge for the first two grade levels. Following comments are some important factors to keep in mind for the composition as a whole.

General guidelines:

• Include breath marks. • Use only one musical line per staff. • Feature each instrumental group somewhere within the composition. • Carefully use ritardandos and accelerando. • Use a clearly differentiated form. ° Avoid: intro-A-B-A-coda ° Try: rondo, simple variation, ternary (in each form use sections changing in instrumentation, key, meter, and feel). • 3 - 5 minutes performance time possible. • Simple two or three part (simple canon only) counterpoint is possible. • Use melodies which are predominantly stepwise with occasional leaps. • Sections of mixed simple meters are possible. • Use accidentals in a predictable way. • Use modal or synthetic scales not exceeding these accidentals: (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, and F#, C#). Use for extended sections in order to give adequate practice. Place accidents in the written music not in a key signature. • Include short section of percussion (moderate use of rolls). • Simple aleatoric sections possible. • A few small skips in horn parts possible but best to avoid skips. • No 7th position in trb. (B2); use alternate positions (F3-1st/6th, Bb4-1st/5th, D4-1st/4th); use 5th position (F#/Gb, C#/Db) • Avoid really long notes, especially tuba. • Non-traditional instruments (use judicially) could be played by non-percussionists.

Harmony:

• Emphasize open intervals (4ths & 5ths - because they are easier to hear) with added major seconds, i.e., C - F + Bb &/or Eb. • Do not exceed accidentals listed above (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, and F#, C#) except in simple chromatic melodic passages. • Clusters are ok. • Blues scales/harmony desirable.

Aleatoric notation: (these are general guidelines, in general, keep it simple)

• Establish reference center = &

• Single improvised notes, improvised rhythm (follow spacing & length), melody following contour =

(short notes) (longer notes)

• Improvised notes in a rhythm; improvise the melodic contour =

• Make wind sound through instrument =

• Make various key sounds and taps on your instrument =

• Make up melodies from a given repertoire of notes

4.4 COMPOSER SELECTION

The process of selecting the composers for the NEW BAND HORIZONS project began at the same time as the discussion about the types of music that might be included in the project. With one of the goals of the project being to include a diversity of musical styles, cultures and composers, it was necessary to identify composers in terms of the type or types of music they write and their cultural backgrounds.

A committee of Forum staff and project advisors will select composers on the basis of criteria including:

• Creative excellence

• Prominence in the field

• Experience with and writing for young band

• Availability

• Gender

• Musical style

• Cultural background

The American Composers Forum will be the sole owner and copyright holder for all materials included in the NEW BAND HORIZONS project. Composers commissioned to produce pieces for the compilation will receive a one-time fee. Any proceeds from sales of the publication will be used to fund further educational initiatives.

The Composer Selection and Style Charts are included as an Appendix of this report.

4.5 DEMONSTRATION PIECE

One of the key first steps of this project will be the preparation of a demonstration project - a piece will be composed, and text will be written to the guidelines outlined in this report. There are two primary purposes for this demonstration: 1) to test the guidelines in a “real-life” situation, identifying potential problem areas and addressing them before the project proceeds; and 2) to have an example in hand to show potential funders.

4.6 TESTING PROCESS

Classroom testing is a key aspect of the project. Since the primary concern of music educators, as expressed in our survey results, is that the music be written at the correct level for their students, a testing process to ensure that result is essential.

Composers will be provided information and suggestions as to what students are able to do at the second-year level, possibly in the form of a demonstration video illustrating student abilities on particular instruments. After the music has been written, the pieces will initially be tested in an “alpha” phase at local schools.

Revisions and adjustments from the alpha phase will be incorporated into the music, and combined with the curricular text material, then tested again in a “beta” phase, at 8-10 schools across the nation. Again, comments and revisions will be evaluated and incorporated into the final product.

The test site schools will be selected from a large list of music educators who have volunteered their schools to be test sites through our two surveys. Care will be taken to ensure that a broad cross-section of the country is represented in the test sites, exposing the project to many different educational environments.

5. THE MARKET

5.1 MARKETING OBJECTIVES

Through the NEW BAND HORIZONS project, the American Composers Forum seeks to engage and enliven the educational music publishing market through the creation, publication and presentation of an exciting new genre of music, geared for young people in band, to encourage the making, playing and enjoyment of contemporary music. The primary marketing objective is to create awareness of and excitement for NEW BAND HORIZONS within the music education and music retailing communities in the United States, and potentially beyond, to initiate the Forum’s entry into the educational music market. Sales are anticipated in such quantities as to cover expenses and generate revenue to support the ongoing goals and programs of the American Composers Forum, including future educational initiatives and editions of the HORIZONS project.

This marketing plan defines the steps and processes needed to successfully bring this exciting and unique project to market. Key factors in the marketing plan include: establishing important relationships with educators, developing a credible presence in the music publishing world, ensuring that the project is written at exactly the targeted level, getting feedback, and establishing strong distributor relationships. The single most important factor for any subsequent ventures is to develop a strong positive reputation in the education and retailing communities as a credible source for quality educational music.

[edit] Primer vs. Individual Scores

After conducting this survey and accompanying report, the initial idea was to present a primer book that would include a set of newly commissioned pieces for middle-level band by world class composers. However, after additional research was conducted the decision was made to publish the pieces individually, not in the primer book format.

One change was to create interdisciplinary curriculum for every piece in the series that would be distributed on CD-ROM along with the score, or individually. The idea was that these CD-ROMs would be useful not only to the band director, but to general music educators as well. The curriculum provided a way to connect the music to other aspects of life and learning, and show the interconnectedness of music in all subjects. The curriculum was written by music educators and was based on the facets model for arts education.

The following is an excerpt of the 1995 report on the primer project idea:
I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY — AN OUTLINE OF THE RECOMMENDATION CONTAINED IN THIS FINAL REPORT.

1. The final product should be a combination of a text about new music, in all its present-day variety, and a collection of music which reflects that diversity.

2. The ideal target group for the first book of the series is the second year band. The project should include plans for three books, of approximately 50 pages each, for band grades 2, 2-1/2, and 3.

