EVOLUTION OF CONTEMPORARY COLLEGE WIND BAND REPERTOIRE AND

PROGRAMMING IN THE UNITED STATES: 1800-2010

by

KENNETH G. BODIFORD

KENNETH OZZELLO, COMMITTEE CHAIR

MARVIN JOHNSON JOANNA BIERMANN

JOHN RATLEDGE JONATHAN NOFFSINGER

STEVE SHEPARD

DISSERTATION

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts

in the Department of Music in the Graduate School of

The University of Alabama

TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA

2012

 

Copyright Kenneth G. Bodiford 2012 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

 

  ii  

ABSTRACT

The wind band has come to be regarded as a premier and distinct performance ensemble,

particularly as represented by college and university ensembles. Although the wind band has a

military heritage and was, during the first half of the twentieth century, largely conceived of as

entertainment, it has evolved to its present status as a unique vehicle worthy of attention by

recognized composers. This research was designed to provide an historical perspective on the

evolution of contemporary college wind band repertoire in the United States with particular

focus on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and extending through the first decade of

the twenty-first century. The evolution of wind band/ensemble repertoire in the United States

was traced from predominantly orchestral transcriptions to the contemporary era in which wind

band compositions are sometimes transcribed for orchestra. Instrumentation was studied from an

historical perspective as it related to development of repertoire. The evolution of repertoire

comprised the major portion of the research.

 

  iii  

DEDICATION

This document is dedicated in loving memory of my beloved mother and father, Mrs.

Ruby Jewel Glenn Bodiford and Mr. Hubert Walton Bodiford. No one could ask for more loving

and supporting parents. It is impossible to thank them adequately for everything they’ve done,

from loving me unconditionally to raising me in a stable household, where they instilled

traditional values and taught their children to celebrate and embrace life. I could not have asked

for better parents or role models.

 

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I wish to thank the members of my committee, including my Major Professor, Dr.

Kenneth Ozzello, Director of Bands at The University of Alabama, for supporting the ideas that

resulted in the culmination of this project. I would also like to recognize and thank Dr. Ozzello;

Mr. Randall Coleman, Assistant Director of Bands at The University of Alabama; and Mr. Steve

Simpson, Assistant Director of Athletic Bands at The University of Alabama for their kindness

and support while I completed my residency at the university. They made the experience of

working on the doctorate degree most pleasant and one that I will always remember.

Also, I would like to thank Dr. David L. Walters and Dr. Hoyt LeCroy (my first readers)

for their tremendous support and guidance throughout the process of completing this document.

As well, special thanks to my colleagues at Jacksonville State University Mr. Clint Gillespie and

Mr. Jeremy Stovall, the Assistant Directors of the University Band program, and Ms. Sandy

Lynch, secretary of the University Band program, for their support especially while I was away

on sabbatical working on the degree.

Last but not least, thank you to my sisters and brother: Sharon Cherry, Paula Herrin, and

Hugh Bodiford. Your support, love, and encouragement have always been more than words can

express. You had to do without me on several family occasions while I was busy with career

obligations. I thank you so much for being so loving and understanding.

 

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CONTENTS      

ABSTRACT  .......................................................................................................................  ii  

DEDICATION  ..................................................................................................................  iii  

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS  ...............................................................................................  iv    

1.  INTRODUCTION  ........................................................................................................  1  

a.  Purpose  of  the  Research  ........................................................................................  1  

b.  Research  Design  .......................................................................................................  1  

c.  Literature  Review  .....................................................................................................  2  

2.  HISTORICAL  DEVELOPMENT  OF  WIND  BAND    INSTRUMENTATION  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  ...............................................  3    a.  Eighteenth  Century  ..................................................................................................  3  

b.  Early  Nineteenth  Century  .....................................................................................  4    

c.  Patrick  Sarsfield  Gilmore  ......................................................................................  6  

d.  John  Philip  Sousa  ......................................................................................................  8  

e.  The  Rise  of  Music  Education  .............................................................................  10  

3.  HISTORICAL  DEVELOPMENT  OF  WIND  BAND  REPERTOIRE    IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  .........................................................................................  14    a.  Nineteenth  Century  ..............................................................................................  14  

b.  Early  Twentieth  Century  ...................................................................................  16  

c.  Literature  for  School  Bands  ..............................................................................  19  

d.  World  War  II  Era  ...................................................................................................  22  

e.  The  Commissioning  Process  .............................................................................  28  

 

  vi  

f.  Literature  for  Wind  Ensembles  ........................................................................  35  

g.  1970s-­‐1980s  ............................................................................................................  41  

h.  1990s  ..........................................................................................................................  46  

e.  The  Twenty-­‐first  Century  ..................................................................................  53  

4.  SUSTAINABILITY  OF  WIND  BAND  REPERTOIRE……………………...….71  

a.  Joseph  Schwantner  …………………………………………………………………….72  

b.  Frank  Ticheli  ...........................................................................................................  77  

c.  John  Corigliano  .......................................................................................................  81  

5.  CURRENT  STATE  ...................................................................................................  87  

a.  Idiomatic  Properties  of  Wind  Instruments  as  Related  to  Repertoire    Development  ................................................................................................................  87    b.  Orchestras  Play  Wind  Works  ...........................................................................  92  

c.  Interviews  with  Current  Composers  .............................................................  93  

i.  Composer  Rob  Grice  ..............................................................................................  94  

ii.  Composer  Brian  Balmages  ................................................................................  96  

iii.  Composer  Robert  Sheldon  ...............................................................................  99  

6.  CONCLUSION  ........................................................................................................  101  

REFERENCES  .............................................................................................................  107  

 

 

             

 

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 LIST  OF  TABLES  

   

1.  Bethlehem  Band  Instrumentation  ....................................................................  5  

2.  Sousa’s  Band  Instrumentation  ...........................................................................  8  

3.  1950  Original  Works  Part  One  ...…….………………………….………………..26  

4.  1950  Transcriptions  Part  Two  ........................................................................  27  

5.  Commissions  Awarded  1949-­‐1960  ………………...…….………………….…28  

6.  ABA  Composition  Award  Winners  ................................................................  29  

7.  1950s  Pi  Kappa  Omicron  Commissions  ………………………………………30  

8.  1952  United  States  Military  Academy  Band  Commission  ...................  32  

9.  1953  Kappa  Kappa  Psi  and  Tau  Beta  Sigma  Commission  ...................  32  

10.  1960s  National  Band  Association  Commissions    .................................  33  

11.  1960s-­‐1970s  Wind  Band  /  Ensemble  Composers  ...............................  39  

12. 1970s-1980s First Time Wind Band / Ensemble Composers ..............41

13. 1970s-1980s Established Wind Band / Ensemble Composers ............42

14. 1990s Wind Band / Ensemble Composers ...........................................48

15. Wind Band / Ensemble Composers 1995-2000 ...................................50

16. Wind Band / Ensemble Composers 2000-2001 ...................................55

17. Wind Band / Ensemble Composers 2002-2003 ...................................57

18. Wind Band / Ensemble Music 2004-2005 ...........................................61

19. Wind Band / Ensemble Works 2006-2007 ..........................................64

20. Wind Band / Ensemble Music 2008-2010 ...........................................67

 

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LIST OF FIGURES

1. Shared Monody .....................................................................................75

2. …and the mountains rising nowhere by Joseph Schwantner Trailing in measure 1 ..................................................................................................76

3. Measure 41 of Symphony No.2 Mvt. 2 by Frank Ticheli ......................78

4. Measure 41-45 of Shenandoah by Frank Ticheli .................................79

5. Measures 31-34 of Postcard by Frank Ticheli .....................................80

6. Circus Maximus ‘I. Introitus’ Set-up Chart ..........................................83

7. Circus Maximus ‘I. Introitus’ 1-5 .........................................................86

 

  1  

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

The wind band has come to be regarded as a premier and distinct performance ensemble,

particularly as represented by college and university ensembles. Although the wind band has a

military heritage and was, during the first half of the twentieth century, largely conceived of as a

form of entertainment, it has evolved to its present status as a unique vehicle worthy of attention

by recognized composers.

Purpose of the Research

This research is designed to provide a historical perspective on the evolution of

contemporary college wind band repertoire in the United States with particular focus on the

nineteenth and twentieth centuries and extending through the first decade of the twenty-first

century.

Research Design

This research will trace the evolution of wind band/ensemble repertoire in the United

States from predominantly orchestral transcriptions to the contemporary era, in which wind band

compositions are sometimes transcribed for orchestra. Instrumentation will be studied from a

historical perspective as it relates to development of repertoire. Evolution of repertoire will

comprise the major portion of the research, and case studies of three twentieth century

compositions for wind band will synthesize compositional qualities to provide conceivable

  2  

possibilities for sustainability. Interviews with three prominent composers will be conducted in

order to ascertain the motivational aspects of their compositions in regard to band or orchestra.

Literature Review

Various sources provide detailed and sometimes unrelated accounts of the history of the

wind band. The purpose of this research, however, will be to present a focused history of

college-level repertoire development and programming in the United States.

  3  

CHAPTER 2

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF WIND BAND INSTRUMENTATION IN THE UNITED STATES

Eighteenth Century

American bands have their ancestry in the wind and brass performing groups that existed

in sixteenth century Europe. These ensembles often varied in instrumentation and number of

players. The most visible performing groups of the day were the Thürmer, which announced the

hours of the day through the performance of specially written music for the tops of tall towers in

European towns. Probably the most famous instrumental music composed for such performers

was that of Giovanni Gabrielli for performances held in the Basilica of San Marco in Venice,

Italy.1

Bands began to take on a more standard instrumentation in the second half of the

eighteenth century. Donald S. George mentions in his doctoral dissertation, Development of the

Clarinet in the American Concert Band, that the usual instrumentation of bands during this

period consisted of two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, and two horns.2 These were the

players of “Harmoniemusik,” a very popular genre from the 1780s onward. Mozart wrote two of

his serenades for this instrumental combination. Handel, Pleyel, and other lesser composers

specified this instrumentation as well.

                                                                                                                1Richard Goldman, The Wind Band (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1961), 36. 2Donald Stirratt George, Development of the Clarinet in the American Concert Band (Columbia University, 1968), abstract, Dissertation Abstracts International, 29-03, A: 923.

  4  

From this point in history, the band came into its own as an individual medium. Richard

Franko Goldman places the origin of the wind band in 1789 with the formation of the band of the

National Guard in Paris. Goldman states: “This group of forty-five players was incontestably the

first modern wind band, in terms of size, of function, and of repertoire.”3 This and other

European bands set the example that America was soon to follow.

Bands existed in America before the Revolutionary War, yet documentation of such

groups is sparse. There is, however, information about two bands formed before 1800. The

Massachusetts Band was formed in Boston in 1783. It was this band that became, in 1859,

Gilmore’s Band, the first great American band and undoubtedly one of the finest in the early

years of band development. The other was the United States Marine Band. Documented

instrumentation of this group in 1800 was two oboes, two clarinets, one bassoon, two horns, and

a drum. This instrumentation was similar to those bands existing in Europe at the time.4

Early Nineteenth Century

In the early nineteenth century, the bands of the United States were a reflection of

European tradition. As European musicians migrated to America, imitation continued to be a

factor. The hub of band activity was centered in the northeast. The local military bands of

Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania figured most prominently. For instance, the first

military band of New York City on record was organized in 1810 as a unit of the Eleventh

Regiment, New York Militia. Thomas Brown was its leader. The band served throughout the

War of 1812 and was for a time stationed on Bedloe’s Island in New York Harbor, where the

                                                                                                                3Goldman, The Wind Band, 39. 4W. C. Waite, A History of Military Music in America (Hicksville: The Exposition Press, 1944).

  5  

Statue of Liberty now stands. The military laws of Pennsylvania in the early 1800s required that

all men between the ages of 18 and 45 participate twice a year in military tactics. The formation

of the Bethlehem Band at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in 1809 was a result of this system. This

band had a membership of twenty performers. The instrumentation is shown in Table 1.5

 Table  1.  Bethlehem  Band  Instrumentation  _______________________________________________________________________________________________________    Number  of  Instruments     Instrument  Used      4             Eb  Cornets            1             Bb  Cornet            2             Bb  Tenor  Horns          3             Eb  Basses            1             Bass  Drum            1             Eb  Clarinet    3             Eb  Alto  Horns    2             Bb  Baritones    1             Bass  Drum    2             Snares    1             Cymbal     It would, however, be difficult to label these bands as service bands because their

membership was made up of mostly civilian musicians. The first independent civilian band to be

                                                                                                               5Ibid., 32-35.

  6  

organized in the United States was an Allentown, Pennsylvania, band founded in 1828. The

independent Band of New York, organized in 1825, was the first completely professional band.6

Small bands of irregular and unpredictable instrumentation continued to flourish until

about 1830, when most of the country’s bands became all brass. This trend continued until about

1853 when the band of the New York Seventh Regiment was reorganized with a mixed

instrumentation of woodwinds and brasses.7

Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore

In 1859, Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore assumed the leadership of the Boston Brigade Band,

beginning an era that was to permanently change the course of the development of bands in

America. Gilmore’s original band of 1859 consisted of 32 players, donning snappy uniforms and

new instruments all equipped by Gilmore, who rehearsed regularly and fulfilled a strenuous

schedule of engagements. He also began to build a library of original band music.

Gilmore provided music for anyone that would pay for his services. However, Gilmore’s

business was interrupted by the outbreak of the Civil War which channeled his energies in other

areas. The Gilmore Band, enlisting as a unit in 1861, served as a model for all other bands until

the dissolution of all-volunteer bands in 1862. Gilmore’s band returned to Boston where they

played a series of morale-building concerts. At the same time, he was asked by the Governor of

Massachusetts to reorganize all of the state’s military bands.8

                                                                                                                6Ibid., 101-102. 7Harry Phillips, “The Development of the Concert Band,” The Instrumentalist (August 1961): 25-29. 8Ibid.

  7  

Gilmore’s greatest accomplishments were in the standardizing of instrumentation. He

conceived the concert band as a predominantly woodwind-oriented group, contrary to the brass

band concepts that had recently gone out of vogue. Instrumentation of the band over the years

showed a consistent increase in the number of woodwind instruments and proportion of

woodwind instruments to brass. This is largely due to the advancement in the design of

woodwind instruments. Gilmore’s band of 1892, the year of his death, numbered 100 pieces: 61

woodwinds, 34 brass, and 6 percussion. Until then, Patrick Gilmore was the recognized leader of

the American Band movement and had established the position of “grandfather” of the modern

concert band.

One of the most significant concerts of Gilmore’s life, which enhanced his fame, was the

National Peace Jubilee of 1869. The Jubilee combined the elements of patriotism, education,

showmanship, and musicianship in one package. The forces he assembled for a gala concert in

Boston consisted of an orchestra of 500, a band of 1000, a chorus of 10,000, and a vast array of

soloists. The Jubilee opened on June 15, 1869, and continued for five days. Gilmore’s energy,

enthusiasm and persuasiveness, led him to lead an even grander affair, the World Peace Jubilee

of 1872. Groups from Europe were included in a chorus of 20,000, a band of 2000, and an

orchestra of almost 1000. It was this affair that impressed European bands with the superiority of

the American wind band.9

Thus, in the early years of American band history, three types of bands existed: military,

civic, and professional. Each of these three types of bands played a substantial role in the

development of the wind band in America. However, it was the professional bands of Gilmore,

                                                                                                                9Ibid.

  8  

John Phillips Sousa, and, more recently, the bands of the nation’s schools and colleges which

have supplied the leadership in American wind band development.

John Philip Sousa

In 1892, on the day following Gilmore’s death, John Philip Sousa presented the first

concert with his own professional band. During his tenure as bandmaster of the United States

Marine Band, Sousa brought the organization to respected status. Until Sousa’s term with the

Marine Band, the service bands did not compare with the larger, more visible, and proficient

professional bands. Gilmore developed the band as a versatile and sonorous entity, but it was

Sousa who developed the popular march form.10 It was the march, and particularly Sousa’s

marches, that brought the band into popularity with America’s general public. Sousa’s

philosophies were also instrumental in the formation of yet another new attitude toward the band.

He stated repeatedly that the band was for entertainment, not for education, and that he would

give the public what they wanted. It was to that philosophy and those of other successful

bandmasters of the day, such as Pryor and Goldman, that all bandmasters looked to for example.

Sousa’s band expanded Gilmore’s philosophy and consisted of 75 players. The instrumentation

is shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Sousa’s Band Instrumentation _________________________________________________________________________________________________________    Number  of  Instruments     Instrument  Used      6             Flutes  (piccolos)  

2             Oboes  

                                                                                                                10Goldman, The Wind Band, 1961.

  9  

Table  2.  (continued)  

________________________________________________________________________________________________________    Number  of  Instruments     Instrument  Used      1             English  horn    

26             Bb  clarinets  

1           Alto  clarinet    

2             Bass  clarinets  

4             Alto  saxophones  

2 Tenor saxophones  

1             Baritone  saxophone  

1             Bass  saxophone  

6             Cornets  (four  1st,  two  2nd)  

2             Trumpets  

4             Trombones  

2             Euphoniums  

6             Sousaphones  (basses)  

3 Percussion

_____________________________________________________________________________

Many more instruments were added for color as custom arrangements of orchestral

works, lighter pieces (waltzes, polkas, marches), and solo accompaniments were produced for

  10  

the medium.11 Sousa’s band continued as the leader in the field until 1932, when he died of a

heart attack.

Other professional bands came into existence and exerted some influence upon wind

band development. The most notable of these were bands of Arthur Pryor, Frank Simon, Patrick

Conway, Edwin Franko Goldman, and Leonard B. Smith. However, with the advent of the big

band era, the invention of the automobile and the technological influences of the radio, movies,

and the phonograph came the end of the era of professional bands. Of greatest significance is the

fact that the professional bands, especially those mentioned earlier, established the basics of

instrumentation which many bands still use today.12

The Rise of Music Education

At about the time that the professional bands were fading, a new source of leadership was

making itself known. The nation’s public schools, colleges, and universities, with the advent of

the twenties, began to realize the importance of instrumental music education. The rise of school,

college, and university band programs can be likened to the history of bands before 1900.

Beginning in isolated locations with bands of irregular instrumentation, the bands of the schools

have produced the majority of well-balanced ensembles.

In 1923, C. M. Tremaine became involved with the National Bureau for the

Advancement of Music. This group became the “propaganda arm” for the advancement of school

bands. The group encouraged the participation of professional music instructors.

