Woodwind Ensemble

2 Flutes, Oboe, 3 Clarinets, Bass Clarinet and Bassoon; from "Christmas Cantata" Learn More

For 2 Oboes and English Horn, "Five Elfin Dances" is a fun piece that works best in a recital setting.  The movements include:

I. The Busy Village

II. Cautious Explorers

III. Dance in the Glen

IV. The Princess's Song

V. Bound for Home

Program notes from the composer:

These miniatures began as musical doodling, written for fun during breaks from work on larger pieces.  I have no idea why, but the first three pieces feature fleeting quotes from J. S. Bach.

These pieces were played several times soon after they were completed, including one performance for a class of 5th-graders at a local elementary school. In the days following that performance, the three musicians received several cards from the students.  One girl wrote, "Thanks for coming.  I was going to play the oboe but now I have decided not to."  It's a wonderful thing to be able to influence a young life with one's music.

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2 Flutes, 3 Clarinets and Bass Clarinet; Sing, my Soul to God the Lord Learn More

2 Flts, Ob, Bsn, 3 Clts, Bass Clt, A. Sax, T. Sax and B. Sax Learn More

This trio for Oboe, Alto Saxophone, and Piano was commissioned by Dr. Debra McKim, Professor of Music at Hastings College in Nebraska.  Each movement of this piece is based on a different synthetic scale. 

The first movement is based on a five-note scale that includes the notes of a half-diminished chord plus the major second.  Harmonic motion is created by transposing the scale up by minor thirds every measure, then every two beats, and finally every beat. 

The second movement is based on a symmetrical six-note scale that include three half-steps:  B, C, Eb, E, G, Ab.  The scale remains the same throughout the movement, without modulation.  Augmented harmonies are created by building chords from every other note of the scale. 

The third movement uses the same six-note scale throughout: Db, E, F, F#, A, C. Harmonic motion is very limited in this movement

This is an excellent for a college recital.

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From "Le Nozze di Lammermoor" composed in 1829, this aria has been arranged for Clarinet, Voice and Piano. It is simply gorgeous and perfect for any recital. Learn More

"Skylines," version for woodwind sextet by Howard J. Buss, was originally composed for trumpet and piano during the Fall of 2002. This version for woodwind sextet was commissioned in 2019 by Victoria Ward Ltd. in memory of clarinetist David Marshall. It is scored for flute, oboe, English horn, clarinet, bass clarinet and bassoon. An additional bassoon part is provided as a substitute for part 5, the bass clarinet. Cast in two movements, it is a picturesque musical urban portrait. Skylines is loosely programmatic in that no specific city is depicted; rather, the composer captures, in a broad manner, the essence of the big city spectacle. The lyrical and majestic first movement, Panorama, suggests the expansive grandeur of cityscape. The second, Amid the Spires, is hugely influenced by jazz and captures the dynamic energy of life on the busy streets. Learn More

For Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon and Harpsichord, this "Sonata da Chiesa" is in four movements

1.Es ist ein’ Ros entsprungen (Lo, How a Rose e’er Blooming)

2. Vom Himmel hoch, da komm’ ich her (From Heaven Above to Earth I Come)

3. Joseph lieber, Joseph mein (Joseph Dearest, Joseph Mine)

4. In Dulci Jubilo (Good Christian Men, Rejoice)

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Flt, Ob, 2 Clts, Alto and Ten. Sax and B. Clt Learn More

Flute, Oboe, Alto Saxophone, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet and Bassoon

“I have been very fortunate and professionally blessed to have five wonderful woodwind colleagues at Arizona State University: Elizabeth Buck, flute; Christopher Creviston, saxophone; Joshua Gardner, clarinet; Martin Schuring, oboe; and, Robert Spring, clarinet. Together, we presented numerous woodwind recitals featuring all six of us in various combinations of duos, trios, quartets, and quintets. However, until now, we were never able to share the stage simultaneously. To remedy this, I arranged five movements of Stravinsky’s Suite No. 1 and Suite No. 2 for Small Orchestra for the instrumentation of the ASU woodwind faculty.

The source material is derived from Igor Stravinsky’s Three Easy Pieces (1915) and Five Easy Pieces (1917). These compositions were written as four-hand piano educational pieces for Stravinsky’s children. Stravinsky would play the more difficult accompaniments while his children played the simple melodies.

Stravinsky composed arrangements of several movements using these short eight pieces, but the best-known arrangements are Suite No. 1 (1921) and Suite No. 2 (1925) for Small Orchestra. The five dance movements in Suite for Woodwind Sextet are “true Stravinsky” in their wit, charm, and humor. “

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2 Flutes, Oboe, 3 Clarinets, Bass Clarinet, 2 Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Bari Saxophone and Bassoon Learn More

2 Flutes, Oboe, 3 Clarinets, Bass Clarinet, 2 Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Bari Saxophone and Bassoon Learn More