3. Each book should contain should contain:
• 10 short pieces, approximately 2-4 minutes, 30 pieces total for the three books
• written by well established composers of diverse background and styles
• correlated to the materials in the text portion. (see item 4, below)
• a teacher's manual containing some of the background material and copyable worksheets

4. The most important curricular aspect, to which the commissions will be correlated is discussion of many of the features which distinguish twentieth-century music, in all its diversity. These include:
• alternative notation
• aleatoric aspects
• non-tonal harmonic systems (interval cycles, twelve tone, octatonic scales)
• extended instrumental techniques
• electronic and other technological innovativions
• timbre-centered motion
• minimalist music
• folk, pop and jazz-influenced music
• postmodern and conceptual music
• the continued influence of tonality
• programmatic music

5. The text portion should also contain the following:
• an explicit tie-in with the National Standards
• historical information about new music: styles, cultural context
• discussion of the diversity of the music and its composers' backgrounds
• composer biographies, possibly photographs
• form and analysis, and other theoretical material
• listening assignments
• composing/arranging projects
• improvising projects
• interdisciplinary correlations
• worksheets
• chart for monitoring student progress
• etudes
• at the same time, it must not move too fast or contain too much information!

6. The product should also contain:
• excellent color graphics
• a striking cover
• an inviting feel, and a pride-instilling message
• a"hook," such as a tie-in with the millenium

7. Peripherals should include:
• a tape of the pieces, performed by a group of the same caliber as the target population
• possibly a cd/rom, interactive component
• possibly release of the product on disc (as software)

8. A panel, comprising teachers and composers, should create the textual and pedagogical material for the product, guide the search for composers, and then continue to guide these composers in shaping their work towards the appropriate goals of the Primer.

9. A classroom testing process should be established, including:
• alpha testing at two sites
• beta testing at 8 sites nationwide

10. The product should be presented at conferences and clinics in coordination with its initial marketing.

11. The product should be distributed by one of the nationally recognized band distributors, i.e. Pepper, Hal Leonard, Kjos.

[edit] The Series

[edit] Mosaic Program Notes

Mosaic, by Stephen Paulus, is a representation in sound of the varied qualities each of us possesses and contributes to the whole of our society. As a kaleidoscope of various musical elements coming together, this work evokes a visual of mosaics--tiny tiles individually glued together to create a broader image. It integrates layers of sound with varying meters that feature every instrument in the band.

In the composer’s own words, “Mosaic is a work of many facets and layers. I have put it together in much the same way that a muralist would make a mosaic out of little pieces of ceramic tiles. In some sense it is like a jigsaw puzzle. Many little pieces of sound are put together to make one big picture. The different meters (7/8, 2/4, 3/4) make for different sizes of musical bits. I also decided to orchestrate this work differently from the usual band work. So, not everyone plays all the time. Percussion players do much more than simply beat time and are often brought in with the specific purpose of helping to “color” the mural. Many times only certain woodwinds play while others wait their turn to enter and add their “personality” to the mix. To me, the idea of a mosaic also represents a contemporary picture of our world – vast mixes of people of all colors, backgrounds and experiences - who we might find living in any part of the world.”

Stephen Paulus was born in 1949 in New Jersey and was raised in Minnesota. He began studying piano formally at the age of 10 and came from a musical family where both parents and two younger brothers all played a variety of instruments - from piano and organ to trumpet. His first compositions were written at about age 13 or 14. Paulus attended Macalester College in St. Paul for two years and completed a B.A. in Music at the University of Minnesota in 1971. He completed an M.A. in Music Theory and Composition in 1974, and a Ph.D. in Composition in 1978, receiving both degrees from the University of Minnesota. His principal composition teacher was Dr. Paul Fetler.

Paulus’ music has been described by critics and program annotators as rugged, angular, lyrical, lean, rhythmically aggressive, original, often gorgeous, moving, irresistible in kinetic energy and uniquely American. “Mr. Paulus often finds melodic patterns that are fresh and familiar at the same time...His scoring is invariably expert and exceptionally imaginative in textures and use of instruments (The New York Times).” His prolific output of more than two hundred works is represented by many genres, including music for orchestra, chorus, chamber ensembles, solo voice, keyboard and opera. Commissions have been received from the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, The Houston Symphony and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, with subsequent performances coming from the orchestras of Los Angeles, Philadelphia, St. Louis, the National Symphony Orchestra, and the BBC Radio Orchestra. He has served as Composer in Residence for the orchestras of Atlanta, Minnesota, Tucson and Annapolis, and his works have been championed by such eminent conductors as Sir Neville Marriner, Kurt Masur, Christoph von Dohanyi, Leonard Slatkin, Yoel Levi, the late Robert Shaw, and numerous others. Commissions and performances have also come from such companies as the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Washington Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Berkshire Opera Company, Minnesota Opera, and Fort Worth Opera, among others, as well as many universities and colleges. Choral commissions include the New York Concert Singers, Dale Warland Singers, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Robert Shaw Festival Singers, New Music Group of Philadelphia, Master Chorale of Washington DC, Vocal Arts Ensemble of Cincinnati, Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and dozens of other professional, community, church and college choirs. He is one of the most frequently recorded contemporary composers with his music being represented on over fifty recordings. Paulus’ commissions for some of the world’s great solo artists include Thomas Hampson, Håkan Hagegård, Doc Severinsen, William Preucil, Cynthia Phelps, Evelyn Lear, Leo Kottke and Robert McDuffie. Chamber music commissions have resulted in works for The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Friends of Music at the Supreme Court, the Cleveland Quartet and Arizona Friends of Chamber Music. He has been a featured guest composer at the festivals of Aspen, Santa Fe, Tanglewood, and, in the U.K., the Aldeburgh and Edinburgh Festivals.

A recipient of the Guggenheim and National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships, Paulus is also a strong advocate for the music of his colleagues. Paulus serves on the ASCAP Board of Directors as the Concert Music Representative, a post he has held since 1990. He is co-founder and served on the board of the highly esteemed American Composers Forum, the largest composer service organization in the world.

[edit] Hambone Program Notes

Hambone, by Libby Larsen, is a rhythmically driven piece that uses hambone rhythms, early Rock N’ Roll and cakewalk melodies as inspiration. This ABA form piece begins with the percussion section playing syncopated rhythms that are joined by the wind players performing hambone rhythms by clapping their hands and slapping their legs in the A section. The hambone rhythms are performed in a call and response pattern between various sections of the band. Additional musical effects are achieved by use of voice glissandi and a samba whistle.

The B section with an ostinato in the bass instruments and a syncopated cakewalk melody performed as a call and response between the trumpets and the upper woodwinds. The B section continues with cakewalk melodies combined with tunes typical of those sung on a playground while performing a hambone. The B section ends with a rhythm inspired by the music of Bo Diddley starting in the low brass and woodwinds and building to a climax as additional instruments are added.

The syncopated percussion rhythms and hambone clapping return in the final A section of the piece and the Bo Diddley rhythms build during the coda to bring the piece to its conclusion.