                                                                                                                11Ibid. 12Phillips, “The Development of the Concert Band,” 25-29.

  11  

Joseph Maddy, the founder of the Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan, was appointed by

the Bureau to organize a system of contests in which bands would be encouraged to play music

from a specific list and would be judged on appearance, playing, and instrumentation. As much

conflict as this system caused, it greatly increased the uniformity of school bands throughout the

country as well as promoted their success. In addition, band method publications such as The

Universal Teacher series by Maddy and Giddings, the Victor Method of 1933, and the World of

Music series by Revelli, Rebmann, and Righter were published and used to build sound school

music programs.13

Throughout the early years of the school band, participation in the group was usually

associated with extracurricular activities. Band rehearsals were often sporadic and, many times,

music was not even included in the curriculum of a school system. Due to the work of many

prominent band figures in the thirties and forties, such as William Revelli (Michigan), Mark

Hindsley (Illinois), Raymond Dvorak (Wisconsin), and Albert Austin Harding (Illinois), the face

of the school band began to change.14

Through articles in specialized publications, such as the Music Supervisors (later Music

Educators) Journal, Revelli, Hindsley, Dvorak and Harding called for a standardization of

instrumentation and the composition of fine band works by prominent composers written

especially for that instrumentation. By bringing their own programs to success, these men were

able to promulgate activity in the improvement of bands. Contest movements became a regular

occurrence. New literature was written and performances were numerous. Music educators

                                                                                                                13Goldman, The Wind Band, 1961. 14Ibid.

  12  

began to question the methods and philosophies of the past and shifted their eyes toward a future

of aesthetically satisfying and technically proficient school music programs.15

In 1962, there were over 9 million children participating in school bands (K-12) in the

United States. The variation, size, and quality of school bands depended on the size of the school

and community and financial commitments as well as general musical enthusiasm. In most

school systems, instrumental instruction started in elementary schools and continued until

graduation.

At the college level, there was a major branching of the concert band concept. For

instance, Revelli’s Michigan Symphony Bands of legend, numbered approximately 120. The

Illinois band numbered likewise. For years (1950s and 1960s) this was normal band

instrumentation in colleges and universities. Many wonderful works were written by prominent

composers (Persichetti, Schuman, Hindemith, Dahl, Husa and Copland to name a few) for the

warm, velveteen sounds these large concert bands were producing. Yet, never willing to stagnate

in its infancy, the large Symphony Band concept gave way to a “symphonic wind” concept. This

was best exemplified by Frederick Fennell’s Eastman Wind Ensemble which stressed fewer

numbers and even one-on-a-part. The Wind Ensemble concept was a more orchestral approach.

This concept allowed variable instrumentation for the performance of wind literature. It is

interesting to hear of this development through Fennell’s own words:

Our decision to establish this new group was made after twenty years of careful study and performance by the Eastman School Symphony Band of the significant musical literature for wind band, both original and transcribed. In establishing the Wind Ensemble as an adjunct to the Symphony Band, it has been our desire to strike out in new directions which would begin from the premise that we could make music with the minimum rather than the maximum number of players, and that we could confine our rehearsal and performance to the study of the original music written for the massed wind medium, and

                                                                                                                15Ibid.

  13  

that we should embark upon a most active program to stimulate the composition of music for the Wind Ensemble by contemporary composers everywhere.16

As the wind bands of America became more specialized, there arose a need for a coherent

philosophy to strike a balance between the musical, aesthetic, artistic, educational, and technical

need of the musician, student, or performer. Music educators today are in the throes of evaluation

and re-evaluation to strike that balance. All arguments are tempered by the fact that those

involved with the wind medium are at a threshold; more importantly they hold the key to the

exciting level of artistic attainment possible for this medium. The “bandmaster” of yesterday is

proud history. Conductors today are required to possess as much musical passion and depth as

their orchestral counterparts to deliver heartfelt interpretations which are true-to-composer, true-

to player, true-to self, and aesthetically valuable (and pleasing) to the listener.

                                                                                                                16Frederick Fennell, Time and the Winds (Kenosha: LeBlanc and Company, 1954), 139.

  14  

CHAPTER 3

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF WIND BAND REPETOIRE IN THE UNITED STATES

Nineteenth Century

At the beginning of the twentieth century, transcriptions from the orchestral repertoire

made up most of the so-called serious band repertoire. Original band music consisted

predominantly of military marches, or quicksteps, and other pieces of a light nature. Little of this

music was published. Most of it was in manuscript form.

English firms such as Boosey and Company and Chappell had begun the publication of

arrangements of standard classic overtures, suites, and operatic selections for their military bands

around the middle of the nineteenth century.17 The first American firm to undertake the

publication of band music with separate printed parts for each instrument was Carl Fischer in

1874.18 Despite the beginning efforts of these firms, little band music was available in published

form prior to 1900. The active professional bands were forced to depend largely on arrangements

in manuscript form made specifically for them. There was a certain amount of borrowing and

copying of manuscript arrangements, but this was limited in scope. Gilmore’s unique concepts of

instrumentation made it necessary for him to plan his own arrangements. In 1892, most of his

entire band library consisted of manuscript arrangements.19 Some of these transcriptions became

                                                                                                                17Victor J. Grabel, “The Band-Past, Present, and Future,” Supervisors Service Bulletin (August 1929), 9. 18Peter Buys, Bands in the United States (New York: Lee Stern Press, 1841), 559. 19Herbert L. Clarke, “Famous Leaders-Patrick S Gilmore,” Musical Messenger (February 1920), 3.

  15  

available through publication by the P. S. Gilmore Band Library Publishing Company beginning

around 1903. A few years later Carl Fischer assimilated this catalogue. Around 1910, Carl

Fischer began publishing revised editions of these transcriptions under a division maintained

distinctively as the Gilmore Band Library. This library contained transcriptions of works by such

composers as Wagner, Dvorak, Mendelssohn, Rubinstein, Tchaikovsky, Glinka, Brahms, and

Massenet, but little from periods prior to Mendelssohn. Lighter works were published as part of

the Gilmore Supplemental Journal.20

Sousa’s personal library of band music, now housed at the University of Illinois, affords a

view of the professional band most active during the early part of the twentieth century. This

library contains more than 3,000 band arrangements, many in manuscript form.21 Much of the

library consists of works of a serious nature, but lengthy works are exceptions. There are

numerous types represented, including symphonic poems, marches, operatic airs, popular

ballads, novelty numbers, and overtures. There are arrangements of works by composers mostly

from the nineteenth century including the following: Berlioz, Debussy, Dvorak, Elgar, Arthur

Foote, Edward German, Ernest Gillet, Glinka, Godfrey, Goldmark, Gottschalk, Gounod,

Grainger, Victor Herbert, Karl Komzak, Lincle, Liszt, Masdowell, Mascagni, Massenet,

Moszkowski, Moussorgsky, Offenbach, Preston Ware Orem, Pierne, Ponchielli, Puccini,

Rossini, Rubinstein, Saint-Seans, Schubert, Schumann, Smetana, von Suppe, Arthur Sullivan,

Coleridge-Taylor, Ambroise Thomas, Tchaikovsky, Veridi, Wagner, Haydn Wood, and von

Weber. The list of arrangers includes the names of Itzel, Bellstadt, Ragone, Henneberg, Wernig,

                                                                                                                20Francis Norbert Mayer, A History of Scoring for Band: The Evolution of Band Scoring in the United States, Volume 1 (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 1957), 123. 21Calvin Weber, “The Contribution of Albert Austin Harding and His Influence on the Development of School and College Bands.” (PhD diss., University of Illinois, 1963), 151.

  16  

Boccavecchia, Klaus, Boccalaci, Buys, and Dan Godfrey. The library also contains many

original works by Sousa. Other originals by Sousa are housed in the Library of Congress.22

Early Twentieth Century

Few American publishers in the early part of the twentieth century attempted to publish

arrangements for the more extensive instrumentations of professional bands. Instead they

confined most of their publications to easy standard works arranged in such a manner that even

the smallest bands could play in a passable way.23 Various small collections of band works were

published in the early 1900s with an appeal to amateur or semi-professional bands, the type most

prevalent at the time. Typical of these published collections was the Standard Overtures, a

compilation from J.W. Pepper’s Twentieth Century Journal of Band Music. The works were

scored for a basic brass band with cued parts for woodwinds. The content of this collection gives

a picture of one type of band repertoire which, in various arrangements, was to be used well past

the first quarter of the century.

Of the few college bands active early in the century, most played the published music

designed for amateur bands. One exception to the prevailing college band of the period was the

band developed by A. A. Harding at the University of Illinois. He, like the directors of leading

professional bands, was forced to seek worthwhile music for his large band outside the small

realm of published band music. As a partial solution, Harding began transcribing for band,

                                                                                                                22Mayer, A History of Scoring for Band, 124-126. 23Clarke, “Famous Leaders-Patrick S Gilmore,” 3.

  17  

literature that was originally conceived for other media, principally the symphony orchestra.

From 1914 to 1957 he personally transcribed nearly 150 works for band.24Apparently the artistic

transcriptions in the libraries of Gilmore, Sousa, and Harding, most of which were unpublished,

had little influence on the commercial transcriptions of the first quarter of the century.25

For the most part, the leading concert bands of the first part of the century were

commercial organizations. Their success was dependent on their ability to please audiences and

thus to secure profitable bookings. For this purpose they could only rely in part on the band’s

repertoire of original works, of necessity, they turned predominantly to transcribed works. The

principal numbers performed by these commercial bands were much the same as those

programmed by the few active symphony orchestras.26 A typical concert, which brought great

success to Sousa, included operatic overtures, excerpts and medleys, marches, descriptive pieces,

instrumental and vocal solos, novelties, popular tunes of the day, and a few serious orchestral

works.27 The band was successful in terms of entertainment and popular culture. In this respect,

the band had little competition at the time due to the lack of development of mass

communication and the limited availability of orchestral concerts. Indeed, Goldman saw the band

as performing in an educational role, largely by bringing transcribed music of the masters to

large audiences who might not be reached by orchestral concerts.28

                                                                                                                24Weber, “The Contribution of Albert Austin Harding,” 132. 25Mayer, A History of Scoring for Band, 123. 26Harold Bachman, “Is There an Emerging Band Repertoire?” Proceedings of the College Band Directors National Association (February 1967), 128. 27Fennell, “Hardy-Perennial,” 17. 28Goldman, The Wind Band, 8.

  18  

E. F. Goldman relied heavily on transcriptions for band, following the practice which

other professional bandmasters had found necessary. This was evidenced by the hundreds of

special transcriptions in manuscript in his personal library. Erik Leidzen served as his leading

arranger. Though Goldman’s early programs consisted mostly of transcriptions, he was

extremely receptive to both arrangements and original compositions. He encouraged the

extension of transcriptions back to the music of Bach and his contemporaries, as well as forward

in time to the music of more contemporary composers such as Stravinsky.29 He personally

contributed numerous marches to the band’s original repertoire. More importantly, he

encouraged the writing of new original works for band and performed them regularly beginning

with a series of concerts in 1918.

Goldman instituted the first American competition for new serious band works in 1920.

Judges were Percy Grainger and Victor Herbert. The award went to Carl Busch for his work, A

Chant from the Great Plains.30 Many other works were written at Goldman’s request and

received their premiers at his concerts. From 1918 through 1949, 148 original works were given

their American premiers by the Goldman Band.31 The progressive work of Goldman in

encouraging new arrangements and original works had an influence largely denied to earlier

bands, in that a large number of these new works were periodically made available in published

editions. Schirmer established a portion of its band catalog as the Edwin Franko Goldman

Repertory.32Apart from the activities of the Goldman Band, the activities of professional bands

                                                                                                                29Ibid., 88. 30Ibid., 87. 31“New Band Works Produced by the Goldman Band from 1918 to 1949,” Proceedings of the College Band Directors National Association (December 1949), 95-99. 32Mayer, A History of Scoring for Band, 174.

  19  

waned near the end of the first quarter of the century, and attention became increasingly centered

on the developing school and university bands.

Literature for School Bands

The repertoire available for school bands was of early concern, as available publications

were of a diverse nature. More and more of the artistic transcriptions, originally arranged for

professional or semiprofessional bands, became available through the military journals of various

publishers or were part of collections such as the Gilmore Library Editions. The larger and more

secure bands continued to select from this repertoire. Many of the older published transcriptions

were “revised” with the addition of parts to conform to the newly expanded standards of

instrumentation. One initial step in the publication of revised editions was the provision of full

scores for recommended contest selections. Francis Mayer declared 1927 as the date of an early

attempt to provide American bands with full scores edited with the same care of orchestral

scores.33 Beginning in this year, the MSNC (Music Supervisors National Conference) Committee

on Instrumental Music sponsored a series known as the National Standardized Symphonic Band

Score Editions. Arrangers such as Cailliet, Leidsen, and Lang were active in the pre-existent

transcriptions. These arrangers, among others, began to supply arrangements of easier works for

the smaller and less capable bands. The needs of these bands led to an enlarged market for

simplified arrangements of standard orchestral literature and for original works of moderate

difficulty. Much of the latter had been referred to as “educational material,” employing the

general characteristic scoring practices of restricted range, difficulty, and independence of part

writing. While the segments of the repertoire mentioned above received most of the attention of

                                                                                                                33Ibid., 201-203

  20  

publishers, only slight attention was given to serious original works and transcriptions of

contemporary works.34

David Whitwell cited the period following World War I as a time of fertile interest in

composition for band instruments by major European composers. The period between 1917 and

1928 saw a total of forty-nine compositions for wind instruments by Webern, Berg, Ives, Villa-

Lobos, Piston, Sibelius, Poulenc, Busoni, Milhaud, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Hindemith, Roussel,

Shostakovich, Vaughan-Williams, and Ibert. Despite efforts like E. F. Goldman’s competition of

original works, begun in 1920, most band directors failed to capitalize on this opportunity to

offer the band as a serious medium for exploration by these composers. Whitwell saw the lack of

awareness of these developments on the part of band directors of the 1920s as a key factor in

their adoption of transcribed music, a factor which was to influence band music for years to

follow.35

College bands had first begun to appear in significant numbers in the 1920s on the heels

of the secondary school band movement. Considering the background of many of the early

college band directors, it was only logical that they took bands such as Sousa’s as their model.

These conductors apparently felt their purpose was to provide entertainment on as popular a

basis as possible. As a result the college band programs of this period consisted almost entirely

of orchestral and operatic transcriptions, following the pattern of the professional bands.

The following quotation from a 1927 article entitled “The Modern Band” is indicative of

the circumstances described above:

                                                                                                                34Ibid. 35David Whitwell, “Forgotten Wind Music,” Proceedings of the Northwestern Division of the College Band Directors National Association (February 1966): 27-28.

  21  

With the modern concert band raised to its present state, both as to instrumentation and to technique, what a pity that more of our talented and capable composers do not devote a portion of their creative instinct to its repertoire. So little really first-class music has been written with the band in view. For repertoire the conductor of one of these wonderful organizations must rely largely on his own skill in “adapting” orchestral music to the idiom of his medium and to the technique of his personnel.36

The National School Band Association (NSBA) and the American Bandmasters

Association (ABA) did their share to promote good band music during the 1930s. The ABA

was directly and indirectly responsible for the developing interest in the band by serious

composers. Many of the works performed for the first time by the Goldman Band were

dedicated jointly to the ABA and E. F. Goldman. More important was the fact that ABA

members, as conductors of outstanding professional and university bands, gave the works

frequent performances. They also worked closely with the NSBA in guiding the contest

selections for school bands. Because of cooperative efforts and some overlapping of

membership, it is difficult to separate the activities of the two associations. Through their

attempts to standardize the instrumentation of concert bands, they encouraged much new

band music, both original and transcribed. Many new arrangers, including Lucien Cailliet

and Erik Leidzen, were asked to provide new arrangements of standard works better suited

for the larger symphonic bands of the day. Harold Bachman cited Goldman, Harding,

Bainum, McAllister, Maddy, Grabel, O’Neil, Dvorak, Falcone, Buys, Revelli, Hindsley, and

Prescott as some of the men who took the lead in building these large symphonic bands.37

The University of Illinois Band, around 1920 known as one of the “greatest college

bands,” continued to exert leadership in the struggle to improve the repertoire of bands.

Making transcriptions of numerous major orchestral works, Harding pursued his objective of

                                                                                                                36Lynne Roche, “The Modern Band,” The Etude (August 1927), 572. 37Bachman, “Emerging Band Repertoire,” 133.

  22  

playing music of high quality in order to prove that a band could be an effective and

expressive musical ensemble. His ultimate goal was to entice major composers to write for

band just as they wrote for orchestra or any other medium. At that time, major composers had

written little for band. Even though the literature was generally transcriptions and a few

major original works, the symphonic band had been established as an effective performing

medium, particularly in our country’s educational institutions. By the late 1930s, excellent

high school bands had become established in all parts of the country, and a considerable

number of college bands were challenging the University of Illinois Band’s former position

of exemplary influence.

World War II Era

David Whitwell cited two influential books which appeared in 1938, Prescott and

Chidester’s Getting Results with School Bands and R. F. Goldman’s The Band’s Music, as

influential in continuing the band’s affinity for transcriptions. The two books suggested

program materials consisting of over 85 percent transcribed music.38 The work by Goldman

represents the first extensive attempt to catalog the repertoire of the band, as well as program

notes. Goldman had surveyed the leading American and English publishers. He excluded

from this survey the larger part of the band’s repertoire, which consisted mainly of marches

and medleys. Most of the works included were transcriptions. There was a separate list of

approximately 660 published original works for four or more instruments from the period

1400 to 1937. Needless to say, the overwhelming majority of these works were for small

                                                                                                                38David Whitwell “The College Band: Can It Escape its Heritage?” The Music Educators Journal (June - July 1965), 57.

  23  

ensembles of wind instruments. The following related comments from his book give R. F.

