See WHAT I'll be doing, WHERE, & WHEN !
Below you'll find selections especially appropriate for Halloween (from Grade 1 through 3)!
Alfred Publications (Grade 1.5): Click to See & Hear
A macabre figurehead on the prow of a medieval Norse warship, followed by its large sail adorned with a mythical beast, slowly emerges from the mist on the cold, dark sea. The rough voice of the ship master and the urgent beat of the drum call the boat’s oarsmen to strenuous, rhythmic movement. The Norsemen of the Dragonship skillfully maneuver through shadowy fog and suddenly appears from the mist! This Challenger Series piece is a 2018 J.W. Pepper Editor's Choice and Stanton's Music Five Star Feature.
Alfred Publications (Grade 1-1.5): Click to See & Hear
The tropical island volcano, known to natives as “Thunder Mountain,” has lain dormant for years. Superstition has it that the last time Thunder Mountain erupted was the last time outside explorers trespassed up its sacred slopes. Now, as an unaware party of adventurous researchers work atop the legendary mountain, it begins to shake with pre-eruption tremors! Amid seething smoke and simmering magma the party races to safety. Will they make it down in time before it blows? You be the judge! Escape from Thunder Mountain takes you, musically, on a harrowing, life and death thrill ride that ends dramatically in a thunderous explosion of sound! Escape from Thunder Mountain correlates to Book 1, Level 6 of Sound Innovations for Concert Band, is a 2020 J.W. Pepper Editor's Choice, a Stanton's Music Five Star Feature, and was named a Bandworld Top 100 piece by the American band College! Available in SmartMusic.
Also, Escape from Thunder Mountain FLEX (click to See & Hear) - Written to work for any combination of four instruments/parts, with percussion. Comes with access to FREE online downloadable alternate part PDFs and MP3 Percussion track!
Alfred Publications (Grade 1-1.5): Click to See & Hear
The spooky sounds of haunted houses and Halloween come to life in this fun piece for young band. Whether you program it in the fall, winter, or spring it's sure to be a favorite of students and audience alike. The piece gives your low brass and woodwinds some prominent melodic material, makes clever use of novel percussion, and even includes a flute section "scream". The title is the name of a well-loved regional children's game played in schools around Halloween. This Alfred Debut series piece is a J.W. Pepper Editor's Choice and is one of my most-performed pieces for young band! Available in SmartMusic.
Alfred Publications (Grade 1.5): Click to hear
The golden age of comic books comes to life in this action-packed piece, taking its inspiration from those iconic, super-powered champions of justice, the super heroes! Mirroring the shape of a classic superhero story, the piece begins with a powerful main theme and is followed by a brief contrasting section expressing resolve. A determined return to the hero theme includes some harmonic surprises! Commissioned by MusicAlliance (Cleveland, OH) for their summer honor band program, through a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Alfred DebutSeries and a 2015 JW Pepper Editors Choice.
Alfred Publications (Grade 1.5): Click to hear
Once on a spooky Christmas eve, as Santa was making deliveries, a fog rolled in and howls rang out, and Santa landed on a "haunted house"! This creative premise leads to a spooky-cool treatment of the Christmas favorite, "Up On the Housetop." The piece includes an optional narrator part (which reveals a surprise ending), and uses "toy" percussion instruments to great effect. This Alfred Challenger series title is a 2011 J.W. Pepper Editor's Choice.
Alfred Publications (Grade 2): Click to hear
Der Erlkonig, or "The Elf King," is based on Johann Goethe's late 18th-century poem of the same name in which a father and his young son ride home on horseback one dark and eerie night. During the swift ride, the concerned boy sees and hears supernatural beings (the Elf King and his daughters) his father does not. The Elf King entices the boy to join him willingly or by force! The father tries to calm the fearful son, explaining everything the boy reports as simply leaves rustling in the wind or willows moving in the fog. Nonetheless, the father rides faster and faster home only to find the boy is dead in his arms when they arrive. Goethe's dark and gothic tale is brought to spine-tingling life in this harrowing, fast-paced tone poem for band. Commissioned by MusicAlliance (Cleveland, OH) summer honor band program, through a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Alfred Challenger Series, a JW Pepper 2015 Editors Choice, named to the 2015 Bandworld Top 100 listing, and available in SmartMusic.
Alfred Publications (Grade 2): Click to see & hear
The Greek hero, Hercules, was sentenced by the Gods to endure 12 seemingly impossible "labors" in order to redeem himself. Hercules vs. the Hydra portrays the second of these tests, his battle with a nine-headed water serpent with deadly venom and the ability to grow back two heads for every one cut off! The piece begins with the Hydra's half-step motive, which quickly builds and multiplies into the music of the epic fight. The blows of Hercules' club and sword, rhythmic accents in the music, land hard on the beast but to no avail. Hercules regroups to a slow, hopeful theme, encouraged as his nephew Iolaus shares the secret to defeating the Hydra. Hercules rejoins the contest with new resolve, reflected in the exciting merging of two of the piece's themes, which lead to a victorious climax! This Alfred Challenger Series piece was a 2013 J.W. Pepper "Editor's Choice," included on the 2016-17 Ohio Bandmasters Required Music List, and is available in SmartMusic.
Alfred Publications (Grade 2.5): Click to See & Hear
Terracotta Warriors was inspired by the extraordinary "spirit army" of clay statues - numbering more than 6,000 - created in the third century B.C. for the tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, first emperor of China. This astounding array of armed sculptures was placed in the emperor's tomb, along with hundreds of terracotta horses and chariots, to protect the emperor in the afterlife. The music begins with a brief, plaintive folk chant summoning the army from their centuries-old sleep. The faithful warriors respond, coming to life to protect their emperor with musical representations of uniform marching and weapons display. Terracotta Warriors captures the legend and grandeur of the Qin dynasty in this striking and unique piece for band. Terracotta Warriors was commissioned by the Albemarle County (Virginia) Middle School Honors Band and was premiered at their November, 2016 festival. This Alfred Young Symphonic series piece is a 2017 J.W. Pepper Editor's Choice, chosen for the 2017 Bandworld Top 100 listing, is on several state lists, and was performed at the 2019 Midwest Clinic. Available in SmartMusic.
Alfred Publications (Grade 3): Click to see & hear
Take your ensemble and audience on a musical trip back in time to the futuristic vision of steampunk! Enter the world of Jules Verne, H.G. Wells and others whose fascinating, limitless view of the future - from a Victorian vantage point - presented all sorts of fanciful contraptions: forward-looking modes of transportation, time travel, weaponry and more! Two themes alternate, one conveying the wonder of these futuristic marvels (and the mysterious laboratoriums where they are hatched). A second raucous, energetic theme portrays the steam, gears, sprockets, and pulleys mechanically powering them. The piece’s unique sonic palette includes minor “cabaret” harmonies, evocative toy percussion (i.e. ratchet, brake drum, siren whistle, etc.) and vocal “steam” sounds from wind players. Commissioned by the Clayton High School (NJ) Concert Band, David Dashefsky, Director. This Young Symphonic Series piece is a 2019 J.W. Pepper Editor's Choice; performed at the 2019 Midwest Clinic, was named a Bandworld Top 100 piece for 2019 by the American Band College, and is available in SmartMusic.