African cultural traditions play an important role in Libby Larsen’s Hambone. Hambone refers to the hand clapping game played by African-American children that creates rhythmic music by clapping, patting thighs and slapping various parts of the body while singing a repetitious song. The term hambone comes from African slaves using bones for music making. The cakewalk is an 18th century plantation dance. In a cakewalk, the dancers hold their upper bodies stiff, but the lower body improvised fancy dance steps that allowed individual dancers to display their best moves. The dance was performed to syncopated melodies. Early Rock N’ Roll developed out of African-American Rhythm and Blues. Bo Diddley was an important performer that was an innovator in the development of this American popular style of music and the syncopated accompaniment used in Hambone was one of his trademarks.

The composer of Hambone, Libby Larsen, was born in Wilmington, Delaware in 1950 and grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota where she currently lives and works. Larsen studied musical composition at the University of Minnesota where she earned Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts and a doctoral degrees. She has served as composer-in-residence with the Minnesota Orchestra, California Institute of the Arts, the Arnold Schoenberg Institute, the Aspen Summer Institute, the Philadelphia School of the Arts, and the Cincinnati Conservatory. Along with Stephen Paulus, Libby Larsen co-founded the Minnesota Composers Forum, now the American Composers Forum. She is also active as an advisor to the National Endowment for the Arts, ASCAP and the American Symphony Orchestra League.

Larsen has composed works for solo performers, opera, orchestra and small ensembles as well as music for dance, chorus and theater. Her music is performed throughout the United States and Europe.

[edit] Rhythm Stand Program Notes

Rhythm Stand, by Jennifer Higdon, pays tribute to the constant presence of rhythm in our lives, from the pulse of a heart beating to the rhythmic sounds of the world around us. Celebrating the “regular order” we all experience, Higdon incorporates traditional and non-traditional sounds within a 4/4-meter American style swing to heighten student awareness and enhance their creativity. Organized in unique compositional and rhythmic patterns, this work invites students to explore multiple ways of organizing sounds and making music.

In the composer’s own words: “Since rhythm is everywhere, not just in music (ever listened to the tires of a car running across pavement, or a train on railroad tracks?), I've incorporated sounds that come not from the instruments that you might find in a band, but from ‘objects’ that sit nearby…music stands and pencils! Music stands are played with pencils, which are both ‘objects’ at hand. Not only that, but some of the performers in this piece get even more basic…they snap their fingers. Because music can be any kind of sound arranged into an interesting pattern, I decided to add sounds that you wouldn't normally hear coming from band instruments, sounds which are created out of ordinary things that might be sitting nearby. Composing is merely the job of combining interesting sounds into interesting patterns. And interesting patterns create cool rhythms. So…I'm making a STAND FOR RHYTHM!” Born in Brooklyn, New York, on December 31, 1962, Jennifer Higdon grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, then Seymour, Tennessee, where she participated as a flutist in her high school band ensemble. She is very active as a freelance composer and now resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Higdon has received awards from the Guggenheim Foundation, the American Academy of Arts & Letters (two awards), the Pew Fellowship in the Arts, the International League of Women Composers, Composers Inc. (the Lee Ettelson Prize), the University of Delaware New Music Competition, the Louisville Orchestra New Music Search, the Cincinnati Symphony's Young Composer's Competition, NACUSA, and ASCAP. In addition, she has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Meet-the-Composer, American Composers Forum, and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. She has served as Composer-in-Residence with the Music From Angel Fire Festival, the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, the Walden School, the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco, and the Prism Saxophone Quartet. Most recently she was named Composer-in-Residence with the Philadelphia Singers. Her orchestral work Shine was named Best Contemporary Piece of 1996 by USA Today in their year-end classical picks. In 2003, her Piano Trio was awarded Ithaca College's Heckscher Prize.

Dr. Higdon’s commissions include works for the Cypress String Quartet, the Ying Quartet, eighth blackbird, the Gilmore Piano Festival, the Philadelphia Singers, the Bravo! Vail Music Festival, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony, and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Her works have been performed extensively around the country, including performances at the White House, Weill Hall, Merkin Hall, Alice Tully, Carnegie Hall, and by such performers as Carol Wincenc, Jeffrey Khaner, Marc-Andre Hamelin, the Cassatt String Quartet, the Miami String Quartet, the Lark Quartet, The Pacifica String Quartet, The Prism Sax Quartet, Synchronia, Earplay, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Virginia Symphony, the Dallas Symphony, the American Composers Orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony, the Louisville Orchestra, the Oregon Symphony, the New England Philharmonic, and the Knoxville Symphony. In 2003, Telarc released her work blue cathedral on a recording with the Atlanta Symphony, Robert Spano, conducting. In March 2004, Telarc released the premiere recording of City Scape and Concerto for Orchestra, again performed by the ASO under Robert Spano. As a flutist, she is recorded on the Access and I Virtuosi labels and as a conductor on CRI.

She holds a Ph.D. and a M.A. in composition from the University of Pennsylvania, a B.M. in flute performance from Bowling Green State University, and an Artist Diploma from The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Her teachers have included George Crumb, Wallace DePue, James Primosch, Jay Reise, Ned Rorem, and Marilyn Shrude (composition), Judith Bentley and Jan Vinci (flute), and Robert Spano (conducting). Ms. Higdon is currently on the composition faculty of The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, and serves on the board of the American Composers Forum. She formerly served as conductor of the University of Pennsylvania orchestra and wind ensemble and has served as Visiting Assistant Professor in music composition at Bard College. She is published by Lawdon Press.

[edit] Grandmother Song Program Notes

Brent Michael Davids is a member of the Mohican Nation. Davids grew up in Chicago and now lives in Minnesota. As a student he performed the tuba in the school band. Davids went on to spend many years studying Western European music theory and composition. Today he is considered an outstanding composer, one whose music bridges two cultures. “I like to try and bring some native sensibility about a more holistic approach to music into the classical music world. I researched the language, history, and lifeways of my own tribal community and maintain tribal ties that significantly affect my work.” Musicians perform his compositions all over the world.

In Brent Michael David’s words, the intent of Grandmother Song is to acknowledge that everyone – animals, the earth, the elements of nature – deserves to be understood on their own terms, and respected, and treated as cherished relatives. The importance of good relationships and respect for others are the paramount operating principles of all Native American Nations. From a Native American standpoint, a “good person” respects our animal and bird relatives too because animals and birds are people. The world is alive and filled with many other kinds of People. This is why Native Americans want to be in balance with the World instead of seeking dominion over her. The World – filled with all kinds of People – is old and must be respected as an elder, like a grandmother.