Goldman’s views on the state of the band’s repertoire as of 1938:

Most of the music played by bands is transcribed from orchestral or keyboard music. The band’s own repertory of originals is small in comparison to the number of available transcriptions---a few front rank composers are contributing, but some of the most valuable band compositions of recent years remain in manuscript. Serious music in the band repertory is considerably outweighed by light music. One may assume that for the purpose of “improving” the band repertory, more transcriptions of good music are in order. It must be remembered that while the band has existed on a more or less satisfactory diet of transcriptions, and that while theoretically there is no limit to the production of new transcriptions, at the same time, the musical audience is hearing (via radio and the extension of orchestral concerts) more and more of the standard orchestral repertory in its original form. That in itself is not a very weighty argument against transcriptions, but the fact remains that there are rather large numbers of people who prefer to hear a composition in its original form played by instruments for which it was designed. Should this tendency continue the band will, unless it encourages new compositions, be reduced to echoing the orchestra on a lower plane.39

The following selected statements from Goldman’s book of 1946, The Concert Band,

reveal little change in his view of the status of band repertoire, except for a slight note of

optimism:

The basic item of the band repertory, and the only music form that belongs to it by tradition, is the march. But here again, it is necessary to qualify the term, and to limit “march” in this sense to military march or quickstep. Grand marches, or ceremonial marches, have in general been written for orchestra. The military march is the band’s own. … Nearly all of the remainder of the music it plays is transcribed or arranged from the literature of the piano or the orchestra, with some borrowings from other sources. … The band, for the most part concentrates on the “lighter classics,” work which have worn out their welcomes in the concert hall. … The tendency of many concert bands has been, while continuing to play the “lighter classics,” to absorb larger and more elaborate portions of the orchestral repertory. It is sufficient to note here that the practice of performing music from other literatures is general; it is, in fact, necessary if the band is to give concerts at all, for the band’s own serious music is still insufficient to keep a good professional band in programs for even part of a season. The repertory of music specifically written for band is, however, steadily growing, and, with more and more

                                                                                                                39Richard Franko Goldman, The Band’s Music (Lanham: Pitman Publishing Corporation, 1938), 10-12, 65-66.

  24  

significant composers finding in the band a medium for reaching a new mass audience, this repertory should in time assume important proportions.40

After having made this assessment of the band’s repertoire as of 1946, Goldman

proceeded to cite the development of interest in idiomatic writing for wind instruments, which he

saw reflected not only in the composition of numerous works for small wind ensembles, but also

in the general style of orchestral writing. Few substantial works had appeared prior to the 1930s,

but Goldman saw evidence during the 1930s and early 1940s of a real movement to enlarge the

band’s literature of original music. He cited the following European composers who had written

one or more works for band during the 1930s: Holst, Vaughan-Williams, Percy Grainger,

Respighi, Roussel, Florent Schmitt, Toch, Hindemith, Krenek, Weinberger, Prokofieff, and

Miaskovsky. He then included the following list of native Americans and Europeans residing in

America who had contributed a band work since 1940: Arnold Schoenberg, Igor Stravinsky,

Darius Milhaud, Pedro Sanjuan, Henry Cowell, Roy Harris, Paul Creston, Wallingford Riegger,

William Schuman, Gail Kubik, Leo Sowerby, Samuel Barber, William Grant Still, Daniel

Mason, Arthur Shepherd, Morton Gould, Philip James, Robert Russell Bennett, Burnet Tuthill,

George F. McKay, Henry Hadley, John Alden Carpenter, Bainbridge Crist, Ray Green, Dai-

keong Lee, James Gillett, Herbert Haufrecht, Joseph Wagner, Normand Lockwood, Arthur

Kreutz, Robert McBridge, and Robert Sanders.41

Charles Hunt, in 1949, made another assessment of the band’s repertoire. His study

includes a review of selected original music for band written from 1900 to 1948. He selected

composers whose reputations had been established through other media on the assumption that

significance could be attached to the use of the band by such composers. The following selected

                                                                                                                40Goldman, The Concert Band, 12-13. 41Ibid., 195.

  25  

statements summarize the case made by Hunt for the concert band assuming a new role as an

independent medium playing its own music:

Gilmore, Sousa, Innes, Conway, Harding, McAllister, and Goldman developed the civilian concert band to an unprecedented capacity and popularity These leaders and hundreds of lesser-known bandmasters refined the American concert band so that, by 1930, it had become an instrument capable of playing a much more significant musical role than the earlier band which had performed programs consisting mainly of polkas, military marches, and music transcribed from the literature for orchestra, organ, and piano. … Evidence of the presently changing function of the band is found in the increasing use of the medium by contemporary composers and in their comments cited in the main body of this paper. The appearance of a number of original works since 1930, when viewed against the previous dearth of literature, is interpreted as indicating a trend in the function of the band. Exploitation of the band’s unique resources has just begun; its use as a vital medium in contemporary music is dependent upon the coordinated action of composers, publishers, and band directors.42

Hunt felt that certain barriers were deterring the changing performance role of the band as

described above. They were caused, he felt, by the interdependence of the following factors:

Publishers sometimes frustrated the best efforts of composers through instating on the “all-inclusive” type of arrangement for an arbitrarily standardized instrumentation; composers are reluctant to write for a new and somewhat strange medium; bandmasters frequently exhibit lack of musical depth through poor performance and excessive showmanship; the popular audience sometimes acts as a deterrent to artistic innovations; instruments are still in a state of imperfection; … limitations especially pertinent to musical acceptance of the concert band are those having to do with the paucity of original literature. … Granting that there are a number of compositions written for band before 1900, they are minor efforts of major composers and major efforts of minor composers; the exceptions are those works written for ensembles, which include only a small portion of the usual instrumentation.43

On the positive side, Hunt stressed certain factors which were attracting composers to the band

as follows: Composers are recognizing the band as an independent medium—a medium

challenging to creative minds because of its capacity for the expression of musical ideas;

                                                                                                                42Charles Brownlow Hunt, The American Wind Band: Its Function as a Medium in Contemporary Music (University of California, 1949), 200, 209-210. 43Ibid., 116-117.

  26  

stimulating, because of its state of development with non-restrictive traditions; and important

because of its deeply rooted place in American life through its mass appeal.44

Other individuals continued after the end of World War II to make outstanding

contributions to the enrichment of the repertoire of bands. William D. Revelli, Director of Bands

at the University of Michigan since 1935, undertook the editorship of G. Schirmer’s University

of Michigan Band Series in 1946. The two-part series included original works and transcriptions.

Editions were scored with the flexibility to conform to the broad limitations of school band

instrumentations labeled as full band and symphonic band. Both full and condensed scores were

published, however, unfortunately short-lived. In 1950 the original works shown in Table 3

constituted the first part and the transcriptions that constituted the second part are shown in

Table 4 (page 27).

Table 3 1950 Original Works Part One _________________________________________________________________________________________________________    Composer         Composition         Year     Ludwig Van Beethoven Military March 1950

Darius Milhaud Two Marches 1950

Felix Mendelssohn Overture for Band 1950

Percy Grainger Banks and Braes O’Bonnie Doon 1950

Arnold Schoenberg Theme and Variations 1950

Paul Creston Zanoni 1950

Virgil Thomson A Solemn Music 1950

                                                                                                                44Ibid., 140.

  27  

Table 3. (continued) _________________________________________________________________________________________________________    Composer         Composition         Year     George Frederick McKay Three Street-Corner Sketches 1950

Maurice C. Whitney River Jordan 1950

Frances Mayer included in his dissertation a letter from G. Schirmer, dated August 3,

1956, stating that the University of Michigan Band Series was no longer published separately. It

had been included in one general band catalog, just as the Edwin Franko Goldman Repertory—

formerly published separately.45

Table 4. 1950 Transcriptions Part Two ______________________________________________________________________  Composer         Composition           Year     Edvard Grieg Piano Concerto in A Minor (first movement) 1950

Gabriel Pierne In the Cathedral 1950

Franz Schubert Military March Number Three 1950

J.S. Bach Fugue Number Four 1950

Céasar Franck Symphony in D Minor (first movement) 1950

Camille Saint-Saens Pavane 1950 _____________________________________________________________________________

                                                                                                                45Mayer, A History of Scoring for Band, 290, 303-304.

  28  

The Commissioning Process

The commissioning process, a financial arrangement whereby a composer is guaranteed a

sum of money to write a certain type of composition, was particularly significant in the

appearance of new works for band. E. F. Goldman initiated the first regular series of band

commissions in 1949.46 These commissions were first awarded through the League of Composers

and later through the ABA. The commissions awarded from 1949-1960 are shown in Table 5.

Table  5.  Commissions  Awarded  1949-­‐1960  ________________________________________________________________________________________________________    Composer         Composition           Year     Virgil Thomson A Solemn Music 1949

Walter Piston Tunbridge Fair 1950

Peter Mennin Canzona 1951

Robert Russell Bennett Mademoiselle—Ballet Suite 1952

Vincent Persichetti Pageant 1953

Howard Hanson Chorale and Alleluia 1954

Paul Creston Celebration Overture 1955

Morton Gould Santa Fe Saga 1956

William Bergsma March with Trumpets 1957

Vittorio Giannini Praeludium and Allegro 1958

Douglas Moore The People’s Choice 1957

Norman Lloyd A Walt Whitman Overture 1960

                                                                                                                46Goldman, The Wind Band, 237.

  29  

In 1956, overlapping the commission awards given by the League of Composers, the

ABA began to administer an annual cash award given by the Ostwald Uniform Company for the

best composition submitted to a panel of judges from the association. The winners are shown in

Table 6.

Table 6. ABA Composition Award Winners _________________________________________________________________________________________________________    Composer         Composition           Year     Clifton Williams Fanfare and Allegro 1956

Clifton Williams Symphonic Suite 1957

Mark Quinn Portrait of the Land 1958

Maurice Weed Introduction and Scherzo 1959

Florian Mueller Overture in G 1960

Joseph Jenkins Cumberland Gap 1961

Fritz Velke Concertino for Band 1962

Frederic Ashe Concert Suite 1963

Frederick Beyer Symphony for Band 1965

John Barnes Chance Variation on a Korean Folk Song 1966

Lawrence Weiner Daedalic Symphony 1967

Robert Jager Diamond Variations 1968

 During the first eleven seasons of its existence, 1957 through 1967, the unique American

Wind Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Robert A. Boudreau, played a major role in

promoting young contemporary composers by commissioning more than 160 works.

  30  

Walter Welke, Director of Bands at the University of Washington, was another pioneer in

seeking to enlarge the band’s serious repertoire. He began an annual festival of contemporary

band works in 1947. The only incentive to the composers was the opportunity for a performance

of their work. In the succeeding years, Welke premiered more than forty original works for

band.47

In 1949, Ernest Lyon and Charles Hammond, of the University of Louisville, helped their

students to form a professional band fraternity under the name of Pi Kappa Omicron and began a

series of commissions.48 Their efforts resulted in several significant new works during the 1950s

which are shown in Table 7.

Table 7. 1950s Pi Kappa Omicron Commissions _________________________________________________________________________________________________________    Composer         Composition           Year     George Perle Scherzo for Band 1951

Vincent Persichetti Psalm for Band 1952

Claude Almand Roustabout 1952

Wallingford Riegger Prelude and Fugue for Band 1952

Gordon Jacob Flag of Stars 1953

William Schuman Chester 1957 _____________________________________________________________________________

                                                                                                                47Ernest Lyon, “An Individual’s Efforts Toward Better Original Band Music,” Proceedings of the College Band Directors National Association (December 1950), Addenda WB, 1-3. 48Ibid.

  31  

In 1952 Frederick Fennell began to make a considerable contribution through the

formation of the Eastman Wind Ensemble. He wrote 400 composers in May of 1952 explaining

his project of promoting new works for wind band. No commissions were offered, yet his office

was flooded with new works, largely because of the incentive of an artistic performance faithful

to the composer’s wishes.

Several other colleges were directly involved in commissioning new band works during

this time. The following are examples of those who were active in this respect: Baldwin-Wallace

College, Dartmouth College, Duke University, Florida State University, Ithaca College, the

University of Maryland, Michigan State University, the University of Michigan, the University

of Minnesota, Montclair State Teachers College, New Mexico State University, the University of

Oregon, Purdue University, San Francisco State University, the University of Texas, and

Washington University of St. Louis.

Many other colleges, though not directly involved in commissioned works, were active in

premiering original works. A few secondary schools were active in the commissioning process.

Of particular note is the record of twenty-two commissions placed by the Ithaca High School

Band during Frank Battisti’s term as their director.49

Governmental agencies commissioned works for military bands to perform for various

special occasions.50 Exemplary were the United States Military Academy Band Commissions,

which produced new works in 1952 shown in Table 8 (page 32).

                                                                                                                49Paul Bryan, “Is There an Emerging Repertoire?” Proceedings of the College Band Directors National Association, February, 1967, 145. 50Proceedings of the College Band Directors National Association (December 1952), Addendum J, 1-7.

  32  

Table 8. 1952 United States Military Academy Band Commissions _________________________________________________________________________________________________________    Composer         Composition           Year     Robert Russell Bennett Choral Overture 1952

Henry Cowell Fantasia 1952

Charles Cushing Angel Camp 1952

Morton Gould Symphony for Band 1952

Roy Harris Symphony In One Movement 1952

Darius Milhaud West Point Suite 1952 _____________________________________________________________________________

College band honorary societies such as Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma became

important contributors to energizing the composition of new band works in the 1950s.51 These

groups jointly commissioned the following works from 1953 leading into the 1970s which are

shown in Table 9.

Table 9. 1953-1967 Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma Commissions _________________________________________________________________________________________________________    Composer         Composition           Year     Don Gillis Ballet for Band 1953

Robert Russell Bennett Symphonic Songs 1957

Paul Creston Prelude and Dance 1959

Clifton Williams Symphonic Essays 1963

                                                                                                                51The Podium (May 1968), 2.

  33  

Table 9. (continued) _________________________________________________________________________________________________________    Composer         Composition           Year     Vaclav Nelhybel Symphonic Requiem 1965

Gunther Schuller Study in Textures 1967

The National Band Association (NBA) also joined in on the quest for new works by

commissioning several works in the early 1960s shown in Table 10. In addition, the NBA was

responsible for a column in each issue of The Instrumentalist magazine entitled “New Band

Music Review,” in which they reviewed many new band compositions as they were published by

giving general information about their style and degree of difficulty. They also prepared

recommended lists of band music aimed primarily at secondary school bands.52

Table 10. 1960s National Band Association Commissions _________________________________________________________________________________________________________    Composer         Composition           Year     R. F. Goldman National Band Association March 1962

Vaclav Nelhybel Andante e Toccata 1966

Phillip Rhodes Three Pieces for Band 1968 _____________________________________________________________________________

In the 1970s, many new works for band came from talented young composers whose

reputations were just beginning to be established in the musical world. A major stimulus in this

regard came from the Ford Foundation. The Contemporary Music Project, activity supported by

grants from the Ford Foundation to the Music Educators National Conference, was an outgrowth

                                                                                                                52National Band Association Directory (1968), 10.

  34  

of the Ford Foundation’s Young Composers Project, started in 1959. In the initial project,

fellowships were awarded to young composers for a year or more of resident work in a public

school system. The success of this program, under which seventy-three composers worked in a

total of seventy-seven school systems, led the Foundation to establish the CMP (Contemporary

Music Project) in 1963, with grants totaling 1.63 million dollars. The Foundation renewed its

commitment to CMP in 1968, with a five-year grant of 1.34 million dollars, supplemented by a

two-year contribution of 100,000 dollars from MENC. Of the composers placed in public

schools, Ronald Lo Presti, Martin Mailman, Joseph Jenkins, Robert Washburn, Arthur

Frackenpohl, Wilson Coker, John Barnes Chance, and David Maves were representative of those

who had composed for band. The CMP library catalogs contain some 500 original works

selected from those written under the project. Volume One contains the works for band, some

published and some unpublished, the latter available on rental.53

It is notable to mention that significant leadership was demonstrated by the CBDNA

(College Band Directors National Association) with regard to repertoire. Though formed in

1941, little specialized attention was given by the CBDNA to the problem of repertoire until the

1949 convention. The entire convention of that year was centered on the literature of the band.

The proceedings for 1949 contained selective lists of literature designed for college use with no

attempt to grade selections according to difficulty. There were separate lists included for the

following categories: published band works, manuscript band works, solo accomplishments

(published and in manuscript), brass choir music, and woodwind choir music.

The work of the CBDNA in support of new repertoire is best seen in 1950 when the

Standing Committee on Band Literature was established. One division of this standing

                                                                                                                53Carol Richardson, “Contemporary Music Project,” The Music Educators Journal.

  35  

committee was the Committee on Published Band Music. The task of this committee was that of

maintaining contact with publishers of band music in order to examine their current releases and

compile a list of works that qualified for study and performance by college concert bands. This

was a continuing activity, in which worthy new works were added to existing lists. These lists

appeared in conjunction with the proceedings from national meetings or in separate mailings in

the years 1949, 1950, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1962, 1964, and 1967. In the early lists, there were three

categories of published music as follows: original works for band (or works arranged by the

composer); transcriptions for band of music by contemporary composers; and transcriptions for

band of music by non-contemporary composers. Military marches and popular songs were

generally excluded because of their large number and general familiarity. A fourth category was

added in 1962—musical show tunes and novelties. Two additional categories were added to the

1964 list—concert marches and solo and ensemble works with band accompaniment and band

works with chorus, vocal soloist, and narrator.

Literature for Wind Ensembles

The late 1950s through the mid-1970s generated the most exciting years in the history of

the twentieth century for band. After the introduction of a new type of concert band, the wind

ensemble, (discussed later in this chapter) composers such as Aaron Copland, Gunther Schuller,

Warren Benson, Norman Dello Joio, Donald Erb, David Amram, Karel Husa, and Alan

Hobaness, who had never written for band before, began to produce new fresh sounds in their

compositions for wind band and ensembles.54 This new literature was much more demanding and

complex than the typical band compositions of the past.

                                                                                                                54Battisti, 65.

  36  

Although there was a vastly increasing number of original works for band by 1960, they

were not being considered as a noteworthy part of the wind band repertoire. After review of

concert programs from 1954 through 1959 by the University of Michigan Symphony Band

(William D. Revelli, conductor), the Ithaca College Band (Walter Beeler, conductor,) and the

United States Air Force Concert Band (Holy Cross College), which were three of the most

respected wind bands of the time, two-thirds of the literature found on the programs consists of

transcriptions and light music. This was representative of the types of programs that were being

performed by the country’s school, college, and military bands during this time period.55

Many concert bands were very large, some numbering 100 players or more. Such large

instrumentation, often being the norm, had a direct effect on the way that composers orchestrated

for band. Standardization of instrumentation became the main topic for all band associations

around the middle of the century. A former president of the CBDNA during this time, Bernard

Fitzgerald spoke to the association on this matter, stating:

It is imperative that the instrumentation of the band be stabilized with respect to the basic ratios, weights, and balances of the various sections as related to the total instrumental sonority. Composers are handicapped by the absence of a standard instrumentation and balance and must continue to compromise until these factors are definitely established. I invite composers to explore further the tonal resources of the band to avoid limiting the band to a relatively small number of scoring effects and devices. New concepts in sonority and scoring are necessary for an emerging musical medium, although many composers appear content to follow the general pattern of a few original band compositions resulting in the overuse of some scoring techniques.56

The surge of the wind ensemble concept, which was introduced by Frederick Fennell of

the Eastman School of Music, sparked new interest in composers to write for the wind band and

ensemble medium. This new concept of basically one player on a part was a stark contrast to the

                                                                                                                55Ibid., 72 56Bernard Fitzgerald, “Trends in Contemporary Band Music,” The Instrumentalist 15 (September 1960): 53.

