Search results for: 'Quartet for brass'

SATB:

Fort Worth Funk was written to provide a light-hearted, engaging selection for Saxophone Quartet.  It begins with a dramatic statement from the Baritone Saxophone, who lays down the opening groove.  The other members of the quartet enter one at a time, while the composition builds to a virtuostic moment for the full quartet.  The staggered entrances also provide an opportunity to stage theatrics as well.  Appropriate rhythms and articulations are meticulously notated to help players achieve an authentic “funk” style in their performance.  The piece is loosely based on the chord changes to the jazz standard “Well You Needn’t”, which appears briefly in swing style at the end of the piece.  Chord changes and written solos are provided during the improvised sections, to bring the piece within the grasp of a wide spectrum of players. 

In eleven movements, this work can for Saxophone Quartet be played by Soprano Sax, Alto Sax, Tenor Sax and Baritone Sax or 2 Alto Saxes, Tenor Sax and Baritone Sax.

Each works presents various challenges, but more than anything else the movements force the group to work together as a unit. It is highly recommended for a High School ensemble and beyond.

For Saxophone Quartet (AAAT) in three movements:

Cats! The creatures are an enigma. They sit around, sleep too much and ignore you - most of the time. When they decide to wake, they stare at you. What are they thinking? This composition reflects three moods. However, you will have to decide what the meaning of Kara’s moods are, or for any feline - for that matter.

Written for Baritone Saxophone and Piano, this is a challening work that is most suited for a college age student. 

Program notes from the composer:

Just as Chagall mixed landscapes, characters, and creatures into a surreal concoction in his paintings, Chagallian Scenes does so in music. So we might start with a march only to dissolve into a waltz with flashes of dissonance morphing into cacophony, or we might settle comfortably into a key when suddenly it veers into an unrelated other. The movements are named after the pictures that inspired them.

The first movement, Promenade, or  Der Spaziergang, opens with cheery walking music appropriate for a man and his lovely lady out for a stroll. But the mood soon  edges into whole tone surrealism reflecting that the pink frocked lady is floating, held down to earth only by the grasp of her companion.

The music for The Wandering Jew  is influenced by the diverse dwellings of the Jewish diaspora, ranging from the Moorish influence of the Andalusia to the Klesmer of New York. 

The third movement, Au Dessus de la Ville (Over the town) has drifting rhythm, like the drifting figures over the town. The scene is dreamy and surrealistic with the music moving in and out of sync.

I And the Village, considered Chagall's most famous painting, cuts from one scene to another as if remembering a lifetime. The man with the scythe  trudges along throughout, listening to the sounds of the village: a goat bleating, a Klesmer violinist, the bells of the Russian Orthodox Church… it is a tapestry of joy and tragedy, hard labor and festive dance.

Soprano Sax, 4 Alto Saxes, Tenor Sax and Baritone Sax

Micah Ahern lived 7 courageous, hard-fought years with Neuroblastoma, a deadly form of cancer that attacks children. I had the privilege of knowing sweet little Micah where he was a student at Ditto Elementary School in Arlington Texas, where I am the school librarian.

He lost his battle July 28, 2016; he spent every day living his life to the fullest and was especially fond of baseball. Micah become an honorary member of the Texas Christian University (TCU) baseball team the last 3 years of his life, and even attended one of their playoff games in the College World Series shortly before he died. Micah's zest for life had a tremendous positive effect on everyone that he knew. He is loved and missed by many.

Donations can be made to the "Superhero Micah Foundation" here:

https://superheromicah.wordpress.com

Alto Sax solo with Concert Band; get your fingers moving with this fast paced Alto Saxophone solo commissioned by Greg Dewhirst and composed by Thomas Bough

“Burn” was first performed at the NASA Region IV Conference at Oklahoma State University in March of 2017 by Dr. Greg Dewhirst.  Numerous schools and professional players supported the creation of this exciting, playful work. 

The harmonic progressions found in the Bach Chorale “Christus, der ist mein Leben” are explored in a variety of musical styles in the form of a Rondo.  In each, “Burn” displays the technical virtuosity of the alto saxophone as it dances through shifting meters, blazing sextuplet runs, and even a latin section to bring to life this charming, 5 minute composition.  

Piano reduction found here

with Piano; get your fingers moving with this fast paced Alto Saxophone solo commissioned by Greg Dewhirst and composed by Thomas Bough

“Burn” was first performed at the NASA Region IV Conference at Oklahoma State University in March of 2017 by Dr. Greg Dewhirst.  Numerous schools and professional players supported the creation of this exciting, playful work. 

The harmonic progressions found in the Bach Chorale “Christus, der ist mein Leben” are explored in a variety of musical styles in the form of a Rondo.  In each, “Burn” displays the technical virtuosity of the alto saxophone as it dances through shifting meters, blazing sextuplet runs, and even a latin section to bring to life this charming, 5 minute composition.  

Sound file of the Wind Band version found here

I. Allegro Spiritoso

II. One-Minute Waltz

III. Yuletide Chorale

IV. Fughetta Learn More

SATB

Composed for Saxophone Quartet (SATB), this piece is in 3 movements:

I. Billy Boy

II. A Story That Has No End...

III. A Frog Went a-Courtin'

Many of the immigrants who settled in the Appalachian Mountains of the American southeast came from the British Isles.  They brought with them folksongs that evolved, over long periods of time, into favorite American songs.  John Jay Hilfiger has used three of these songs as the basis for the three movements of this work.  The settings are not in typical folksong style.  Instead, each tune is treated in a unique way, expanded upon, and shaped in an idiomatic way for the instruments.  The result is a work in which the superposition of familiar tunes with unexpected contrasts offers a new perspective on well-known melodies that are shared among all the players.