Grandmother Song is a celebration of the indigenous residents of the world. In Native American tradition and music there are no distinctions between what the Western world calls the “man versus nature.” Water People, Bird People, Animal People, and even Wind People sing to each other with power and strength. All of these People “communicating together” make the world alive for Indian people according to the composer. He conveys this oneness in Grandmother Song as the instruments take the roles of the singing reeds, talking sticks, shooting thunder, and rustling winds. The music helps us reflect on the important principles of sharing, reciprocity, and respect. It celebrates our relatedness to all parts of nature, and is dedicated to our ancient and contemporary grandmothers, both human and non-human.

The most striking feature of Grandmother Song is the important role for the singing voice. Flute and vocal songs share an ancient and related history in Native American culture. The music introduces young performers to the customs of Native American singing style and traditional wood flute playing. The performers sing syllables called vocables throughout the music. Davids describes vocables as an intertribal form of communicating feeling in song. Singing these vocables within the written band music introduces student performers to the “sound” of Native American song, while challenging them with a good, contemporary band composition.

How we behave and what we do creates the World and the most important way of relating then happens – the Cycle of Life. However, sometimes it is difficult for us to understand each other. Therefore, good communication remains a constant challenge and requires our vigilant efforts to listen accurately as much as to talk well. According to Brent Michael Davids, learning to relate well is the guiding principal of Grandmother Song. When we collaborate and experiment in Song, we discover live benefits along with the musical ones. Our interactions as composers, performers, audiences, students, and teachers constitute important relational skills. If we can excite creativity and cooperation in each other, we have accomplished a magnificent thing.

In addition to extensive performances of his works in the US and abroad by the Kronos Quartet, the Joffrey Ballet, and the National Symphony Orchestra, Davids has received numerous awards from organizations such as the NEA, Meet the Composer, ASCAP, the Rockefeller Foundation, American Composers Forum and the Sundance Institute.

[edit] Old Churches Program Notes

According to North American composer Michael Colgrass, Old Churches is one of the most challenging pieces he can remember writing. His goal was to create music that was interesting, expressive, and challenging, yet playable by students in the early stages of performing on their instruments and who are also unfamiliar with modern music techniques.

Colgrass’ solution was to write a work based on Gregorian vocal chant with unison melodies. Playing in unison helps student musicians feel more confident, and allowed Colgrass to double the melodic lines. The tempo is slow, the phrases are all in quarter and eighth notes, and the harmonies are simple.

Some easy graphic notation and chance techniques are employed, such as pitches played without rhythm, and a murmuring effect that simulates the idea of voices echoing in monastic churches. Colgrass hopes that Old Churches is a piece that conveys emotion at the same time it makes young bands sound good.

Old Churches uses Gregorian chant to create a slightly mysterious monastery scene filled with the prayers and chanting of monks in an old church. Gregorian chant is ancient church music that has been in existence for over 1500 years. The chant unfolds through call and response patterns. One monk intones a musical idea, then the rest of the monks respond by singing back. This musical conversation continues throughout the piece, with the exception of a few brief interruptions.

Born in Chicago in 1932, Colgrass grew up in Brookfield, Illinois. He was first drawn to music when he saw drummer Ray Bauduc in a movie playing Big Noise from Winnetka with the Bob Crosby band. Colgrass knew that he wanted to be a drummer, just like Bauduc. He formed his first pop/jazz band, The Three Jacks and a Jill, at the age of twelve. He listened to all the big bands, both recorded and live, and imitated every drummer he heard.

Colgrass went on to study classical music at the University of Illinois during the day, but still played jazz six nights a week. In an effort to get Colgrass involved in other kinds of music, his percussion teacher took him to a percussion ensemble concert. After the concert he asked Colgrass what he thought, and Colgrass boldly told his teacher that he liked the playing, but that the music was “terrible!” His teacher challenged him to write something better.

The idea of composing struck Colgrass like a thunderbolt. As a drummer, he could play and improvise with two hands, but as a composer, he could have as many hands as he wanted. After college, he spent twenty-one months as timpanist in the Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra in Stuttgart, Germany, then moved to New York City, where he continued playing and composing both jazz and classical music. Eventually he devoted more of his time to composition.

Today, Colgrass lives with his wife in Toronto and works as a composer, writer, and lecturer. He gives personal development workshops around the world for performers, students, and others. He has been honored as a Tanglewood scholar, twice Guggenheim Fellow, and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Music. He won an Emmy for the PBS documentary Soundings: The Music of Michael Colgrass, which features his unique teaching methods.

[edit] Alligator Alley Program Notes

Alligator Alley is the nickname for the east-west stretch of Interstate 75 between Naples and Ft. Lauderdale that crosses through the Florida Everglades National Park. It is home of the American alligator “king of the Everglades.” Indigenous to the US southeast coastal regions, the American alligator has changed little from its original form some 180 million years ago. Male alligators can grow up to 16 feet in length and female alligators can grow up to 10 feet, and can reach weights of over 800 pounds. Removed from the US Fish and Wildlife list of endangered species in 1987, the American alligator is still on constant watch by the national parks services, as its’ habitat is threatened by illegal poachers, industrial contaminants and housing and commercial developments.

Composer Michael Daugherty celebrates Alligator Alley bringing our attention to this unique animal and the American highway traveled by many observing the alligator in its natural environment. There are two main musical themes in Alligator Alley. The first theme, called the "alligator’s theme" is played at the beginning of the composition by the bassoons. In 5/4 time, the "alligator’s theme" evokes the four legs and tail of the crocodile and is slithers through the Everglades. The second theme is called the "hunter's theme". Performed by the brass, it reminds us of the hunters and poachers who trap and kill the alligator for profit. To evoke the sound of the alligator, Daugherty has included a whip in the percussion section. When the two pieces of the wood of whip are struck together, it is meant to evoke the sound of an alligator snapping its large and very strong jaws.

A note from the composer: My hope is that Alligator Alley will snap us to attention that the alligator deserves to live in peace. The continued survival of the American alligator in the Everglades now depends on careful management programs carried out by the National Park Service.