  37  

late band concept of Sousa and Goldman. This new approach to the wind band met much

resistance in the band community across the nation. The older band directors of the Sousa,

Goldman, and Harding era felt intimidated and challenged. Many of them did not have the

musical training that was necessary to conduct and teach the complex “new music” that was

being written for wind ensembles.57 This new concept ignited debates and discussions throughout

the country among band directors, becoming the main topic of discussion at music conferences

and in music/band magazines. Much of the resistance for the wind ensemble came from

confusion and misunderstanding. The band directors and audiences of the time thought that the

wind ensemble was just a “small band” rather than a philosophy of literature and the use of

flexible instrumentation.58

The new concept of a “wind ensemble” took an entirely different approach to

instrumentation. Fennell gave composers an “instrumentation resource” of approximately 20

woodwinds and 16 to 18 brass. This instrumentation could be used entirely, partially, or even

expanded. This concept would allow the composer to create the best work possible without

restrictions. The instrumentation would be flexible in order to serve the desire of the composer.59

In December of 1965, The Instrumentalist published an article that quoted

Charles Winkling, stating:

A great many conductors of large college bands have viewed the wind ensemble as a serious threat to the positions of themselves and their groups. Dr. Fennell did not intend nor foresee this development but due in part to his influence and also due to the ambiguity of the term wind ensemble, the band world has since been in a state of upheaval more severe perhaps than that precipitated by any other controversy which it has faced. The lack of consistency in nomenclature has added fuel to the existent

                                                                                                                57Battisti, The Winds of Change, 66. 58Bachman, “Is There an Emerging Repertoire?” 127. 59Battisti, The Winds of Change, 76.

  38  

controversy of wind ensembles vs. bands and has resulted in a great deal of misunderstanding centered around Dr. Fennell and his counterparts in schools all over the nation.60

In 1967, Donald Hunsburger, editor of the newsletter, The Wind Ensemble, defined the

symphonic wind ensemble as well as outlined the roles of the composer, conductor, performer,

and audience:

The symphonic wind ensemble is a concert organization, devoted to granting the composer and his audience the most faithful performances of his music. It is an ensemble that calls upon the strictest disciplines possible, for the composer—in establishing his wants and needs; for the conductor—in placing the composer and his music above personal promotion and peripheral activity interference; for the performer—to assume his rightful position as a legitimate symphonic musician dedicated to the furtherance of wind performance; and, for the audience—to discard past prejudices regarding wind music and wind performers as second class musical citizens.61

Nonetheless, this new exclusive type of group in the band medium was enticing to the

more prominent composers of the time. They quickly realized that they would be able to write

more freely without the expectations of only “entertaining the crowd.” For composers, this was

an opportunity to write more “serious” compositions and opened the door to a wider range of

experimentation. The smaller personnel concept would facilitate a higher level of clarity in the

performances. Probably more so than anything else, the wind ensemble concept brought a new

type of prestige to the concert band arena. The concept of higher expectations and responsibility

on the individual performers instantly elevated the performance level of these particular “band”

groups.62

                                                                                                                60Charles Winkling, “The Wind Ensemble in the Small College,” The Instrumentalist 20 (December 1965): 48. 61Donald Hunsberger, “The Wind Ensemble Concept” (Unpublished paper, University of Rochester, Eastman School of Music, 1994), 4. 62Ibid.

  39  

In the 1960s and 1970s, school bands, college bands, and music organizations around the

country were commissioning the more prominent composers of the time to write for the wind

band and ensemble medium. The actions of publishing companies were the driving force behind

this movement. The majority of commercially published music was short, easy music due to the

low overhead and large monetary returns.63 The publishing companies were disinclined to

publish the longer more difficult major works because fewer groups usually performed those

works. In 1967 William Schafer, Director of Band at the University of Southern California,

spoke at the CBDNA (College Band Directors National Association) National Conference

stating:

So to upgrade our literature, we must use unpublished editions. We must understand that the costs of rental music exceed costs of purchased materials of comparable length. We must continue to assist composers and performers by compiling lists, by encouraging publishers to publish more difficult works by, performing works that are inconvenient to obtain-perhaps even by going into the rental or publishing business ourselves.64

Refer to Table 11 for a list of some composers (and their compositions) that were being

commissioned to write new works for wind band/ensemble during this time.

Table 11. 1960s-1970s Wind Band / Ensemble Composers _________________________________________________________________________________________________________    Composer         Composition           Year     Ingolf Dahl (1912-1970) Sinfonietta for Concert Band 1961

Vincent Persichetti (1915-1987) Bagatelles for Band 1962

Alfred Reed (1921-2005) A Festival Prelude 1963

Norman Dello Joio (b. 1913) Variants on a Mediaeval Tune 1963

                                                                                                                63Battisti, The Winds of Change, 78. 64William A. Schafer, “The Emerging Band Repertoire,” in The College and University Band, eds. Whitwell and Ostling, 63-65.

  40  

Gunther Schuller (b. 1925) Meditation 1963

Warren Benson (b. 1924) The Leaves Are Falling 1963-64

Vaclav Nelhybel (1919-1996) Trittico 1964

Vincent Persichetti (1915-1987) Masquerade 1965

Warren Benson (b. 1924) The Solitary Dancer 1966

Leslie Bassett (b. 1923) Designs, Images and Textures 1966

Joaquin Rodrigo Adagio for Wind Orchestra 1966

Alfred Reed (1921-2005) Passacaglia 1967

Karel Husa (b. 1921) Music for Prague, 1968 1968

Fisher Tull (1934-1994) Sketches on a Tudor Psalm 1971

Vincent Persichetti (1915-1987) Parable IX 1972

Alfred Reed (1921-2005) Alleluia! Laudmus Te’ 1973 _____________________________________________________________________________

Other composers that became known in the 1960s and 1970s as important contributors to

the wind band/ensemble repertoire were Samuel Adler, Donald Erb, Ross Finney, Morton Gould,

Goerge Rochberg, William Albright, Martin Mailman, Walter Hartley, Howard Hanson, Roger

Nixon, Alfred Reed, Ron Nelson, Ron Lo Presti, Robert Jager, Francis McBeth, and John Barns

Chance.65

The concept of Fredrick Fennel’s wind ensemble, programming the very highest wind

literature from varying musical periods, using various styles and flexible instrumentation,

became very common for the next generation of conductors. Three of the most prominent wind

                                                                                                                65Battisti, The Winds of Change, 81.

  41  

conductors of the next generation were H. Robert Reynolds, David Hunsberger, and Frank

Battisti. Gunther Schuller, Karel Husa, Warren Benson, Leslie Bassett, and Michael Colgrass, to

name a few, became very important composers during the 1970s and 1980s, and were

instrumental in leading the way for the writing of major wind works using flexible

instrumentation.66

1970s-1980s

The mid-1970s through the 1980s were a time of enrichment of wind literature by world-

class composers. During this time, there were four composers that won the Pulitzer Prize in

Music that composed important works for wind ensemble: Consorts by Mario Davidovsky in

1981, Winds of the Nagual (1985) by Michael Colgrass, Gunther Schuller’s Symphony No. 3 (In

Praise of Winds), and Joseph Schwanter’s …and the mountains rising nowhere (1977). Some

other composers of this time period that wrote their first major composition for wind

band/ensemble are listed in Table 12.

Table 12. 1970s-1980s First Time Wind Band / Ensemble Composers _________________________________________________________________________________________________________    Composer         Composition           Year     Loris Chobabian The Id 1975

Alfred Reed Armenian Dances Part 2 1977

Alfred Reed Othello A Symphonic Portrait 1977

Nicholas Thorne Adagio Music 1981

David Maslanka A Child’s Garden of Dreams 1981

                                                                                                                66Ibid., 69.

  42  

Table 12. (continued) _________________________________________________________________________________________________________    Composer         Composition           Year     Rodney Rogers Prevailing Winds 1983

Guy Woolfenden Gallimaufry 1983

Philip Wilby Firestar 1983

Robert Rodriguez The Seven Deadly Sins 1984

Ronald Perera Chamber Concerto for Brass Quintet 1984

Dana Wilson Piece of Mind 1987

Michael Ball Omaggio 1987

Jochem Slothouwer Concert Variations for Piano and Band 1987

Tristan Keuris Catena 1989 _____________________________________________________________________________

Other distinguished composers very important to the development of the wind band

literature during this period had already written their first wind band/ensemble composition.

They continued to produce additional (very important) pieces in the 70s and 80s. They are listed

in Table 13.

Table 13. 1970s-1980s Established Wind Band / Ensemble Composers _________________________________________________________________________________________________________    Composer         Composition           Year     Leslie Bassett Sounds Shapes and Symbols 1977

Leslie Bassett Concerto Grosso for Brass Quintet 1983

Leslie Bassett Colors and Contours 1984

Warren Benson Symphony II - Lost Songs 1983

  43  

Table 13. (continued) _________________________________________________________________________________________________________    Composer         Composition           Year     Warren Benson Wings 1984

Warren Benson Dawn’s Early Light 1987

Karel Husa Al Fresco 1975

Karel Husa Concerto for Wind Ensemble 1982

Karel Husa Concertino for Piano and Winds 1984

Karel Husa Smetana Fanfare 1984

Martin Mailman Exaltations 1983

Gunther Schuller Eine Kleine Posaunemusik 1980

Gunther Schuller Oh Winged Flight: A Divertimento for Band 1989

Howard Hanson Laud 1975

Sydney Hodkinson Stone Images 1975

Edward Gregson Metamorphoses 1975

Alfred Reed Armenian Dances—Part II 1975

Verne Reynolds Scenes Revisited 1977

Henry Brant American Debate 1977

John Corigliano Gazebo Dances 1978

Ross Lee Finney Skating on the Sheyenne 1978

Alec Wilder Serenade for Winds 1979

Daniel Pinkham Serendaes for Trumpet and Wind Ensemble 1979

William Kraft Dialogues and Entertainments 1980

  44  

Table 13. (continued) _________________________________________________________________________________________________________    Composer         Composition           Year     Ernest Krenek Dream Sequence, Op. 224 1981

John Adams Grand Pianola Music 1982

David Bedford Sun Paints Rainbows on the Vast Waves 1982

Ron Nelson Medieval Suite 1983

Karlheinz Stockhausen Luzifer’s Tanz 1984

Vincent Persichetti Chorale Prelude: O God Unseen 1985

Ron Nelson Aspen Jubilee 1986

John Harbison Music for Eighteen Winds 1986

Ivan Tcherepnin Statue 1986

Jacob Druckman In Memoriam Vincent Persichetti 1987

Richard Rodney Bennett Morning Music 1987

Mark Camphouse Elegy 1987

Johan de Meij Lord of the Rings 1987

Leo Brouwer Cancion do Gesta 1988

William Thomas McKinley Symphony of Winds 1988

James Syler The Hound of Heaven 1988

Ivan Tcherepnin Concerto for Two Continents 1989

David Gillingham Heroes Lost and Fallen 1989

  45  

In 1981 the National Public Radio began a broadcast which was named Windworks, a

series of thirteen, one-hour programs of wind band music. It was hosted by Fred Calland and was

produced by Evelyn Grimes. The show was a cross-section of original wind music from the

sixteenth through the twentieth centuries. This was a wonderful opportunity for American

audiences to hear the “voice” of the wind ensemble. The show had commentary by Frederick

Fennel and was the first national broadcast series devoted exclusively to original wind music.

The show was nominated as the United States’ entry for the Prixa Italia, due to its huge success

in presenting serious music in a very accessible manner.67

Also in 1981, thanks to the tireless efforts of Frank Battisti, The World Association for

Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE) was founded. The two main goals of the

organization are (1) to promote symphonic bands and wind ensembles as serious and distinctive

mediums of musical expression and cultural heritage and (2) to encourage the composition of

music that reflects national heritage transcending international boundaries.68 After its creation,

the American wind band conductors spread their influence globally and also gained from

exchanges with international colleges.69

Frederick Fennell, in 1985, charged the WASBE with the very important endeavor of

encouraging wind band compositions of high quality and artistic standards:

Compositions for band must continue to address the undeniable factors of quality and artistic conscience. We conductors must remember that what we play can help listeners and players explore the marvelously intimate depths of human psyche, a dimension which however remarkable “artificial intelligence” of the computer cannot reach. Compositions in its “here-today-gone-tomorrow” and “what-have-you-done-for-me-

                                                                                                                67Richard Hansen, The American Wind Band: A Cultural History, (Chicago: GIA Publications, Inc., 2005), 120. 68Ibid., 121 69Ibid.

  46  

lately” image hardly make for a music of substance. Without some small percentage of the output of band music being ascribed to what reflects a deeper command of the experience of life, we shall remain child-like in our ways. ... Lasting values in band music can only come from composers who write and conductors who play--a seemingly obvious relationship that today is still far from realized in performances as logged.70

Not only did Fennell’s statement on a need for music that reflected “a deeper connection to life

experiences” illustrate a desperate desire in American music, it anticipated a compositional trend

that would emerge in the later twentieth century. This trend developed as many composers in the

late 1980s and early 1990s began creating music in which physical, emotional and intellectual

appeal was no longer separated.71 The gap between the artist and the audience began

diminishing.72

1990s

The late twentieth century saw several composers intertwine American vernacular

musical materials into their highly sophisticated processes to create vivid musical experiences.

For example, Libby Larsen provided a visual program of historical and comic interest in her first

work for wind band titled Grand Rondo: Napoleon Dances the Can-Can in France, Italy and

Poland. Political cartoons by Sadowa of 1852 inspired this work. Remembering the Vietnam

War, David Gillingham, in his 1989 Hero’s Lost and Fallen--A Vietnam Memorial, stimulated

many emotions at its premier. Warren Benson’s 1990 Meditation on “I Am for Peace,” was

written for the September 29, 1990 dedication of the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.

Mark Camphouse was commissioned in 1992 by the Florida Bandmasters Association to

                                                                                                                70Frederick Fennel, “Band Music and the Composer: Old-Fashioned Pursuits in High-Tech Society” (keynote address for the Second International Congress Kortrijik, Belgium, July 15, 1985), 2-3. 71Hansen, The American Wind Band, 123. 72Kyle Gann, American Music in the Twentieth Century (New York: Schirmer, 1997), 184.

  47  

compose Movement for Rosa. This was a tribute to Rosa Parks’ “Motherhood of the Civil Rights

Movement.” As a memorial gift to the students of Columbine High School in Littleton,

Colorado, who had suffered the loss of twenty-three classmates in a 1999 student massacre,

Frank Ticheli composed American Elegy. In 2002, Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma

national honorary fraternities commissioned Donald Grantham to compose a piece, Come

memory ..., in honor of the lives lost and the persisting spirit of America during the attack on the

World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001.73

There were many premier performances of wind band/ensemble compositions in the

1990s. This is largely credited to the outstanding work of ensembles, individuals, and

associations to elicit music from some of the world’s great contemporary composers. Gunther

Schuller acknowledged this accomplishment and emphasized the need to continue to persevere

as he addressed the 1991 WASBE Conference at the Royal Northern College of Music in

Manchester, England. He stated:

This will take some enterprise and some money! But it will be money well spent and will eliminate the misbegotten notion by some that wind band music is music of a lesser stripe, composed by lesser composers, and thus performed by lesser musicians.74

The early 1990s introduced several works by well-respected composers into the literature

for wind band/ensembles. Some of the most notable works receiving numerous performances are

listed in Table 14 (page 48).

                                                                                                                73Hansen, The American Wind Band, 127-128. 74Gunter Schuller, “Storm the Establishment,” Winds 6 (Winter 1991): 9.

  48  

Table 14. 1990s Wind Band / Ensemble Composers _________________________________________________________________________________________________________    Composer         Composition           Year     James MacMillan Sowetan Spring 1990

Francis McBeth Of Sailors and Whales, Op. 78 1990

Yasuhide Ito Gloriosa 1990

Cindy McTee Circuits 1990

Richard Rodney Bennett The Four Seasons 1991

Nicholas Maw American Games 1991

Michael Colgrass Arctic Dreams 1991

Chinary Ung Grand Spiral 1991

David Maslanka Symphony No. 3 1991

Frank Ticheli Postcard 1991

Michael Daugherty Desi 1991

Gunther Schuller Festive Music 1992

Anthony Iannaccone Sea Drift 1992

John Cage Fifty-eight “for a concert band” 1992

Ron Nelson Passacaglia (Homage to B-A-C-H) 1992

Mark Camphouse A Movement for Rosa 1992

Bernard Rands Ceremonial 1993

John Harbison Three City Blocks 1993

Donald Grantham Bum’s Rush 1993

Dana Wilson Dance of the New World 1993

  49  

Table 14. (continued) _________________________________________________________________________________________________________    Composer         Composition           Year     Michael Daugherty Bizzaro 1993

Cindy McTee California Counterpoint 1993

Michael Daugherty Motown Metal 1994

Michael Tippett Triumph 1994

Thea Musgrave Journey Through a Japanese Landscape 1994

Steven Stucky Fanfares and Arias 1994

Dan Welcher Zion 1994

James Syler Minton’s Playhouse 1994

Eric Whitacre Ghost Train Triptych 1994

The number of composers writing compositions for wind bands/ensembles drastically

increased during the 1980s and 1990s. Composers who had written for wind band/ensemble prior

to the 1990s and contributed to the expansion of quality works continued to compose innovative

works for this medium. Among them were Michael Colgrass (Urband Requiem), Warren Benson

(The Drums of Summer), Karel Husa (Les Couleurs Fauves), and Gunther Schuller (Blue Dawn

into White Heat). There was also a new group of composers that began to emerge during this

time. Among the most prolific were Jack Stamp, Cindy McTee, James Barnes, Mark

Camphouse, Thomas Duffy, Dan Welcher, Michael Daugherty, Donald Grantham,

David Gillingham, and Frank Ticheli.75

                                                                                                                75Battisti, The Winds of Change, 155.

  50  

Table 15 shows a list of selected works written for wind band/ensembles from 1995

through the end of the twentieth century. The selections chosen represent various styles that were

written during this time period. The majority of the listed works were commissioned.

Table 15. Wind Band / Ensemble Composers 1995-2000 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________    Composer         Composition           Year     Norman Dello Joio Fantasies on an Original Theme 1995

Ken Benshoof Out and Back Again 1995

Morton Gould Remembrance Day 1995

Karel Husa Divertimento for Symphonic Winds 1995

Karel Husa Les Couleurs Fauves 1995

William Kraft Concerto for Four Solo Percussion 1995

John Moody Sinfonia for Winds and Percussion 1995

David Standhope Folk Songs for Band, Set 1 1995

Steven Stucky Fanfares and Airs 1995

Augusta Thomas Vivace 1995

Michael Weinstine Two Elegies for Wind Ensemble 1995

Dana Wilson The Shifting Bands of Time 1995

John Adams Scratchband 1996

James Barnes Symphony No. 3, Op. 89 1996

Carolyn Bremer Early Light 1996

Michael Colgrass Urban Requiem 1996

Andrew Downes Symphony No. 4, Op. 59 1996

  51  

Table 15. (continued) _________________________________________________________________________________________________________    Composer         Composition           Year  Nancy Glbraith Danza de los Duebdes 1996

Adam Gorb Awayday 1996

John Harbison Olympic Dances 1996

William Kraft Quientessence Revisited (revised) 1996

Libby Larsen Concert Dances 1996

David Maslanka Mass 1996

Walter Mays Dreamcatcher 1996

Cindy McTee Soundings 1996

Joseph Schwantner In Evening’s Stillness 1996

Phillip Sparke Dance Movements 1996

Frank Ticheli Blue Shades 1997

Warren Benson The Drums of Summer 1997

Judith Bingham Three American Icons 1997

Henry Brant On the Nature of Things 1997

John Casken Distant Variations 1997

Michael Daugherty Niagara Falls 1997

Martin Ellerby Venetian Spells 1997

David Gillingham Waking Angels 1997

Donald Grantham Fantasy Variations 1997

Jere Hutcheson Caricatures 1997

Aulis Sallinen The Palace Rhapsody 1997

  52  

Table 15. (continued) _________________________________________________________________________________________________________    Composer         Composition           Year  Charles Young Tempered Steel 1997

Dan Welcher Symphony No. 3, “Shaker Life” 1997

David Gillingham A Crescent Still Abides 1998

Peter Gramm Montage: A Symphony for Winds 1998

Donald Grantham Southern Harmony 1998

Adam Gorb Yiddish Dances 1998

Francis McBeth When Honor Whispers and Shouts 1998

Joseph Turrin Chronicles 1998

Daniel Pinkham Music for an Indian Summer 1998

David Gillingham When Speaks the Signal - Trumpet Tone 1999

Donald Grantham J’ai ete au bal 1999

Daron Hagen Bandanna (Opera) 1999

Charles Ives “The Alcotts”(1911-1915) trans. Elkus 1999

Augusta Thomas Cathedral Summer 1999

Frank Ticheli Vesuvius 1999

Jere Hutcheson A Quiet Place to Think 1999

Timothy Mahr Te Deum 1999

Thomas Duffy Butterflies and Bees 1999

Timothy Mahr Into the Air! 1999

Jack Stamp Cloudsplitter Fanfare 1999 _____________________________________________________________________________

  53  

The practice of commissioning works during the 1990s was very active. Due to the

initiative mainly of commissions by college and university ensembles, the quality and quantity of

literature for this level improved. However, no “important world-caliber composers” were

commissioned between 1997 and 1999. Those commissioning the pieces seemed to approach

composers that were “safer risks” rather than renowned world composers who often create

experimental-type pieces. Many of the commissioned works of the late 1990s by educational

music writers for school bands is of low and mediocre quality.76

The Twenty-first Century

The first decade of the twenty-first century saw a great expansion of the body of literature

for the wind band/ensemble. The majority of these works were commissioned by university,

college, school wind band/ensembles, and national band associations. It was through

commissions that many composers were introduced to the wind band/ensemble. The composers

are Pulitzer Prize and Grawemeyer Award winners John Corigliano, Karel Husa, and Aaron Jay

Kernis; Grawemayer Award winner John Tower; Pulitzer Prize winners Michael Colgrass,

Morton Gould, Jennifer Hidgon, Bernard Rands, Joseph Schwanter, David Del Tredici, Melinda

Wagner, and George Walker as well as Barlow International Competition winner David

Rakowski. These artists discovered a community of performers and conductors that strongly

supported contemporary composers and their music. The majority of them have become

dedicated advocates for wind bands/ensembles.77

                                                                                                                76Battisti, The Winds of Change, 208. 77Frank Battisti, Winds of Change II: The New Millennium (Galesville: Meredith Music Publication, 2012), 68.

  54  

The College Band Directors National Association’s (CBDNA) Conference on March 26-

29, 2003, featured the premiere performances of five new works for wind band/ensemble:

“Tattoo” from Symphony for Wind Orchestra by Judith Land Zaimont, Fanfare Canzonique by

Brian Balmages, Jubiare! by John Stevens, Ra! by David Dzubay, and Michael Torke’s Bliss,

Variations on an Unchanging Rhythm. Other recently composed pieces that were performed at

the 2003 CBDNA National Conference included Michael Daugherty’s Bells for Stokowski

(2002), Robert Xavier Rodriquez’s Decem Perfectum, Concertino for Woodwind Quintet and

Wind Ensemble (2002), Michael Djupstrom’s Homages (2002), Spin Cycle (2001) by Scott

Lindroth, and Scott McAllister’s Black Dog (2002).78

Several composers attended the 2003 CBDNA Conference to listen to performances of

their works and to participate in discussions relating to the development of the repertoire and

composing for wind bands/ensembles. The discussions held by these composers were

instrumental in promoting additional quality future works for the wind band/ensemble. The

composers in attendance were Michael Colgrass, Davis Maslanka, Gunther Schuler, Michael

Daugherty, Scott Lindroth, Robert Rodriguez, Alan Fletcher, Michael Torke, Frank Ticheli,

Libby Larsen, and Judith Zaimont.79

On June 29, 2003, the 11th Conference of the World Association of Symphonic Bands

and Ensembles took place in Jonkoping, Sweden. The keynote speaker was Gary W. Hill,

Director of Bands at Arizona State University and President of the CBDNA. He delivered a very

inspirational, provocative and challenging address to participants on “the future of the wind band

field.”

                                                                                                                78Ibid., 132. 79Ibid., 142.

  55  

Our hope for a better tomorrow lies not in “teaching the way we were taught,” in perpetuating worn-out paradigms of performance, or in preserving a second-rate body of literature, but in moving the wind band field from its present place on the cultural fringe, where it is a marginal player, to the cultural edge, where it can become “the next big thing.” It is only there that the fervent dream we have, a dream inherited from our ancestors - to see wind bands share center stage in both music education and art music - can someday be realized.80

Various styles of some music composed for wind band/ensemble in 2000-2001 and 2002-2003

are listed Table 16 and Table 17 respectively.

Table 16. Wind Band / Ensemble Composers 2000-2001 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________    Composer         Composition           Year     Henk Alkema Sunset Jericho 2000

Edson Beltrami Concerto for Band 2001

William Bolcom Song 2001

Roger Cichy First Flight 2000

Michael Daugherty Rosa Parks Boulevard 2001

Michael Daugherty UFO 2000

Thomas Duffy Corpus Callosum 2000

Eric Ewazen From a River Valley 2000

Steve Bryant Alchemy in Silent Spaces 2000

Michael Colgrass Dream Dancer 2001

David Gillingham Be Thou My Vision 2000

Daniel Godfrey Shindig 2001

Adam Gorb Symphony No. 1 in C 2000

                                                                                                                80Gary W. Hill, “The Future of the Wind Band Field: Promise or Peril? Journal of the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles 10 (2003), 47.

  56  

Table 16. (continued) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________    Composer         Composition           Year  _____________________________________________________________________________

Peter Graham Harrison’s Dream 2001

Donald Grantham Kentucky Harmony 2000

Donald Grantham Variations on American Cavalry Song 2001

Jeffery Hass Concerto for Amplified Piano 2001

Kenneth Hasketh Masque 2000

Wataru Hokoyama Beyond 2001

David Kechley Restless Birds Before a Dark Moon 2000

Magnus Lindberg Gran Duo 2000

Timothy Mahr Mourning Dances 2001

Toshio Mashima Three Notes of Japan Chamber Symphony 2001

Robert Patterson Symphonic Excursions 2000

Felicia Sandler Rosie the Riveter 2001

Charles Shadle Coyote’s Dinner (one act comic opera) 2001

Joseph Spaniola Escapade 2001

Phillip Sparke Sunrise at Angel’s Gate 2001

David Stanhope Symphony No. 1 2001

Augusta Read Thomas Magnetisfireflies 2001

Frank Ticheli An American Elegy 2000

Michael Torke Grand Central Station 2000

Eric Whitacre October 2000

  57  

Table 16. (continued) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________    Composer         Composition           Year  _____________________________________________________________________________

Dana Wilson Vortex 2000

Dana Wilson Leader, Lieder 2001 _____________________________________________________________________________

Table 17. Wind Band / Ensemble Composers 2002-2003 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________    Composer         Composition           Year     Kenneth Amis Driven! 2002

Judith Bingham Bright Spirit 2002

Laurence Bitensky Wake, You Sleepers 2002

Carolyn Bremer Returns of the Day for Wind Ensemble 2002

Carolyn Bremer Symphony for Wind Band 2003

Chris Brubeck On the Threshold of Liberty 2003

Steven Bryant Rise 2003

Peter Child Concertino for Violin & Chamber Winds 2002

Roger Cichy New Millennium, Different World, New Beginnings 2003

David Del Tredici In Wartime 2003

Eric Ewazen Visions of Light 2003

Michael Finnissey Giant Abstracts Samba 2002

Michael Gandolfi Vientos y Tangos 2003

David Gillingham Concerto for Piano and Percussion 2002

  58  

Table 17. (continued) _________________________________________________________________________________________________________    Composer         Composition           Year     Heiner Goebbels Aus einem Tagebuch 2003

Adam Gorb Towards Nirvana 2002

Adam Gorb Dances from Crete 2003

Donald Grantham Come, Memory ... 2002

Donald Grantham J. S. Dances 2002

Murray Gross Urban Myth 2003

Kenneth Hesketh Diaghilev Dances 2003

Sydney Hodkinson Monumentum Pro Umbris 2003

Jere Hutcheson Concerto for Saxophone 2003

Jere Hutcheson Gradus ad Parnassum: Caricatures IV 2003

Stephen Jones Passages 2003

Chang Su Koh As the Sun Rises 2003

Morten Lauridsen O Magnum Mysterium 2003

Christian Lindberg Concerto for Winds and Percussion 2003

Christopher Marshall L’Homme Arme Varations 2003

Cindy McTee Ballet 2003

Jonathan Newman As the Scent of Spring Rain 2003

Carter Pass Slalom 2003

Kevin Puts Millennium Canons 2003

Kevin Puts Chorus of Light 2003

  59  

Table 17. (continued) _________________________________________________________________________________________________________    Composer         Composition           Year     Marco Pütz Dance Sequence 2002

Brian Robinson The Congress of the Imsomniacs 2002

Jan van der Roost Volcano 2002

Dean Roush Illuminations 2002

David Sampson Moving Parts 2003

Joseph Schwantner Concerto for Percussion (wind version) 2003

Christopher Tucker Twilight in the Wilderness 2003

Joseph Turrin Hemispheres 2002

Michael Weinstein Serenade for Twelve Instruments 2000

Dan Welcher Minstrels of the Kell 2000 Eric Whitacre Sleep (wind version) 2003

Dana Wilson Concerto for French Horn 2002

Evan Ziporyn Drill 2000

Since the 1960s, the CBDNA has held its conferences on college and university

campuses. However, in 2005 a significant break from past practice took place when the

conference was held in New York City (February 24-27). This conference, “A Wind Band

Celebration,” included eleven concerts performed at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Skirball

Center for the Performing Arts at New York University, and Assembly Hall at Hunter College.

The performances in Carnegie Hall were performed by five of the best wind band/ensembles in

the United States: the Eastman Wind Ensemble, New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble,

  60  

University of Michigan Symphony Band, USC Thornton Wind Ensemble, and the University of

Texas Wind Ensemble. It was hoped that a concert of this magnitude would attract major New

York media and music critics. Unfortunately it did not.81 In his first “From the Podium” column

in the Spring 2005 CBDNA Report, president Jerry Junkin stated,

Certainly we leave New York with mixed feelings---excitement over the splendid performances, through provoking sessions and wonderful new repertoire, yet at the same time struggling to put into contest the apparent snub by major conductor [Lorin Maazel] who failed to show up for a panel discussion when he discovered he would be talking to “band directors,” and the lack of any critical acknowledgement of our presence.82

Nonetheless, the 2005 conference was a huge success. One of the world’s most

celebrated composers, John Corigliano, was in attendance. He is a winner of a Pulitzer Prize in

Music for his Symphony No. 2, the Grawemeyer Award for his Symphony No. 1, and an

Academy Award for The Red Violin. One of the most anticipated events of the conference was

the East Coast premiere performance of his Circus Maximus by the University of Texas Wind

Ensemble with Jerry Junkin, conductor. Circus Maximus was accompanied by seven other works

premiered at the 2005 CBDNA Conference: The Rivers of Bowery by Jonathan Newman,

Hysteria in Salem Village by Felicia Sadler, Festival March by Michael Valenti, Blackbird by

John Lennon and Paul McCartney as arranged by Shelly Berg, La’ I (Love Song) for Orchestra

without Strings by Bright Shengm, Voice of the City (First Movement) by Richard Danielpour,

and Jeff Tyzik’s Concerto for Trombone and Wind Ensemble.83

Table 18 (page 61) collectively represents the various styles of music composed for wind

band/ensemble in 2004-2005.

                                                                                                                81Battisti, Winds of Change II, 231. 82Jerry Junkin, “From the Podium,” CBDNA Report (Spring 2005), 1. 83Ibid., 254.

  61  

Table 18. Wind Band/Ensemble Music 2004-2005 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________    Composer         Composition           Year     Luis Alarcon Concertago 2004

Richard Bennett Concerto for Saxophone Quartet 2005

Eddie Bermudez Concerto for Saxophone 2005

Laurence Bitensky Hadra 2005

Derek Bougeois Symphony for William 2004

Steven Bryant Stampede for Calgary 2004

Michael Colgass Bail 2005

Peter Maxwell Davies Commemoration Sixty 2005

J. M. David Sinfonietta No. 1 2005

Michael Djupstrom Gaeng 2004

Brian Richard Earl Sinfonia Concertante for Horn 2004

Roshanne Etezady Anahitta 2005

Eric Ewazen Danzante (for Trumpet & Wind Ensemble) 2004

Peter Graham The Red Machine 2004

Donald Grantham Court Music 2005

Walter Hartley Nonet for Chamber Winds 2005

Kenneth Hesketh Cloud of Unknowing 2005

Jere Hutcheson Desert Flower 2004

Jere Hutcheson Sunrise, Sunset 2005

David Kechley Bang! 2000

  62  

Table 18. (continued) _________________________________________________________________________________________________________    Composer         Composition           Year    Libby Larsen De Toda La Etwenidad (Song Cycle) 2005

David Maslanka Give Us This Day 2005

David Maslanka Symphony No. 7 2005

Stephen McNeff Concerto for Clarinet 2005

Cindy McTee Fanfare for Trumpets 2004

Eric Nathan Jazz Concerto 2005

Lior Navok Gleams from the Bosom of Darkness 2005

Hudson Nogueira Retratos do Brasil 2004

Norbert Palej Canzona III 2005

Joshua Penman The Pilgrimage of Fire and Earth 2005

P. Q. Phan Race of Gods 2005

Joel Puckett Ping, Pang, Pong 2004

Marco Putz Concerto for Clarinet and Wind Ensemble 2005

Robert Sierra Fandango 2005

Joseph Swantner Recoil 2005

Philip Sparke Music of the Spheres 2005

Nathan Tanouye Kokopelli’s Dance 2005

Frank Ticheli Symphony No. 2 2004

Frank Ticheli Sanctuary 2005

Agusta Read Thomas Dancing Galaxy 2004

Agusta Read Thomas Silver Chants the Litanies 2004

  63  

Table 18. (continued) _________________________________________________________________________________________________________    Composer         Composition           Year    Matthew Tommasini Three Spanish Songs 2005

Mark-Anthony Turnage A Quick Blast 2004

Oliver Waespi Symphonic Variations 2004

Michael Weinstein The Angel of Fame 2005

Dan Welcher Symphony No. 4 “American Visionary” 2005

The CBDNA conference returned to its traditional environment of a university campus in

2007. At the University of Michigan fifty-two works were performed over the span of nine

different concerts, and fourteen of the works were by non-American composers. The increasing

number of composers participating in the conference was affirmation of the Association’s

commitment to contemporary composers and their work. Composers attending the conference

included Steven Bryant, Michael Colgrass, Michael Daugherty, David Gillingham, Osvaldo

Golijiv, Douglas Lowry, John Mackey, Jonathan Newman, Joseph Schwantner, Matthew

Tommasini, Frank Ticheli, and Dan Welcher.84

The composers in attendance were very active in the individual sessions discussing the

evolving literature for the wind band/ensemble. Almost 75% of the works performed at the

Conference had been composed between 2000 and 2007. There were four world premieres:

Between Blues and Hard Places by Douglas Lowry, Raise the Roof for Timpani and Symphonic

Band by Michael Daugherty, Passaggi by Stephen Gryc, and Lullaby for Noah by Joe Turrin.

                                                                                                                84Battisti, Winds of Change II, 325.

  64  

There was one North American premier which was Race of Gods by P.Q. Phan.85 Table 19

includes works that are collectively representative of the styles of music composed for the wind

band/ensemble in 2006-2007.