Michael Daugherty has made his niche in the music world as a composer inspired by contemporary American popular culture. Daugherty came to international attention when his Metropolis Symphony (1988-93), a tribute to the Superman comics, was performed in 1995 at Carnegie Hall by conductor David Zinman and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and subsequently recorded for Argo/Decca. Other large orchestral works include UFO (1999), a percussion concerto commissioned and premiered by Evelyn Glennie and the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leonard Slatkin. Daugherty's second symphony, Motor City Triptych (2000), was commissioned and premiered by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra with conductor Neeme Jarvi. Daugherty's chamber music has been recorded for Argo/Decca on the CD American Icons. His string quartets include Sing Sing: J.Edgar Hoover (1992) and Elvis Everywhere (1993), both performed on world tours and recorded on Nonesuch by the Kronos Quartet. His opera Jackie O (1997) has been produced in America, Canada, France, and Sweden and recorded by Argo/Decca. Daugherty has also composed numerous works for wind ensemble, recently recorded by Klavier on a disk titled UFO: The Music of Michael Daugherty. Born in 1954 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Daugherty grew up in family of professional musicians. He studied music composition at North Texas State University (1972-76) and Manhattan School of Music (1976-78), and computer music at Pierre Boulez's IRCAM in Paris (1979-80). Daugherty received his doctorate from Yale University in 1986. During this time he also collaborated with jazz arranger Gil Evans in New York, and pursued further studies with composer Gyorgy Ligeti in Hamburg, Germany (1982-84). After teaching music composition for several years at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Daugherty joined the School of Music at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) in 1991, where he is currently Professor of Composition. In 1999 he began a four-year tenure as composer-in-residence with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Future commissions include a violin concerto for Pamela Frank and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, a new work for three conductors and orchestra for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and an octet for the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society. Daugherty has received numerous awards for his music, including the Stoeger Prize from Lincoln Center, recognition from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and National Endowment for the Arts. His music is published exclusively by Peermusic Classical, New York, and represented in Europe by Faber Music, London.

Alligator Alley was commissioned by the American Composers Forum for the BandQuest middle-level music series. The work was developed in collaboration with the Ann Arbor, Michigan, Slauson Middle School band, Gene Bartley director. The first performance of Alligator Alley was given by the Slauson Middle School Band under the baton of composer Michael Daugherty, in Ann Arbor, on May 14, 2003.

[edit] City Rain Program Notes

In City Rain composer Judith Zaimont captures the spirit and vitality of a sudden summer shower as it falls on a busy city street. Written as a miniature tone poem, the music draws a lively picture of a passing rainstorm. Rain drops dance on the sizzling pavement, metal awnings, and surprised pedestrians who run to safety. The piece continuously unfolds, unified by the jazz-like rhythmic motive based on the pattern of the title words, “ci-ty rain” (eighth, quarter, eighth, half note).

A tone poem is program music that creates stories or pictures through sound. In City Rain, the composer paints the image of the rain through the rhythmic motive, and the use of body percussion and alternative instruments (such as tapping patterns on band members’ music stands). As the music unfolds, each section of the band is spotlighted at different times in the piece. The instruments also join together to produce layers of sound that create interesting and complex jazz chords.

The music begins with a gentle shower based on the “ci-ty rain” motive. The rain gathers momentum and becomes a storm. Zaimont develops this image through call and response patterns, increased intensity in the music, variations on the original theme, hemiola sections where patterns in two are played against patterns in three, and musical lightning. The storm continues until a new theme in ¾ announces that the sun is breaking through again. The musical storm decreases, ending with a few final drops. The city returns to work refreshed by the welcome interruption of City Rain.

Judith Zaimont, born in Memphis, Tennessee and reared in New York City, began her musical life as a piano student when she was five years old. She flourished as a young musician, and was soon performing regularly. Zaimont recalled the somewhat overwhelming experience of playing on “The Lawrence Welk Show” at the age of eleven. Later, Zaimont and her sister formed a piano duo and often appeared on “The Mitch Miller Show.” She began to compose at the age of twelve, winning several competitions and prizes. Composition studies included work at Queens College, City University of New York, Columbia University, and through private study in Paris with André Jolivet. Her music has been played at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and in major concert halls on three continents. She has won several prizes and awards; a gold medal in the Gottschalk Centenary competition, the Statue of Liberty centennial competition, and a Guggenheim Foundation fellowship.

[edit] Nature's Way Program Notes

Nature's Way for middle-level band (or wind ensemble) was commissioned by BandQuest, a commissioning project initiated by the American Composers Forum. The basic idea was for major composers of national reputation to write works of high quality, that would take into consideration the (still comparatively limited) intermediate levels of musical development—both technical and conceptual—of such typical high school ensembles.

I eagerly accepted the commission and the creative/compositional challenges implied thereby, that is, to reign in my creative imagination to some extent and limit the technical/conceptual demands to a more moderate level than is to be found in the dozen or so other works for band (or wind ensemble) that I had previously composed. Nonetheless, since the process of rehearsing, studying and performing a work created specifically for the non-professional school student market is— and must be (in my view)—primarily educational, i.e. a teaching/learning experience, it was very clear to me that my work would (and should) challenge the players at least to their top levels, and then even a little beyond that.

Thus Nature's Way in no way represents a compromise of my personal style (basically atonal, or highly chromatic), nor my long held concepts of form, continuity, texture, and instrumentation, inherent in all my music.

I have known for a long time that young, inquisitive minds are eager to learn from new experiences, from previously never encountered challenges, that is to say, to be pushed —gently—to rise above their present levels of achievement. That's what education is all about. To encounter rhythmic ideas, musical gestures and shapes, simultaneous differentiated dynamic levels, harmonic/melodic ideas —that, by the way, in my case have been around for over a hundred years, but are not usually represented in the generally available published band literature —is no different than encountering in a math class, for the first time, a 'new' equation or an unfamiliar mathematical principle. Again, that's what learning and the acquisition of knowledge (and experience) is all about; it applies to learning in music as much as in any other human intellectual endeavor.

I was particularly interested in exploring with the young players (and their band directors) certain "modern" musical ideas and concepts, first initiated in the early twentieth century. One of these is the idea of sudden abrupt changes (or interruptions) in continuity and form, the opposite of the historically long-standing approach to form, in which one moves in a transitional, gradual way from one section of music to another, through a ritard or accelerando, a crescendo or diminuendo, or through a graduated change in instrumentation and texture, and the like. (This earlier approach to form and continuity is, of course, also used in Nature's Way .)

Many times the music moves from one mood, character and sound to another, but very suddenly and unpredictably, usually then returning to the previous mood and texture just as abruptly. These continuity interruptions are like brief verbal or written inserts. The intent here is not to be 'disturbing' or 'illogically disruptive,' but rather—and this is the point and the challenge —as smooth and functional as possible, just perhaps 'surprising.' It is like a carpenter's inlay, smooth and functional.

Typical of such sudden continuity "breaks" are, for example, mm. 4, 9, 13; m. 28-29 and 31-32; m. 52-54, and 58-62. (The conventional "transitional" approach to form can be found at m. 35 to 41 and m. 72 to 80; and overlapping form segments can be seen at mm. 69 to 76.)