Table 19. Wind Band/Ensemble Works 2006-2007 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________    Composer         Composition           Year     John Adams Looapalooza (wind version) 2007

Kenneth Amis Concerto for Tuba 2007

Louis Andriessen Hymne to the Memory of Darius Mihaud 2006

Scott Boerma Cityscape 2006

Steven Bryant Radiant Joy 2007

Steven Bryant Suite Dreams 2007

Mark Camphouse Legacy 2007

Fergal Carroll Blackwater 2006

David Chaitkin Celebration 2007

James Chirillo Eventuations 2006

Peter Child Triptych 2007

Michael Colgrass Raag-Mala: Music of India Through Western Ears 2006

Michael Daugherty Aescipilus (fanfare for orchestral brass) 2007

J.M. David Bright Windows 2006

David Dzbay Shadow Dance 2007

Zechariah Goh Toh Chai Concerto for Marimba and Wind Ensemble 2007

                                                                                                                85Ibid., 326-327.

  65  

Adam Gorb Adrenaline City 2006

Donald Grantham Starry Crown 2007

Daron Hagen Banner of My Purpose 2007

Kenneth Hesketh The Doctrine of Affections 2006

Jennifer Higdon Keyy’s Field 2006

Karel Husa Cheetah 2007

Tim Jackson Passacaglia 2007

Guillermo Klein Solar Return Suite 2006

Chang Su Koh As the Sun Rises 2006

Kristin Kuster Interiors 2007

David Little East Coast Attitude 2006

John Mackey Strange Humors 2006

John Mackey Kingfishers Catch Fire 2007

John Mackey Turning 2007

Christopher Marshall Resonance 2006

Roger May Elegiac Impressions 2007

Scott McAllister Krump 2006

Cindy McTee Finish Line 2007

Anthony Mead Concerto for Winds 2006

Ron Nelson Pastorale: Autumn Rune 2006

Jonathan Newman My Hands Are a City 2007

Norbert Palej Song and Dance 2006

Carter Pann Four Factories 2006

  66  

Table 19. (continued) _________________________________________________________________________________________________________    Composer         Composition           Year  _____________________________________________________________________________

Carter Pann The Wrangler 2006

Stephen Paulus Concerto for Piano and Winds 2006

Evan Premo Concertino for Brass Fiddle and Winds 2007

James Primosch Forms of Light 2007

Marco Pütz Concerto for Trumpet and Wind Ensemble 2007

John Fitz Rogcers The Rivers 2006

Christopher Rouse Blaze 2007

Christopher Rouse Wolf Rounds 2007

Edwin Roxburgh Oboe Concerto, An Elegy for Ur 2006

Dmitri Shostakovich The Priest and His Servant Balds 2007

Christopher Theofanidis I Wander the Win a Dream of My Own Making 2006

Frank Ticheli Wild Nights 2007

Michael Torke The Kiss 2006

Joseph Turrin The Scarecrow (opera) 2006

Dan Welcher Symphony No. 4 2006

Liza White Scene 2007

Dana Wilson Day Dreams 2006

Dana Wilson Liquid Ebony 2006

Dana Wilson The Avatar 2006

Bruce Yurko Dialogues and Fanfares 2007 _____________________________________________________________________________

  67  

During the past decade, composers have shown a heightened interest in writing operas

that use a wind ensemble as the instrumental companion. Among the operas written using a wind

ensemble are Daron Hagen (Bandanna, 1999), Charles Shadle (Coyote’s Dinner, 2001), Joseph

Turrin (The Scarecrow, 2006), and Justin Dello Joio’s (Blue Mountain, 2007).

The University of Texas, Austin hosted the 2009 CBDNA National Conference March

25-28. Ten different groups performed at the conference with programs reflecting CBDNA’s

commitment to the creation and performance of new music. Of the 56 works performed, almost

75% were composed in the 21st century. There were 11 new pieces premiered at the conference:

Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems of Bob Dylan (2003) by John Corigliano (wind version by

Verena Mosenbichler, 2009), Apollo’s Fire (2008) by Glen Cortese, Symphony for Winds and

Percussion (2008) by Donald Grantham, “Eviler” Elves (2008) by James Kazik, The Future of

Fire (2009) by Zhou Long, Asphalt Cocktail (2008) by John Mackey, La Pequena Habana

(2008) by Todd Malicoate, Popcopy (2009) by Scott McAllister, Tower Ascending (2009) by

Wayne Oquin, Southern Comforts (2008) by Joel Puckett, and UMKC Fanfare (2009) by Chen

Yi. Table 20 includes works representative of wind band/ensemble in 2008-2009.

Table 20. Wind Band/Ensemble Music 2008-2009  Composer         Composition           Year     Ira Hearshen ENTERPRISE 2008

Brett Abigana Sketches on Paintings no. 2 2009

Brett Abigana Chorale and Blaspheme 2009

Paul Basler Psalm 2009

Robert Beaser Manhattan Roll 2009

Steven Bryant Ecstatic Waters 2008

  68  

Table 20. (continued)  Composer         Composition           Year     Mark Camphouse Anthem 2009

Yi Chen Suite for China West 2008

Valerie Coleman Roma 2009

Sebastian Currier Group Dynamics 2008 Andrew Davis Corners 2009

Eric Ewazen The Eternal Dance of Life 2008

Eric Ewazen Concerto for Oboe and Wind Ensemble 2009

Stephen Feigenbaum Rooms by the Sea 2009

Robert Gibson The Sound of Light 2009

David Gillingham Summer of 2008 (Euphonium Solo) 2008

Adam Gorb Farewell 2008

Jennifer Higdon Oboe Concerto (wind version) 2009

Jennifer Higdon Concerto for Solo Soprano Saxophone 2009

Joshua Hummel Haiku Symphony No. 4 2009

Jack Hughes After Rain 2009

Rex Isenberg Night Factory 2009

Charles Ives The Concord Symphony (arr. M. Patterson) 2009

Tania Leon Cumba Cumbakin 2009

Scott Lindroth Passage 2009

David Ludwig Missa Brevis 2009

John Mackey Harvers: Concerto for Trombone 2009

  69  

Table 20. (continued)  Composer         Composition           Year     Christopher Marshall An Emily Dickinson Suite 2009

David Maslanka Concerto No. 2 for Piano, Winds and Percussion 2009

David Maslanka Symphony no. 8 2008

Vicente Moncho Ilzreya 2008

Jeff Meyers Organum-Tambura 2008

Lior Navok Tetris 2009

Jonathan Newman Climbing Parassus 2008

Jonathan Newman Concertino for Flute and Chamber Winds 2009

Jonathan Newman Symphony No. 1 “My Hands Are a City” 2009

Carter Pann Serenade for Winds 2008

Carter Pann Richard and Renee 2009

Williams Pitts Eos 2008

Joel Puckett It Perched for Vespers Nine 2008

Joel Puckett Shadow of Sirius (Flute Concerto) 2009

David Rakowski Cantina 2008

Kathryn Salfelder Cathedrals 2008

Kathryn Salfelder Crossing Parallels 2009

Stanislaw Skrowaczewski Music for Winds 2009

D.J. Sparr Precious Metal 2009

Jacob Ter Verhius Tallahatchie (wind version) 2008

Frank Ticheli Angles in the Architecture 2008

  70  

Table 20. (continued)  Composer         Composition           Year     Frank Ticheli Symphony No. 1 2009

Matthew Tommasini “Taking Sides” for Trombone Solo 2008

Matthew Tommasini Torn Canvases 2008

Jess Turner Fairy Tale for Symphonic Wind Ensemble 2009

Joseph Turrin Fanfare and Prelude 2008

Jeff Tyzik RIFFS 2009

Michael Weinstein Concerto for Flute and Wind Ensemble 2009 _____________________________________________________________________________

  71  

CHAPTER 4

SUSTAINABILITY OF WIND BAND REPETOIRE

It is valid to wonder whether the literature of the modern wind band/ensemble presents

unique and well-crafted aesthetic truths on a level with those of esteemed master composers.

None of the repertoire for the wind band is yet of the vintage to simply apply the test of

survivability over the passage of time. It is, indeed, a question for all music written in the last

century and into the opening of the twenty-first century. There can be no final assessment made

as to sustainability, but significant indicators can be used to make predictions. Stature of the

composer at the time of a work's composition indicates the degree of preparation with which the

composer approached the work, and it assumes that the composer would wish to compose only

works that would become a part of a lasting legacy.

Dr. Timothy Rhea, Director of Bands at Texas A&M University hosted a clinic at the

2009 Texas Bandmasters Association on Programming and Identifying Quality Band

Repertoire. He included criteria for determining serious band repertoire that can also be

considered for repertoire sustainability:

• The composition reflects shape and design. • The composition reflects craftsmanship in orchestration,

demonstrating a proper balance between transparent and tutti scoring, and also between solo and group colors.

• The composition reflects a musical validity that transcends factors of historical importance, or factors of pedagogical usefulness86.

                                                                                                               86Rhea, Dr. Timothy. The Foundation for Music Education, "Music Matters." Last modified 2009.

Accessed October 16, 2012. http://foundationformusiceducation.org/musicmatters/2011/01/programming-identifying-quality-band-repertoire-a-clinic-presented-by-dr-timothy-rhea-part-1-of-6/.

  72  

Three composers: Joseph Schwantner, Frank Ticheli and John Corigliano will be

discussed along with contrasting compositions that demonstrate characteristics of sustainability.

Selections reviewed in the text are evaluated using one or more of the aforementioned criteria.

Joseph Schwantner

Joseph Schwantner composed …and the mountains rising nowhere in 1977. The Eastman

Wind Ensemble commissioned the work with a grant from the National Endowment for the

Arts. The premier was given in College Park, Maryland, at the 1977 National Conference of the

College Band Directors National Association by the Eastman Wind Ensemble, Donald

Hunsberger conducting.

Many awards, grants and fellowships have marked Schwantner’s compositional career. In

1979 he won the Pulitzer Prize for his orchestral composition Aftertones of Infinity as well as

several Grammy nominations. Among his many commissions is his Percussion Concerto, which

was commissioned for the 150th anniversary season of the New York Philharmonic and is one of

the most performed concert works of the past decade.87

Schwantner is known for his dramatic and unique style as well as being a gifted

orchestral colorist. He received his musical and academic training at the Chicago Conservatory

and Northwestern University and has served on the faculties of The Juilliard School, Eastman

School of Music and the Yale School of Music.88

Although …and the mountains rising nowhere was composed somewhat recently in the

total spectrum of music history (1977), it has sustained for some 35 years. It continues to

                                                                                                               87 Joseph Schwanter. “Joseph Schwantner,” Schwantner, Inc., last modified 2012,

http://www.schwantner.net/index.html. 88 Ibid.

  73  

receive numerous performances by university wind bands/ensembles. The work is dedicated to

children’s author Carol Adler, whose poem “Arioso” inspired the composition:

Arioso

arioso bells sepia an afternoon sun blanked by rain and the mountains rising nowhere the sound returns the sound and the silence chimes

The composer’s intent was to create a work for winds and percussion that “did not sound

like the typical band piece.”89 Schwantner stated:

When I first started to write for wind ensemble there wasn’t much to look at other than Hindemith and Schoenberg. My whole band experience in the public schools had been mostly third-rate music and transcriptions. I grew up with a certain envy of my colleagues who were in orchestra: they got great music to play and we got bad transcriptions and this third-rate “educational” music. You’ll notice in …and the mountains rising nowhere that I go a long way to avoid typical band sounds. I had to overcome my school experience.90

Schwantner wanted the percussion section to play a more prominent role than typically

found in the standard band compositions up to that time. His desire was for the importance of the

percussion writing to be on the same level as the brass and woodwind sections. This accounts for

the extraordinary amount of percussion (50 instruments) used in …and the mountains rising

nowhere.91

Schwanter called for unusual performing techniques from the wind players such as

whistling, singing and the sounding of glass crystals to expand the timbres that are typically

available to the wind ensemble. The percussionists are asked to bow various metallophones and

                                                                                                               89 Jeffery Renshaw, “Joseph Schwantner’s From a Dark Millennium, An interpretive analysis,” The

Instrumentalist (August 1989): 22. 90 Scott Higbee, Joseph Schwatner: A Composer’s Insight (Galesville: Meredith Music Publication, 2003),

67. 91 Renshaw, “Joseph Schwantner’s From a Dark Millennium, An interpretive analysis,” 29.

  74  

use “water gongs” (in which a gong is struck and then lowered into or raised out of a tub of

water). The piano part calls for amplification and serves as a timbral bridge between the

percussion and the winds. It also provides continuity by triggering instrument entrances and by

weaving sounds and sections together.

The instrumentation is as follows:

6 Flutes (4 doubling Piccolo) 2 B-flat Clarinets 4 Oboes (2 doubling English Horn, 4 doubling on glass crystals) 4 Bassoons 4 B-flat Trumpets 4 Horns 3 Tenor Trombones 1 Bass Trombone 1 Tuba Contrabass Amplified Piano 6 Percussionists (playing a total of 46 percussion instruments).

3 Bass Drums 1 Bell Tree 1 Crotale 2 Glockenspiels 1 Marimba 10 Suspended Cymbals 2 Tam-tams 1 Timbale Timpani Tom-Toms (3 sets of 4) 6 Triangles Tubular Bells 2 Vibraphones 2 Water Gongs 2 Xylophones

The instrumentation and instrument roles in …and the mountains rising nowhere bear

little resemblance to wind band/ensemble compositions prior to Joseph Schwantner. In addition,

he was among the first composers to suggest a specific arrangement for the seating of the

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ensemble while performing a particular composition.92 He requests that the percussion

instruments surround the ensemble and suggests a specific arrangement.

Schwantner often utilizes what he calls “static pillars” of harmonies, in which blocks of

sound may be held unchanging for a length of time. Over these pillars of sound, Schwantner

often writes other instrumental parts engaged in what he calls “shared monody.” This is a

technique that is described by Schwantner as “a melodic idea shared by partial doublings among

several instrumental voices.”93 The combination of the two concepts entails several players

entering and then sustaining on a different pitch of the melodic idea. These notes become one

single line shared by several players, as opposed to a single player on a solo line as shown in

Figure 1.

Figure 1. Shared Monody

Schwatner also introduces another technique in …and the mountains rising nowhere. He

refers to this technique as “trailing.”94 This compositional technique involves changing colors

while sustaining a specific sonority.

                                                                                                               92 Ibid. 93 Higbee, Joseph Schwatner: A Composer’s Insight, 69. 94 Jeffery Lynn Briggs, “The Recent Music of Joseph Schwantner: Unique and Essential Elements” (PhD

diss., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1984), 38.

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An example of trailing occurs in the first measure of the piece (see Figure 2). After the

initial percussion sounds, the glass crystals (played by the oboes) sustain the sonority that

continues throughout this section. The piano articulates the same sonority, although in a different

voicing, with the sostenuto pedal depressed. Instead of ringing strings, the crystal glasses are

heard.

Figure 2. …and the mountains rising nowhere, by Joseph Schwantner, Trailing in measure 1.

Timbre and color are especially important considerations in Schwantner’s compositions

for winds. Orchestral color and balance are trademarks in his music. As stated by Dr. Jeffery

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Briggs, former composition student of Joseph Schwantner, “orchestration is a controlling

element in Schwantner’s compositional technique. Most selections of his music seem to have

been designed to exploit his coloristic imagination.”95 Schwantner writes:

I like to think of composing like an artisan, building a fine piece of cabinetry. Somebody calls you up and wants a piece, and you get down to work…It would be difficult for me to point to a single source of influence, since I, like so many musicians today, share an enormous collective musical experience. My own work springs from a deep desire to engage the performer with all of his (her) skills, abilities, and sensitivities…the musical language I use is not new, but putting divergent music together in the same piece could never have been done forty years ago. Now, with mass communication, it’s part and parcel of the world we live in.96

Composers’ perception of the wind band/ensemble was eternally changed with the

writing of works such as Schwantner’s …and the mountains rising nowhere. His use of motivic

development, aleatoric effects, musical timbre and the fresh new palette of colors resonating

from the percussion section were revolutionary.97 The composition reflects a musical validity that

transcends factors of historical importance and pedagogical usefulness.98

Frank Ticheli In contrast to Schwantner, another contemporary composer whose works have the

potential to stand the test of time is American composer Frank Ticheli. He is well known for his

concert band works, many of which have become standards in the repertoire ranging from

developing bands to advanced bands. He is the winner of the 2006 NBA/William Revelli

Memorial Band Composition Contest for his Symphony No. 2., the Charles Ives/Goddard                                                                                                                

95 Briggs, The Recent Music of Joseph Schwantner, 1984. 96 James Ball, “A conductor’s guide to selected contemporary American orchestral compositions. (Phd

diss., University of Missouri-Kansas City, 1992), 53. 97 Stephen  Rhodes.  “A  History  of  the  Wind  Band,"  Lipscomb  University,  last  modified  2007,  accessed  

October  7,  2012,  http://www.lipscomb.edu/windbandhistory  /RhodesWindBand_12_20thCenturyRepertoire.htm.  

98 Acton Ostling Jr., “An Evaluation of Compositions for Wind Band According to Specific Criteria of Serious Artistic Merit.” (Phd diss., University of Iowa, 1978).

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Lieberson Awards and the Walter Beeler Memorial Prize. Ticheli received his masters and

doctoral degrees in composition from the University of Michigan.

In the book, Composers on Composing for Band, he describes his compositional style as

having a three-point focus: (1) texture, (2) color, and (3) the simultaneous use of multiple

musical ideas.99 There are several compositional techniques that he uses to illustrate these three

points. Proper treatment of these components contributes the sustainability of a composer’s

composition.

One of his textural devices involves the emphasis of a sustained pitch by adding a

punctuated note in another voice at the exact time of the attack. The player immediately dropping

out after the attack creates the effect, as the principal voice sustains.100 This punctuation can be

found in the second movement of his Symphony No. 2 at measure 41. Muted trumpet and

trombone play two sixteenth notes underneath a sixteenth-doted eighth note figure tied to a half

note (see Figure 3).

Figure 3. Measure 41 of Symphony No. 2, Mvt. 2 by Frank Ticheli

                                                                                                               99 Mark Camphouse, Composers on Composing for Band, (Chicago: GIA Publications Inc., 2002), 349-

384.

100 Ibid.

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Ticheli juxtaposes texture by experimenting with extreme registers. He

states that he loves “the sensuality of the flute in its lower octave.”101 In his 1999

composition Shenandoah, he explores this color as a flute trio carries the melody.

On F4, each voice enters one beat apart and reaches B-flat 5 within two bars. The

swift change in register is clearly heard above the harmony in the low clarinets

(see Figure 4).

Figure 4. Measure 41-45 of Shenandoah by Frank Ticheli

Another component of Ticheli’s treatment of texture is his sparing use of

tutti sections. He only scores for full ensemble when the effect is needed.102 In A

Composer’s Insight, Ticheli shares his view on scoring and texture:

Tuitti scoring is, of course, more effective when used sparingly. I try to hold onto this principle, even when I compose for young musicians. To be certain, carefully written color combinations can produce unique and beautiful results, and well-mixed colors are usually a necessity during a strong climax. But constant doubling weighs down a piece and reduces its potential.103

Multiple-simultaneous lines and the manner in which they are layered is another

compositional characteristic found in Ticheli’s works. He states, “too much going on at one time

                                                                                                               101 Ibid. 102 Ibid. 103 Timothy Salzman, and Linda Moorhouse, A Composer’s Insight: Thoughts, Analysis and Commentary

on Contemporary Masterpieces for Wind Band, (Galesville, MD: Meredith Publications, 2006), 208.

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creates an amalgam and one must be strategic in layering thematic material.”104 The addition of

rests throughout moving lines is his way of correcting this issue. This technique allows the

emphasis to be given to the entering voices. An example of this technique can be found in his

composition Postcard (1991) in measure 31. Staccato eighth notes are scored for the bass

clarinets and bassoons opposite that of the horns. When the staccato line has a rest, the second

and third clarinets enter with a legato passage. Their pitch continues to change as the staccato

line has rests. By using this technique, each line’s entrance and melodic motion can be clearly

heard by the listener (see Figure 5).

Figure 5. Measures 31-34 of Postcard by Frank Ticheli. Postcard was originally composed for band (1991) and then transcribed for orchestra

(1993). The program notes provided by the composer are clear and descriptive. They give insight

to the compositional material of the piece, thus leading me to find it appropriate to use them

here:

Postcard was originally composed for H. Robert Reynolds in memory of his mother, Ethel Virginia Curry. He requested that I compose not an elegy commemorating his mother's death, but a short, feisty piece celebrating her life. In response, I composed my brief Postcard for wind band in the summer of 1991 as a musical reflection of her character--vivacious, whimsical, and succinct. I created the orchestral version of Postcard two years later for Carl St.Clair and the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, who gave the premiere performance at Segerstrom Hall on February 3, 1994. The piece is cast in a three-part form, and is filled with little musical games, which pay tribute to the Reynolds

                                                                                                               104 Camphouse, Composers on Composing for Band, 2002.

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family. Its main theme is a melodic palindrome, honoring a long-standing tradition in the Reynolds family of giving their children palindromic names such as Hannah and Harrah. As the work progresses, the symmetry is obscured by elongating or cutting off the theme's tail. The middle section is based five notes derived from the dedicatee's name, Ethel: E (E natural) T (te in the solfeggio system, B flat) H (in the German system, B natural) E (E flat this time) L (la in the solfeggio system, A natural). This five-note motive is developed considerably, first appearing in an aggressive, angular context, and then evolving into a fast, lyrical melody. In the end, Postcard is nothing more than a gregarious tribute to a dear friend, honoring the life of his equally gregarious mother.105

John Corigliano

The final wind band/wind ensemble composition to be discussed which I feel will stand

the test of time is Symphony No. 3, “Circus Maximus” composed by John Corigliano.

Composed in 2004, the work transcends time, echoing events and actions in Italy. This

composition transcends factors of historical importance in several dimensions. In ancient Rome,

the Circus Maximus was an arena built for chariot racing and other myriads of spectator events.

The government wanted to keep the people entertained, and the arena served as a venue for

hundreds of thousands of people to gather daily to watch races, battles, and to be amused.

Corigliano’s work is inspired by the concept of mass entertainment, and centers on the idea that a

listener or spectator can be influenced and distracted by many surrounding ideas. For that

reason, he uses a non-traditional staging for his masterwork. Totaling over forty minutes of

music, the work includes an onstage band, an offstage (antiphonal) band, and a marching band.

One can argue that Haydn was one of the first composers to have soloists move around during a

performance by leaving the stage one-by-one in his Symphony No. 45, known as the “Farewell

Symphony”. Other composers have used antiphonal brass or offstage solos for various effects,

but Corigliano combined them into one musical masterwork.                                                                                                                

105 Frank, Ticheli. Manhattan Beach Music, "Postcard." Last modified 2010. Accessed October 17, 2012. http://www.manhattanbeachmusiconline.com/frank_ticheli/html/postcard.html.

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Circus Maximus envisioned new horizons for future composers to progress beyond

parameters of traditional band instrumentation, and it exemplified the manner in which

composers might score for varied combinations of instruments within a single work juxtaposed

in several locations in the performance venue. Figure 6 on the follow page explains the

instrumentation and staging directions for the stage band, the surrounding band, and the

marching band.

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Figure 6. Circus Maximus ‘I. Introitus’ Set-up Chart106

                                                                                                               106John Corigliano. Circus Maximus ‘I. Introitus’, G. Schirmer, Inc., 2004.

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With brass instruments spread around the “arena”, Corigliano created a sense of spatial

music which provides the listener a stereophonic or surround-sound effect. Circus Maximus

creates an experience best heard in live performance format.

In Beethoven’s era, his music was only available to listeners in live format. In the

twenty-first century, listeners can hear his works anywhere and at any time in digital format on

hand-held devices. Although live format offers a desirable listening experience, Beethoven’s

works serve quite well in recorded format. With Circus Maximus, Corigliano envisioned a

listening experience which would be complete only in live format. His concept of spatial music

is vital to performance success and emotional impact of the work.

The composer's purpose for the work was to bring the Circus Maximus into the

contemporary era. As indicated by descriptive titles of each movement, Corigliano utilized the

idiom of television as a symbol of the ancient Roman form of entertainment. To philosophically

parallel the amusement, distraction, and danger of both, he commented:

But the same technology that brought us our iPhone is also the technology that can bring about our destruction. With one bomb our world will be over. If New York City goes up, everything’s over, kiddo. So Circus Maximus is a piece that celebrates all of this wildness and craziness and yet is terrified of it. That influence is clearly felt in the third movement, appropriately called “Channel Surfing.” Different groups of instruments are spread throughout the hall each with their own music to play. With a remote-control click, we switch from dance music to pathos to cartoons in an instant. Nothing lasts more than a minute because you get bored; the interruptions become faster and faster.”107

A piece such as this exceeds traditional expectations of the wind band literature in several

aspects. First, the historical context of this masterpiece is demonstrated in the composer’s use of

nontraditional notation and shaping of the musical line. For centuries leading in to the modern

period, composers’ musical notation consisted of music notes placed on a staff, or on an

                                                                                                               107 Lawrence Johnson. “Chicago Classical Review,” The Classical Review, accessed October 9, 2012,

http://chicagoclassicalreview.com/2012/05/circus-maximus-to-open-two-week-corigliano-festival-with-a-blast/.

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extension of the staff with the use of leger lines, with a time signature, metered bars, and a

common sense of pulse. These elements help musicians to “stay on the musical line”. Circus

Maximus shapes the musical line in a completely different, nontraditional way. As seen in

Figure 7 (page 85), Corigliano opens a new door for aleatoric and chance music— while rhythm

is present within individual parts, the conductor controls the pulse and timing of the music at his

or her will.

Another element of sustainability for Circus Maximus is the pedagogical factor. Because

of the nontraditional notation and unique compositional style, instrumentalists must rise to a

higher concentration level. The rehearsal time and strategies that are needed to piece together a

masterwork such as this are greater than most pieces performed by an orchestra. Composers,

like Corigliano, rely and appreciate that each instrumentalist must truly learn his or her music.

While an orchestra can have a week’s worth of rehearsal for a performance, the wind band needs

more preparation time. This reason is not based on ability, but rather accessibility.

  For  centuries,  composers’  works  have  heightened  emotions  and  feelings  within  the  

listener.    Many  times  these  true  and  natural  feelings  have  been  those  of  happiness,  sadness,  

a  sense  of  excitement,  a  feeling  of  mystery,  and  many  others.    Corigliano  creates  more  than  

a  feeling,  he  creates  a  complete  experience.    From  a  pedagogical  aspect,  the  conductor  must  

teach  instrumentalists  how  to  create  space  within  the  music  to  feel  as  though  time  is  

suspended,  how  to  read  spatial  notation,  how  to  keep  focused  and  not  be  distracted  by  

other  instrumentalists  located  in  other  parts  of  the  concert  hall,  how  to  adapt  to  quickly  

changing  tempi,  and  how  to  align  polyrhythms.    While  these  elements  individually  can  be  

taught  in  many  works,  they  all  must  work  together  in  Circus  Maximus  to  create  the  

experience  that  makes  this  work  sustainable  in  the  wind  band  repertoire.

  86  

             

Figure 7. Circus Maximus ‘I. Introitus’ mm.1-7.108  

                                                                                                               

108 John Corigliano, Circus Maximus ‘I. Introitus’. G.Schirmer, Inc, 2004, G. Schirmer OnDemand.

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CHAPTER 5  

CURRENT STATE

Idiomatic  Properties  of  Wind  Instruments  as  Related  to  Repertoire  Development    

  Repertoire of the wind band has developed uniquely because of idiomatic properties of

multiples of wind instruments. Similarly, repertoire of the orchestra has developed uniquely

because of the idiomatic properties of multiples of stringed instruments.

Percussion instruments are common to wind band and orchestra. Generally, however,

percussion parts are scored as single instruments even though composers may, in the twenty-first

century, often request large percussion sections.

Due to the presence of multiple wind instruments in the wind band and due to the

presence of multiple stringed instruments in the orchestra, composers must know and

understand idiomatic capabilities of instruments in multiples as well as individually.

Unique orchestration practices for each ensemble result in generally superior aesthetic

results when performed by the medium for which they were originally written. Idiomatic

properties of combinations of instruments and the resultant sonorities may influence

composers to gravitate to wind band or to orchestra.

Prior to the twentieth century, orchestral composers generally regarded woodwind, brass,

and percussion sections as “color” instruments. They entrusted essential musical material to

stringed instruments primarily because woodwind and brass instruments evolved later than

stringed instruments. Also, string players could play longer stretches than woodwinds or brass.

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Stringed instruments have wider dynamic ranges than wind instruments due to their

potential to sound well at extremely soft levels of the continuum. Wide dynamic ranges

and bowing techniques offer vast potential for musical expression.

Considered in multiples, there is a homogenous tone color throughout the family of

stringed instruments, and variations in registers are more subtle than in wind instruments. The

complete clarinet family of instruments in the wind band is most closely analogous to the strings

in the orchestra.

Approach  to  articulation  is  a  notable  difference  between  stringed  instruments  and  

wind  instruments.  Among  wind  instruments,  the  tongue  is  held  forward  to  prevent  air  from  

passing  through  the  lips  until  a  drawing-­‐back  of  the  tongue  releases  the  air  column.  A  wind  

tone  has  much  less  potential  for  an  indiscernible  beginning  as  contrasted  to  the  gradual  

engaging  of  a  string  by  the  bow.109  Wind  instruments,  particularly  in  multiples,  do  not  have  

the  same  potential  sensitivity  as  a  string  instrument  when  beginning  a  tone  in  soft  

passages.  

Stringed  instruments  possess  more  techniques  for  producing  sound  than  any  other  

orchestral  section.  They  are  able  to  pass  from  one  style  of  musical  expression  to  another  

with  great  facility.  Additionally,  they  are  capable  of  playing  double  notes  and  chords  and  

can  be  considered  as  melodic  and/or  harmonic  in  character.110  

The  string  section  offers  a  variety  of  color  and  contrast,  but  the  diversity  of  range  

and  timbre  is  subtle.  In  the  woodwind  section,  however,  the  difference  in  register  and  

quality  of  flutes,  oboes,  clarinet  and  bassoons  is  striking.  The  woodwinds,  as  a  rule,  are  less  

                                                                                                               109Walter Piston, Orchestration (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1955), 420. 110 Nicolas Rimsky Korsakow, Principles of Orchestration (New York: Edwin F. Kalmus, 1922), 8.

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flexible  than  strings;  and  are  less  capable  of  varying  shades  of  expression.111  Although  the  

brass  instruments  are  far  less  flexible  than  the  woodwinds,  they  intensify  the  effect  of  other  

orchestral  groups  by  their  powerful  resonance.112    

Unlike the wind band/ensemble, the orchestra has been built around a basic choir of

homogenous timbre and a complete extent of range. When writing for wind band/ensemble, a

composer must handle with considerable care the woodwind section, which consists of a varied

assortment of instruments (flutes, oboes, clarinets, saxophones, and bassoons). There is much

duplication in the middle to low registers, and insufficient strength in the extreme top and very

low ranges. The B-flat clarinets, alto and tenor saxophones, alto and bass clarinets, and bassoons

share similar basic ranges. Frequently, in wind band scoring, there is considerable doubling of

parts resulting in sonorities that are lacking in clarity.113

Wind bands sometimes include large numbers of flutes in an attempt to reinforce the top

register. However, the flute does not have the same acoustical value against multiples of other

winds as it has against strings or in the woodwind choir of the orchestra.114

The brass section of the wind band is a homogeneous group. The horns, as in the

orchestra, function with both woodwind and brass sections. The brass section is fundamentally a

middle register group with no high soprano and with much duplication in the alto and tenor

voices. The only true bass is the tuba. However, the inclusion of a string bass is accepted as

standard for the wind band/ensemble.115

                                                                                                               111Ibid., 14.

112Ibid., 22. 113Goldman, The Wind Band, 154. 114Ibid. 115Ibid.

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The sforzando, sharp accents, and forte-piano are especially well suited to brass

instruments.116 This factor gives an advantage to wind instruments when playing musical

selections that call for strong, sharp accents. For example, Gershwin’s Cuban Overture sounds

quite different played by an orchestra when compared to a band. The piece seems to function

more satisfactorily for band because wind instruments can put an edge on the beginnings of notes

that strings cannot.

Roy Harris, composer, was commissioned in 1952 by Captain Francis E. Resta,

Commanding Officer and Conductor of the West Point Academy Band, to write a piece to

commemorate the Sesquicentennial Celebration of the United States Military Academy at West

Point. In a letter from Roy Harris, he provided an insight as to how one composer viewed the

challenge of composing for wind band at that time.

The writing of this work has been extraordinarily difficult for me because I hoped to achieve a work of symphonic breadth for your noble West Point Symphonic Band. My attention has been given, for many years, to write for symphony orchestra wherein one can draw heavily on the sustaining quality of the strings. The problem of writing for wind instruments is much more difficult in that one must make proper allowance for breathing. At this time, it seems to me that a symphonic band is like a cross between a pipe organ and a chorus; yet is has a great deal more agility than a chorus and more expressive control than a pipe organ.117

A primary consideration in the transcription of orchestral works for wind band is the

physical human component of breathing. String players, of course, do not have to breathe to

produce a tone. The flute, in contrast, requires a great deal of breath support and ample rests are

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

116Piston, Orchestration, 218. 117Larry D. Harper, “The Sesquicentennial Celebration Wind Band Commissions of the United States

Academy at West Point (1952),” (PhD diss., Michigan State University, 1987), 111.

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therefore necessary. It is conceivable for flutists to sustain phrases, but consideration must be

given to phrase length.118

  Brass  instruments  are  highly  fatiguing  to  play,  and  performers  are  far  more  

susceptible  to  tiredness  than  woodwinds  or  strings.  Scoring  should  include  frequent  rests.  

Wide  leaps  are  unnatural  to  brass  because  all  tones  are  harmonics  and  the  embouchure  

must  find  the  pitch.  High  tones  are  difficult  because  of  increased  air  pressure  and  fine  

adjustment  of  embouchure  required  to  sound  higher  partials.  The  brass  section  provides  a  

homogeneous  quality  of  tone,  and  it  resonates  with  a  breadth  and  solidity  unmatched  by  

any  other  grouping  of  instruments.119  

Brian Balmages, contemporary American composer, conductor, producer, and performer,

shared his view on transcribing works from one medium to another:

Typically, I do not like to transcribe band works for string orchestra. I rely so heavily on orchestration and texture that a lot of the piece gets lost in trying to translate. Plus, the piece is not as idiomatic and often sounds watered down as a result of trying to make it fit. I have been asked to transcribe band works for full orchestra. That makes more sense to me, but I also prefer to write organically for full orchestra so I can more aggressively harness the textures available to me in that group.120

Early scoring practices often utilized scoring by parallelism, methods of transcription in

which string parts were assigned to specific wind instruments. Transcribers of orchestral music

for wind band frequently substituted clarinets as the violin section and assigned other

instruments to their band counterparts. This method of transcription placed considerable

                                                                                                               118Kent Wheeler Kennan, The Technique of Orchestration (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1952),

73. 119Donald Rauscher, Orchestration Scores & Scoring (London: The Free Press of Glencoe, 1963), 83. 120Brian Balmages, interview by author, e-mail, July 18, 2012.

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emphasis on the woodwind section. Inconsistencies included restriction of range and issues with

balance and blend because brass tone qualities tended to dominate.121

Frequently, the sensitivity of technical string passages do not relate well to woodwind

instruments. In many cases, transcribed string parts are non-idiomatic for woodwind instruments

and create technical challenges that are almost impossible to surmount.

In the twentieth century, composers began developing new melodic and harmonic

concepts that made wind and percussion instruments a more integral part of orchestration. New

melodic and harmonic language made it obvious that wind and percussion instruments were

acoustically capable of and eminently suited for negotiating disjointed melodic lines and

percussive harmonic rhythms. Changes in compositional style, therefore, resulted in more

idiomatic scoring for winds and percussion.

It is not a surprising phenomenon that compositions developed scored exclusively for the

wind/percussion combination. The vocal-based melodic style of the Romantic Era had resulted in

considerable development for the strings of the orchestra. The disjointed melodic and harmonic

styles of the twentieth century resulted in a similar development of winds and percussion.

Orchestras Play Wind Works

During the first decade of the new millennium there was an increased number of wind

works performed by major symphony orchestras. In 2002, the New York Philharmonic

performed Joseph Turrin’s Hemispheres in New York City and on its tour to Germany and the

Far East. Ingolf Dahl’s Saxophone Concerto, Edgard Varese’s Deserts, John Harbison’s Music

for 18 Winds, Kurt Weill’s Kleine Dreigroschenmusik, and William Schuman’s George

                                                                                                               121Mayer, Scoring for the Band.

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Washington Bridge were performed by the San Francisco Symphony, conducted by Michael

Tilson Thomas.122 The September 2002 WASBE Newsletter published an article by Timothy

Reynish about other performances of wind works by symphony orchestras.