Another rather unconventional form principal explored in Nature's Way is the palindromic form, in this case m. 80 to approximately m. 95 being more or less the exact retrograde (although somewhat abbreviated) of the beginning of the piece (m. 1 to 25). In other words, it is the same music but played backwards, in reverse order.

In general I have taken a more individualized 'chamber music' approach in Nature's Way , emphasizing the idea that almost every player is independently responsible for his or her part, rather than the (educationally not necessarily very effective) 'massed sound' concept (often called the herd mentality)—the idea being that there is "safety in numbers," and therefore the desirability of lots of doubling and redundancy of parts, a concept that governs so much music of the high school and college band literature.

I also defied convention to some extent in Nature's Way , by giving important (though brief) solo parts to the English horn, oboe, and E-flat clarinet—considered "no-no's" in the band world.

Nature's Way was composed in the spring of 2006, and first performed in April of that year, conducted by the composer and played by the Lexington , MA high school band, Jeffrey Leonard director.

[edit] A+: A "Precise" Prelude and an "Excellent" March Program Notes

There is much debate about the value of the performing arts in the pre-college curriculum. This debate rages most furiously when budget considerations make cut-backs inevitable, and the academic money managers propose to snip away at the non-core curricular “activities” such as art and music performance and, in some case, athletics. This short piece makes the case for the unique importance of music performance—curricular or non-curricular—in every academic program.

Grades allegedly define achievement. There is a quantitative correlation between grades and performance, with grades often being assigned to reflect the percentage of correct or appropriate responses or behaviors. Average grading scales include the grades A, B, C, D, and F, with gradations of these levels being subdivided by pluses and minuses. Roughly, F corresponds to grades of 59% and lower; D corresponds to 60-69%; C corresponds to 70-79%; B corresponds to 80-89%; and A corresponds to 90-100%. The higher and lower areas of the grading ranges are reflected by + and -. The unique grade A+ is awarded for achievement in the area of 97-100%. This means that, in the sciences and humanities for example, the highest possible grade can be awarded to work or achievement that contains up to 3% error! A+ = 97%; 3% short of perfection!

Can you imagine a musical performance with even 1% error, never mind 3%? Must musical performances are flawless in execution in certain domains (pitch, rhythm, dynamics). Think how greatly one wrong note sticks out of an orchestral or band or choral performance! Music performance routinely demands one hundred percent accuracy in execution. Music performance is unique in that regard. Is there another discipline in the academic curriculum that makes such high demands on students?

A+: A “Precise” Prelude and an “Excellent” March makes a case for the high music performance. The Prelude, if performed well, is precisely imprecise, with tendrils of harmonic material floating around at the whim and fancy of the woodwinds. The March is a simple little Commencement-like processional (feel free to use it as a real march!) which is repeated. The ensemble players are instructed to make one mistake in the repetition—a mistake of pitch or dynamic or rhythm or articulation; it’s their choice. There are 8665 notes in this piece. If the ensemble consists of 60 players, all of whom make one pitch mistake, the percent error is .69 of 1%, that is, not even 1%! If one considers that each note has a dynamic, articulation and rhythm component (all of which can be mutilated!), the possible execution opportunities become 8665 pitches X 3 (dynamics, rhythm, articulation) for a total of 25,995! One mistake by each member of a sixty-piece ensemble no represents only .023 of 1%! In fact, 3% error in this case would equal 779 mistakes—a rate of performance that would qualify for an A+ in the academic world but would probably result in the conductor of the ensemble receiving a pink slip or the request for career counseling before the last notes’ reverberations ceased!

[edit] Ridgeview Centrum Program Notes

Ridgeview Centrum, by composer Alvin Singleton, was created to honor the students at Ridgeview Middle School in Atlanta, Georgia. The Ridgeview students hosted Singleton as he worked on this new commission for the BandQuest project. Led by band teacher, Mike Gibson, the students made quite an impression on Singleton. What started out as an “artist in the schools” experience turned into a celebration of the inspiration that young musicians bring to the compositional process. Not every Middle School Band has such a tribute as part of its’ history.

The word “centrum” is another way to say “center” or “middle.” With this title, Singleton tells us that school is an important part of any student’s life – it might actually be at the “center” of a student’s life.

The music is written in the form of a fanfare. Throughout the history of Western music, fanfares have been played to celebrate important events or people. They are usually composed for brass instruments, and are short and to the point since the main purpose is to get attention and announce people or happenings. In Ridgeview Centrum, the timpani outlines the melody, while the harmony is built around a rock-/jazz-like chord progression. The underlying rhythm moves the music forward by emphasizing the 2nd and 4th beats of each measure.

Born in 1940 in Brooklyn, New York, Alvin Singleton attended New York University and Yale University. Through a Fullbright scholarship, Singleton worked with Goffredo Petrassi at the National Academy of Saint Cecilia in Rome, Italy. After studying and working in Europe for over fourteen years, Singleton took a post as composer-in-residence with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. He was also resident composer of Spelman College, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

Singleton’s compositions include works for the theater, orchestra pieces, instrumental solos, and chamber music. Orchestras and musicians all over the world perform Singleton’s music, and it is often programmed at important international music festivals.

[edit] New Wade ‘n Water Program Notes

Adolphus Hailstork was born in Rochester, New York, in 1941. As a young person, he began music study at the age of eight on the violin, piano, and organ. Hailstork’s compositions reflect his love for music that sings, which he attributes to his participation in choirs and his study of singing and conducting as a teenager. As an American composer and pragmatist, Hailstork has always believed in writing works that would be accessible, enjoyed and performed. He first studied composition in college at the age of fifteen with composer Mark Fax at Howard University in Washington DC, where he graduated magna cum laude, and later earned two degrees from the Manhattan School of Music under the tutelage of composers Vittorio Giannini and David Diamond. Further composition studies included study in Paris at the American Institute with composer Nadia Boulanger, at Dartmouth College for electronic music with composers John Appleton and Herbert Howe, and a doctorate in composition from Michigan State University, where he studied with composer Owen Reed. Deeply impacted by the death of Dr. Martin Luther King during his years in college, Hailstork felt it was his responsibility to contribute to the lineage of black arts in America, when, at that time, many professionally trained African American composers were mostly interested in being more mainstream and less cultural specific. As a result, his musical interests have always been to fuse African American melodic and rhythmic materials with European structural principles, to create music that would be universal and transcend cultural boundaries.