The Berlin Philharmonic will play two wind works in Rattle’s first season, Magnus Lundberg’s Grand Duo and [another] new work especially commissioned from Hiner Goebbels. … The City of Birmingham’s Symphony Orchestra ... played Hindemith’s Symphony in B-flat, Lincolnshire Posy, and ... other major wind ensemble works by Mozart, Strauss, Stravinsky, and Messiaen. ... The Singapore Symphony recorded Thea Musgrave’s Journey through a Japanese Landscape with Evelyn Glennie. ... New York Philharmonic principal players Phil Smith and Joe Alessi performed Joseph Turrin’s Fandango with the New York Philharmonic’s wind section at Lincoln Center on July 18, 2000.123

Following a performance with the U. S. Marine Band at the Kennedy Center in

Washington, DC, Leonard Slatkin commented on the increased presence of wind works on

orchestra concerts. “I think you are finding more composers using the orchestral venue to

experiment and use different frameworks. So, some of the works that are emerging from wind

ensemble are designed not only for the use with bands but also for use within an orchestral

concert where you might not require the strings.”124

Interviews with Current Composers

As the popularity grows among professional orchestras to program wind compositions,

one may expect a trend for many composers to begin writing for both wind band as well as

orchestra. The author of this paper conducted interviews with three prominent wind band

composers. Similar questions were asked in an effort to determine why they chose to write

predominately for wind band instead of orchestra.

                                                                                                                122Battisti, Winds of Change II , 202. 123Timothy Reynish, “Message form the President,” WASBE Newsletter (September 2002). 124Timothy Reynish, “Message from the President,” WASBE Newsletter (December 2002).

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Composer Rob Grice

Rob Grice’s compositions have been performed widely within the United States as well

as internationally, including Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe and the Middle East. His original

works and arrangements have been selected for performance at the Midwest Clinic, Society of

Wind Instruments (Germany), Texas Music Educators Conference, Carnegie Hall, Bands of

America Regional Championships, as well as numerous state and regional events. His music was

featured on Japan’s JVC Victor Entertainment BRN Compact Disc Series, a standard interpretive

reference source for Japan’s school music program. He receives many requests to commission

new concert works and creates numerous publications for concert band and string orchestra each

year.

Bodiford: What is your main area of composition? Wind Band or orchestra?

Grice: Wind Band

Bodiford: Please discuss why you choose to write for one ensemble over the other.

Grice: The market is wide open for writing for band. Unfortunately, the development of

new orchestral literature is very stagnant in comparison to band. Most orchestras that are at the

professional level tend to predominantly play the old standard literature. For a composer, it is

much easier to make a living writing for band rather than orchestra. Also, bands are hungry for

new compositions. When one writes for band, he can almost be assured that his composition will

be played (usually more than just one performance).

Bodiford: Have you ever written/transcribed a vocal/choral piece for an instrumental

ensemble? If so, what is your opinion? Can you describe the musical validity of instrumental

transcriptions of texted works?

Grice: No

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Bodiford: What is your background: orchestra, wind band, choral?

Grice: I was a member of a band program from sixth grade through college. I have taught

instrumental music for twenty-six years. Most of these years were teaching band programs.

Bodiford: What is your major instrument?

Grice: Euphonium was my major instrument in college. Piano is my main instrument

now.

Bodiford: Have you transcribed any of your band works for orchestra?

Grice: Yes, three of the transcriptions have been performed at the Midwest Clinic.

Bodiford: What is the difference when writing for string orchestra versus wind band in

regards to monetary compensation?

Grice: The Wind Band music market is considerably larger than the string Orchestra

market. The String Orchestra market is about one-quarter the size of the Wind Band Market. In

terms of grade levels, Grades 1-2 combined are 50% of sales, Grade 3 is 35% of sales, and

Grades 4-6 combined are 15% of sales.

In the author’s opinion, monetary compensation, marketability and circulation are

influential factors when composers are faced with the choice to either write for wind band or

orchestra. With the vast amount of wonderful orchestral literature available, orchestras tend to

perform the “standards” rather than exploring new compositions. The composer is also faced

with the additional task of ample monetary compensation, which predominantly occurs when a

work receives repeat performances. From this interview, one could conclude, many of today’s

young composers tend to gravitate toward composing for wind band.

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Composer Brian Balmages

Brian Balmages is an active composer, conductor, producer, and performer. His fresh

compositional ideas have resulted in a high demand for his wind, brass, and orchestral music

throughout the world. Mr. Balmages' compositions have been performed worldwide at

conferences including the College Band Directors National and Regional Conferences, the

Midwest Clinic, the International Tuba/Euphonium Conference, the International Trombone

Festival, and the International Trumpet Guild Conference. His active schedule of commissions

and premieres has incorporated groups ranging from elementary schools to professional

ensembles, including the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Miami Symphony Orchestra, the

University of Miami Wind Ensemble, James Madison University's School of Music, Boston

Brass, members of the United States Marine Band, and the Dominion Brass Ensemble. Members

of leading orchestras including the St. Louis Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, National

Symphony, and others have performed his music. He has also had world premieres in prestigious

venues such as Carnegie Hall and performances at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and

abroad.

Bodiford: What is your main area of composition? Wind Band or Orchestra?

Balmages: I do not really consider myself to have a main area of composition. I simply

write for the instrumentation of the commissioning group. The majority of my commissions tend

to be from wind bands as there tend to be more of those groups and they also are a bit more

active in the commissioning process, but I also receive commissions from orchestras and

chamber ensembles. So I prefer not to have a main area of composition. I just prefer to compose.

Bodiford: Please discuss why you choose to write for one ensemble over the other.

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Balmages: Several things dictate my ensemble preference: 1) The obvious, which is the

instrumentation of the commissioning group. 2) The colors necessary to convey the piece I am

writing (which is why I will sometimes postpone a work for winds if I feel it works better for

different instrumentation). There have been times that I scrapped a wind ensemble work and

started a new one, saving those melodies for an orchestra.

Bodiford: Have you ever written/transcribed a vocal/choral piece for an instrumental

ensemble? If so, can you describe the musical validity of instrumental transcriptions of texted

works? (By not having the words, do you find the piece less powerful, etc.)

Balmages: Yes, I have transcribed one of my own choral pieces for wind band. In this

case, I do not feel there was a compromise in the musical integrity. One of the main reasons is

because the piece was not constructed in verses and refrains. Often, that loses compositional

integrity because words are not present to create compositional variety from verse to verse. In

this case, the melodies and harmonies were ever evolving, so I found it to be quite compelling. In

fact, with a wind band, I was able to achieve a much more dramatic climax in spots, which was

very gratifying.

Bodiford: What is your background: orchestra, wind band, choral?

Balmages: My background includes both wind band and orchestral performance.

Bodiford: What is your major instrument?

Balmages: Trumpet

Bodiford: Have you transcribed any of your band works for orchestra? If so, why?

Balmages: Only two, and that was a long time ago: one for strings only and one for full

orchestra. Typically, I do not like to transcribe band works for string orchestra. I rely so heavily

on orchestration and texture that a lot of the piece gets lost in trying to translate. Plus, the piece is

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not as idiomatic and often winds up sounding watered down as a result of trying to make it fit. I

have been asked to transcribe band works for full orchestra. That makes more sense to me, but I

also prefer to write organically for full orchestra so I can more aggressively harness the textures

available to me in that group.

Bodiford: What is the difference when writing for string orchestra versus wind band in

regards to monetary compensation?

Balmages: If you are speaking about commission fees, I have no difference in

compensation. When a group commissions a work, they are commissioning me to compose.

Orchestration plays a large role in that process, but often it is even more difficult with a string

orchestra because you have to be very creative in order to achieve some unique sounds and the

fullness necessary for a piece to really stand on its own.

It is the opinion of the author of this document that composer Brian Balmages writes for

whatever ensemble commissions him. The instrumentation of the ensemble dictates key choices

in the melodies, orchestration and possibilities of color that can be achieved by the

commissioning ensemble. Orchestral compositions present unique challenges to the composer

because of the level of creativity necessary to produce fullness of sounds as compared to the

complete family of wind instruments found within wind bands. In some instances, the essence of

the piece becomes lost or is diminished when transcribing from one idiom to the other. This

composer feels that original works are more suited for the idiom in which they were written, as

opposed to a transcription.

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Composer Robert Sheldon

Robert Sheldon is one of the most performed composers of wind band music today. A

recipient of numerous awards for the American School Band Director’s Association, Phi Beta

Mu and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, his compositions embody

a level of expression that resonated with ensembles and audiences alike. His music is performed

around the world and appears on many international concert and contest lists. Mr. Sheldon

regularly accepts commissions for new works, and produces numerous publications for concert

band each year. Mr. Sheldon is currently Concert Band Editor for Alfred Music Publishing.

Bodiford: As a composer, have you been approached to transcribe some of your band

compositions for orchestra?

Sheldon: Yes, I have been asked to transcribe some of my band pieces for orchestra, both

full and string. In my opinion, it is far easier to get a new piece performed by a really great wind

ensemble than it is to get a new piece performed by a really great orchestra. For one thing, the

great orchestras are nearly all-professional organizations or are being conducted by people who

want to be perceived as being equal to the conductors of those professional organizations. So the

literature being performed is largely of another century, and that is for many reasons, but in my

opinion, mainly because there is so much great literature available from those past centuries. It

seems like so much of contemporary orchestra literature is really difficult, but not necessarily...

significant? Not sure if that is the right word.

We don’t have that legacy as much in the band world. Additionally, many great bands are

not professional in the same way that the great orchestras are, and it seems as though there is not

only a willingness to play new band works, but also a real hunger to seek them out.

Consequently, the overwhelming majority of my pieces are for band, especially because most of

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my commissions are for winds. Having said that, I have had two orchestra commissions this

year.

It is the opinion of the author that it is the belief of this composer that a new composition

is more likely to be performed by a professional group in the wind band area, than an orchestra.

Due to the vast amount of quality literature from the past century, the demand for new orchestral

literature is not as great as in the wind band area, thereby increasing the attractiveness of writing

for wind band.

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CHAPTER 6

CONCLUSION

Although the American Military Band was strongly influenced by its European

predecessors, the American Bands never completely conformed to the European repertoire. The

American band music, performed by the likes of Patrick Gilmore and John Phillip Sousa, served

as more of a source of entertainment during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries than true

art music.

As the role of the military and professional band’s changed, the nation began to see more

growth of school music programs. Civic events previously manned by local town bands and

professional bands now featured the local school band. A town’s school band became an

important point of civic pride. This phenomenon led to an explosion of the school band programs

in America. It also had a significant influence on a repertoire predominately consisting of

popular orchestral transcriptions, marches and novelty pieces.

The  event  that  caused  the  most  significant  paradigm  shift  in  the  band  repertoire  

happened  in  the  mid  twentieth  century  when  Fredrick  Fennell  formed  the  Eastman  School  

of  Music  Wind  Ensemble.    Out  of  frustration  over  the  lack  of  quality  literature  for  wind  

bands, Fennell wrote to 400 composers explaining his project of promoting new works that

would fit within the instrumentation guidelines of his new ensemble. His office was flooded with

new works, and a new medium of musical activity began to surface. Prior to 1960, military

marches and orchestral transcriptions had served as the bulk of band repertoire.

Due to record numbers of commissioning projects, along with the continued formation of

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worldwide consortia, original wind band literature has advanced more in the past fifty years than

in all years before it combined. No  other  ensemble  in  history  has  seen  its  repertoire  grow  so  

quickly  in  such  a  short  time.

The American educational system and its development of school music programs is

perhaps the reason for the rapid proliferation of the wind band movement. Well-known

composers such as Varèse, Poulenc, Copland, Stravinsky, Hindemith and Barber, among others,

have made significant contributions to the wind ensemble literature. At the present time there is a

lucrative market for educational wind band/ensemble literature. Many of today’s composers are

attracted to this profitable and flourishing market.

As the market for wind band literature continues to grow, sustainability of the music is

sometimes debated. In the 2002 book, Composers on Composing for Band, David Holsinger, a

very successful American composer and conductor states:

I see the band and band repertoire as 'the next big thing.'... I am the first to admit that our history of truly lasting masterworks probably is just getting off the ground, but I am excited with the future of band repertoire and the composers it is beginning to draw into its environment. The primary orchestral repertoire today features works that are 75 to 200 years old. A century from now, the orchestra will feature a repertoire 175 to 300 years old. It won't have changed because the late 1700s to early 1900s was the golden ages of orchestral literature. Yes, I know that there is new music written for the orchestra year in and year out, but I also know that even 100 years from today, the future of the symphonic orchestra will still be in the hands of a generation of 'social' listeners who view the orchestra hall as a center of convivial function, musical grace and purity, and even if Eric Whitacre decides to re-score 'Godzilla Eats Las Vegas’ for electric chamber strings, just the title alone will not do the season subscription sales any favors!125 It is acceptable to wonder whether the literature of the present wind band is well crafted

on a level with those of esteemed master composers. None of the repertoire for the wind band is

yet of the vintage to simply apply the test of survivability over the passage of time. The

                                                                                                               125Camphouse, Composers on Composing for Band, 200.

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sustainability of band repertoire is vitally dependent upon the quality of composers who create

for the medium and upon conductors who provide vibrant musical interpretations for audiences

willing to accept new frontiers and challenges as listeners. Should any of those elements go

lacking, proliferation of high-level repertoire for wind band may lack sustainability in the long

term.

Pulitzer Prize winning composer Joseph Schwantner writes for both orchestra and wind

ensemble. Numerous awards, grants and fellowships have marked his career. In his composition,

…and the mountains rising nowhere, he utilized standard techniques of twentieth-century music

and expanded on them. His masterful style of creating new timbres for wind band, facilitated

avenues for other composers to experiment with new techniques. This composition is a major

work that is a model of exotic scoring. The form of the piece is A B A1 with eleven subsections.

The music is presented in extremes with sudden changes in texture, dramatic dynamic shifts and

a very large percussion section. Special coloristic devices include bowed tam tam and crotales,

water gong, glass crystals, singing, whistling and amplified piano.

…and the mountains rising nowhere is centered around sustained sonority techniques. As

a result, the composer drastically reduced the elements of traditional form and harmony, to

explore and enrich timbral possibilities of the band. This composition represented freedom from

any instrumentation limitations and opened the wind band medium for further development of

timbre possibilities, which at that time, had not been fully explored.

Current composers such as Michael Colgrass and David Maslanka are creating new

sounds that reflect a focus on timbre as a compositional element. Their experiments with unique

instrumentation, the identification of less frequently used instruments in solo roles, and

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percussion as an integral part of the music, are a continuation of Schwantner’s alteration to

instrumentation.

Since Schwantner is a recognized composer in his time and his works, including …and

the mountains rising nowhere, are continuing to be performed widely, his works exhibit

characteristics, which indicate that they will be sustainable through the passage of time.

Frank Ticheli is another composer whose compositions show promise as sustainable

literature. His orchestral works have received considerable recognition throughout the United

States and Europe. He has become well known for his concert band compositions, many of

which have become standards in the repertoire. His compositions accommodate levels of all

musicians from middle school to college/university. For example, his Shenandoah was written

with a junior high school level band in mind. The instruments never extend into their extreme

ranges, and the rhythms are very simple. Regardless of its simplicity, the piece offers a challenge

to bands even at the university level. In this way, Ticheli is a pioneer in his field. In the early

twentieth century, there was a pressing need for easy band music that was worthy of serious

study. He has written several works, which are in that category.

Ticheli’s orchestration is atypical, regardless of grade level. His common characteristics

include: using tutti scoring sparingly; he deliberately scores the melody in second and third parts;

his employment of percussion is designed for maximum effect (by not overscoring); he rarely, if

ever repeats a section of music using the same orchestration or texture. His compositions show

promise of sustainability not only at the advanced level but at the intermediate level as well.

Another composer whose compositions show possibilities of sustainability is John

Corigliano. He is an Italian American composer, that served as the concertmaster of the New

York Philharmonic for twenty three years. He composes for both string orchestra and wind

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band. In 2001 he received the Pulitzer Prize for his Symphony No. 2 and an Academy Award for

Original Music Score for the 1999 movie, The Red Violin.

Circus Maximus was his first work specifically written for concert band. It is a large

theatrical piece in which the entire work was concieved spatially. He encircles the audience with

musicians so that they feel as if they are in the center of an arena, hence, the Circus Maximus. It

is a thirty-five minute work in eight sections which are played without pause.

Perhaps the essence of the piece was best captured in a performance review in the Austin

Chronical by music critic, Robert Fair:

The work came at you from all directions-quite literally, as pockets of the ensemble were stationed all about the hall. The sense of being surrounded, of being at the center of the monumental arena of the title, was alternately enticing and intimidating…wisely included passages of peace and reflection, moments that summoned the tranquility of deep night in the country, where nature still reigns, and of human prayer...What was most powerful and extraordinady about Circus Maximus was the way that it reflected those pressures and the character of our culture – the violence, the pride, the impatience, the disconnectedness, the sence of menace and of mourning – to a degree that was unnerving126.

Circus Maximus is a composition that evokes emotion in the listener. Listeners may not

be able to remember every musical component, but  they will remember how it made them feel.

They will remember non-quantifiable and non-verbal points of emotional impact. A musical  

composition,  which  has  implicit  power  to  connect  with  listeners  on  an  emotional  level, is

(in the opinion of this researcher), a composition which has inherent qualities of

sustainability. In the words of American author and poet, Maya Angelou: “I've learned that

people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget

how you made them feel.”  

                                                                                                               126 Robert, Fair. The Austin Chronicle, "Circus Maximus." Last modified 2005. Accessed October 13, 2012.

http://citationmachine.net/index2.php?start=&reqstyleid=10&mode=form&reqsrcid=ChicagoWebsite&srcCode=11&more=yes&nameCnt=1&stylename=Chicago&more=yes.

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It is aesthetically significant to evaluate how composers utilize materials, forms, and

idiomatic orchestrations to produce a work that is capable of generating non-quantitative

responses in all who participate in the processes of creating and listening. Even if the work is

created upon valid principles, it may or may not produce pleasurable responses from all listeners.

Its popularity may be greatly affected in early performances due to utilization of unfamiliar

harmonic and melodic language even though the composer may well have regarded it as a

compelling creative effort.

For that reason, compositions which depart from traditional concepts, may not be

attractive to composers. If popularity and publications revenues are primary, composers may

alter and compromise their best instincts. The same is true for conductors who may also desire

public approbation. The wind band medium, however, will move forward only through those

individuals who are willing to assume risks in creativity and performance.

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