New Wade ‘N Water, by Adolphus Hailstork, is a contemporary adaptation of the traditional African American Spiritual “Wade in the Water.” Dr. Hailstork, as many trained composers throughout the history of Western music, often uses folk music as a source of inspiration for his compositions. New Wade ‘N Water opens with an introduction that is constructed using a G blues scale and mixed meter. Throughout the piece, the material from the introduction serves as an interlude between each variation of the Wade In The Water main melody. The main melody is frequently stated in a hocket style, with fragments of the melody being passed from one section of the band to another. Motives from the introduction are also combined with the Wade In The Water melody. New Wade N’ Water concludes with the same motive that began the piece. Spirituals are one of the earliest forms of traditional African American folk music that once functioned within African American communities in multiple ways. While the African American Spiritual expressed deeply held religious meaning, these songs also mirrored a desire for freedom, which was often communicated through hidden messages within the text. “Wade in the Water” is known for its hidden messages that served as directions to help enslaved Africans escape their owners by traveling on foot from plantations in the south to the north to escape cruelty in the pursuit of freedom. “Wade in the Water” was an instruction to fleeing slaves to move through rivers and streams to erase their scent and confuse the bloodhounds tracking their path. The text also includes a reference about Moses, which refers to Harriet Tubman, an African American woman called “The Moses of her People” because of the many enslaved people she led to freedom. With this old Spiritual full of meaning and history as a foundation, Hailstork creates an exciting new composition. Hailstork creates a musical representation of rolling water and crashing waves giving one the ominous feeling that the phrase “God’s gonna trouble the water” has come to life in the music, while maintaining some of the folk song’s original melody and form. Here is one of the earliest written versions of the folk song “Wade in the Water” as documented by African American composer H.T. Burleigh (1925).

Wade in the Water (1925) Chorus: Wade in the water, Wade in the water, children, Wade in the water, God’s gonna trouble the water

Verse 1: See that band all dressed in white, God’s a goin’ to trouble the water, The leader looks like the Israelite, God’s a goin’ to trouble the water.

Verse 2: See that band all dress’d in red, God’s a goin’ to trouble the water, It looks like the band that Moses led, God’s a goin’ to trouble the water.

Serving as the music laureate for the commonwealth of Virginia, Dr. Hailstork has written numerous works for solo voice, chorus, chamber ensembles, opera, band and orchestra. He was among the twenty-five young composers who founded the Society of Black Composers in 1968. Some of his commissions include Meet the Composer, National Endowment for the Arts and Readers Digest. His works have been performed by the Baltimore, Chicago, Norfolk, Virginia, Louisville, Phoenix, Roanoke, Rochester, Detroit, and Savannah symphonies; by the Dayton Opera Company, the Opera Theater of St. Louis, the Boys Choir of Harlem, the McCullough Chorale, the Brazeal Dennard Choral and the Plymouth Music Series of Minnesota; and numerous college and university ensembles. Among his works are Celebration (1991), which was performed by the Chicago Symphony led by Maestro Daniel Barenboim and recorded by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra; the award-winning band compositions include Out of the Depths, which won the 1977 Belwin-Mills Max Winkler Award presented by the Band Directors National Association and American Guernica, which received first prize from the Virginia College Band Directors’ 1983 national contest; some of his award-winning choral works include Consort Piece and Mourn not the Dead, which received the 1971 Ernest Bloch Award for chamber compositions. He is currently Professor of Music and Eminent Scholar at Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia.

[edit] Alegre Program Notes

Tania León is a multifaceted musician and an international figure in the music world. She has carved a niche for herself in contemporary music as a composer, conductor and music director receiving numerous awards and commissions. Born in Havana, Cuba in 1943, New Yorker León grew up in a musically rich community. She grew up studying in the traditional European conservatories of Cuba, while listening regularly to the musicians who performed in her neighborhoods. She went on to earn multiple bachelors and masters degrees in music from the Carlos Alfredo Peyrellado Conservatory in Cuba and studied with renowned artists Ursula Mamlok, László Halász, Seiji Ozawa and Leonard Bernstein. Like many Western trained composers, her music is often inspired by her experiences, which embody European and Latin classical traditions and the multi-ethnic sounds she embraced throughout her childhood in Cuba.

Alegre is a Spanish word that means “joyful; with joy.” As an active educator and strong advocate for education, León wrote this lively band work to celebrate the “spirit of young hearts and the youth in our community.”

Alegre is a very rhythmical and syncopated composition. The music is performed with precise accented eighth note “off beats,” a subtle effect that adds tremendous feeling to the music. Alegre showcases the rhythmic dexterity of each section of the band and includes opportunities for soloists to improvise as well. Playing with such rhythmic energy and dexterity demands that the performers move with the music in their minds and feel the music in their bodies and hearts. While most of Leon’s compositional style reflects a number of musical influences, including European and North American avant-garde techniques, African, Caribbean, and Latin American folk idioms, Alegre is a traditional band piece that is meant to be played in a modern Cuban groove style, which is found through the inner pulse, feeling and dynamics of the piece. Modern Cuban music is multifaceted as it is a blend of many musical elements, languages and styles from the Afro-Cuban, Nigerian Yoruban, Congolese, Chinese and Spanish Creole cultural traditions.

The work is structured using repeated rhythmic figures or ostinato patterns. Percussion instruments play the ostinato patterns, building layers that provide a foundation for the rhythmic brass and woodwind melodies. The music opens with percussion and sounds immediately like a celebration. Brass instruments enter, boldly stating the syncopated dancing theme over the ostinato patterns. The underlying ostinato patterns never stop, but they occasionally interrupt the brass and wind melodies. The middle section is highlighted by improvisations – a place where individual instruments have the opportunity to “show their stuff.” The improvised solos played by a trumpet, clarinet, and trombone sound like a conversation. All the while, the percussion section keeps dancing away with the ostinato patterns. The music moves out of the improvised section and the opening theme returns. A brief legato section sets the stage for the end of Alegre as the percussion section continues the dance-like ostinato patterns through the completion of the work.

As a vital personality in the world of music, Leon is always in demand, not only as a composer and conductor, but also as an educator and advisor to numerous arts organizations and emerging artists. Two years after moving to immigrating to New York 1967, León, at the invitation of Arthur Mitchell, became a founding member and the first music director of the Dance Theater of Harlem, and founded the Dance Theater’s music department, music school and orchestra. By the mid-1980s, she also acted as music director for the Alvin Ailey Dance Company. She instituted the Brooklyn Philharmonic community Concert Series in 1978. In 1993, Leon held a four-year post served as New Music Advisor to the New York Philharmonic, the American Composers Orchestra, Latin American Music Advisor to the American Composers Forum, visiting lecturer at Harvard University and Yale University, and professor of composition at Brooklyn College. She has received countless honors and awards for compositions from organizations that include the ASCAP’s Morton Gould Award for innovative Programming, American Academy of Arts and Letters, Reader’s Digest, NYSCA, the MacArthur Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, CINTAS, “Women of Hope,” Chamber Music America, the National Endowment for the Arts, ASCAP and Meet the Composer.

[edit] Smash the Windows Program Notes

Smash the Windows, by Robert Xavier Rodriguez, is a vigorous two and a half-minute piece, full of energy and motion. Rodriguez calls it a toccata moto perpetuo, a piece where notes of equal value are quickly touched, then left as the music moves rapidly forward, never stopping until the end. The work is based on a traditional Irish jig with the same unique name, Smash the Windows. Though it is tempting to think that the music is about an actual event, please note that the titles of such Irish dance tunes do not have any extra-musical meanings. They are simply an interesting way to identify various Irish dance tunes – they do infer a that a raucous party turned into a riot.

Rodriguez uses only the first few measures of the original Smash the Windows Irish jig for his main theme. The theme is created from the triplet (3’s) tune layered over a brilliant background rhythm comprised of sixteenth notes in a duple rhythm (2’s). The juxtaposition of three against two continues through the piece, forming the microstructure of the music. The larger structure is a series of three-bar harmonic segments in which the chords shift gradually, one note at a time, through a five key sequence. The slowly changing harmonies are played with a strong pulsating rhythm. By constructing the music from simple cells of melody and harmony, using only the most essential parts of a musical structure, and repeating the material, the composer is creating the music in a style called minimalism.

The musical texture is another important element in the music. It expands dramatically as the work unfolds, beginning softly, building continually, and culminating in a shattering climax. At the climax, the band shouts "smash the windows!" and the percussion section complies, loudly breaking glass in a metal trashcan.

Texas composer Robert Xavier Rodriguez began his career as a pianist, but was also very interested in music theory. When he went to college, he decided to study composition. After college, he studied composition with Nadia Boulanger, the famous French teacher.

Rodriguez likes to compose many styles of music. One of his favorite approaches is to combine the sounds and style of an historical music period with contemporary ideas and materials. He has composed seven operas and many orchestral works. He currently teaches at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Rodriguez loves Irish music and often includes Irish jigs in concerts he conducts. He chose the jig Smash the Windows for this new work because it is lively and brilliant. Smash the Windows was commissioned by the American Composers Forum as part of the BandQuest project. Rodriguez completed the score in January of 2001. The Apollo Junior High School Wind Ensemble in Richardson, Texas, Robert Straka, conductor, premiered the piece in spring 2001.

[edit] Spring Festival Program Notes

Chen Yi wrote Spring Festival for the most important Chinese celebration of the year, New Year or Yüan Tan, a fifteen-day event. Chinese New Year is also called Spring Festival because it marks the time when winter ends and spring is close at hand. This festival begins on the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar. On a western calendar, the date usually falls between the end of January and the beginning of February.

The composer drew her melodic ideas from a southern Chinese folk ensemble piece called Lion Playing Ball. The form of the music is constructed using a mathematical scheme called the Golden Section  a mathematical construct based on the ratio known as phi (or Φ). The ratio is equal to 1.61803, and was thought by ancient civilizations to be a perfect proportion most pleasing to the eye. When the ratio of line segments, geometric shapes, objects in nature, or proportions in a building is equal to 1.6, it is called the “golden ratio.”

Chen Yi went two steps further. She constructed a Golden Section within the larger (45 measure) Golden Section which ends at measure 27; the Negative Section begins at measure 28 where the clarinet takes the melody for the first time. The first 28 measures of music are further subdivided into a Golden Section, with the Negative Section beginning at measure 17 where the brass play the second phrase of the melody.

Math and music work together well in this spirited, ringing celebration of the Chinese New Year. Gongs and cymbals make it exciting. Crisp articulation, rhythmic syncopation, and uneven phrases enhance the style and spirit of the music.

[edit] The CD-ROMs

The CD-ROMs combine music, practice, interdisciplinary learning and fun. Interactive CD-ROM curriculum materials are at the heart of BandQuest's new approach to music education. Informed by the National Standards, the curriculum is designed with three major goals in mind:

• to facilitate the process of learning the pieces commissioned for the project,
• to enhance students’ understanding of the music they’re performing, including the music’s basic elements, its expressive content and its historical/cultural context, and
• to promote understanding of how the music relates to other aspects of life and learning.

Visuals for the CD-ROM center around the concept of driving, and the material on the disc is organized by navigational buttons laid out like a car dashboard. By selecting specific button, students can:

• Meet the composer and hear about his or her work (biography, photo, bibliography, etc.), through video-taped clips from interviews and workshop sessions with school bands during the development of the work,
• hear a professional recording of the work,
• see an analytical overview of the music, and
• hear the composer’s own notes and thoughts about the piece.
• Explore the connection between the music and relevant subject areas. For example, Tom Duffy’s “A+” has a logical connection to math. Other works will may explore history, science or language arts.
• Go beyond the piece itself to exploration of extra-musical influences, works in similar styles, links to related web sites
• Practice rhythm patterns,
• create their own music,
• play games based on musical themes,
• hear their part as a solo, or
• play along with a recording of the piece to practice with a “virtual band.”

A “Teacher’s Guide” on the CD-ROM offers strategies for teaching the music, include resources for using the curriculum to full advantage and help them develop strategies for assessing student learning.

Each CD-ROM includes a professional recordeding by the University of Minnesota’s Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Craig Kirchhoff. This ensures high-quality performances for the CD-ROM, and will assist students and teachers in aiming for similar levels of excellence.

Whether in use in school or at home, middle school band students will not only have new music to play, they will have time to practice and learn music skills at their own pace and on their own time.

[edit] The Process

“Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven wrote a lot of simple music for amateurs without ‘dumbing down.’ The question: Am I a good enough composer to write a simple theme that can be genuinely exciting, the way the great masters did? Well, this project was the most humbling of any I’ve had as a composer. I think writing for kids’ bands should be a required project in our university composition programs. Writing for eighth grade band is like walking in four-pound shoes: If you can move gracefully with the weight on your feet, you’ll fly when you put on the four-ounce runners.” — Michael Colgrass, BandQuest composer

The BandQuest series is unique in that the commissions involve an interactive residency between the composer and the students who will perform their music. This kind of collaboration becomes a two-way learning process: the composer, used to working with professional ensembles, learns how to write music for young bands that is still interesting and engaging to play and listen to, and the students gain the experience of working with and learning from a world-class composer.

All content copyright American Composers Forum, 2007.