Woodwind

Flute. Oboe or Clarinet and Bassoon

I. Inception

II. Interruption

III. Conversation

IV. Resolution

with Piano

Alison Stuart is the nom de plume (using their middle names) for the composing team of Debra Alexander and James Grant, both award-winning artists and dedicated teachers who have joined forces to compose melodically lyrical and harmonically rich new music specifically for, but not limited to, middle and high school bands, string orchestras and recitalists. Their music is available exclusively through Potenza Music Publishers.

With a memorable melody and a rich harmonic underpinning, this version of At Peace: Commemoration for clarinet and piano celebrates and honors the historical events and significant people who have passed from our lives. Originally composed for band, At Peace: Commemoration was commissioned by Lead Commissioner Dr. Josh Byrd and the University of West Georgia Wind Ensemble, with assistance from a consortium of participating commissioning ensembles.

This version of At Peace: Commemoration includes three separate clarinet parts to accommodate players of all levels: those who are in their early studies; those who are playing at the intermediate level; and those who are more advanced. The piano accompaniment remains the same in all three versions. The intermediate and advanced versions of the clarinet part simply extend the range and rhythmic palette.

Autumn Winds for Oboe is meant to capture the many moods of the fall season. The unique feature of the piece, the quickly alternating tempo markings provide both a challenge for the player but also quickly take the listener through the range of emotions we experience as the leaves fall and the wind blows on a crisp Autumn day. For some, it can be exciting and invigorating as the air dries and the colors change in the trees around us. For others, fall brings more solemn feelings as the warm weather fades and we look ahead to the days of waning sunlight. Autumn winds should provide each audience member with their own personal memories of fall and the proper feelings they wish to experience while listening. Learn More

Written for Campbellsville University's Quarteto Gracioso as a showpiece, this work was largely inspired by pop, R&B, and jazz influences. Following a basic rondo format, the theme is presented in a typical verse-chorus set up with the episodes in full out blues style. The second flute part is written in a way to allow the performer room to incorporate improvised beat-box techniques. This piece is sure to awaken the inner hip-hop artists of the audience and performers.

- Seth Johnson

with Piano

Jonathan Russell’s Bass Clarinet Double Concerto for two solo bass clarinets, with piano reduction of the orchestra was composed and premiered in 2007 and features the instrument in many different capacities. The composer had the Weber Clarinet Concertos and Heavy Metal music in mind while composing this remarkable Double Concerto. He employs many different musical elements, including improvisation, asymetrical meters, and lyrical phrasing.

with Clarinet Ensemble:

E-flat Clarinet, 4 B-flat Clarinets, 2 Bass Clarinets and Contrabass Clarinet

Composer Jonathan Russell writes, “My basic idea when I conceived of the Bass Clarinet Double Concerto was the Weber Clarinet Concertos meet heavy metal music. On the one hand, I have spent many hours over the years practicing Weber’s clarinet concertos and have always enjoyed the over-the-top virtuosity and flashiness of these pieces. On the other, I have been a fan since middle school of Guns N’ Roses, Metallica and other hard rock and heavy metal bands, and I already channel heavy metal through the bass clarinet as a member of the Edmund Welles bass clarinet quartet. When it came to writing a bass clarinet double concerto, it thus seemed logical (to me) to try and combine the heaviness and raw power of heavy metal with the dancing virtuosity and lyricism of Weber’s concertos… The piece was composed for my bass clarinet duo Sqwonk, and was premiered in December 2007 by Sqwonk and the San Francisco Composers’ Chamber Orchestra.”

These duos are designed to provide an enjoyable and pedagogically sound context in the study of orchestral excerpts for bassoon. By learning both parts of the duets, you should develop a better sense of the harmonies and rhythms that are present in other parts of the orchestra. Each piece is designed to have clear beginnings, endings, and transitions so that the arrangement feels like a short piece, rather than a collection of disjointed excerpts. In order to accomplish this, I have added and modified some material based on the original orchestral parts.

Volume 1 contains music that is fairly technically accessible, while Volume 2 is considerably more challenging. If your goal is to use these duos to help familiarize yourself with these excerpts before you have all the technical skills needed, then you may try starting with some of the easier accompaniments or try simplifying some of the solos by changing tempos, octaves, articulations, etc.

Duets included:

Giuseppe Verdi – Quid sum miser from Requiem                                                                 

Ludwig van Beethoven – Ode to Joy from Symphony No. 9                                                  

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Canzona from Symphony No. 4                                                    

Johannes Brahms – Violin Concerto Movement II                                                               

Paul Dukas – The Sorceror’s Apprentice                                                                              

Felix Mendelssohn – Symphony No. 4 Movement II                                                            

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Symphony No. 6                                                                        

Gustav Mahler – Symphony No. 1 Movement III                                                                 

Ludwig van Beethoven – Violin Concerto Movement II                                                       

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Waltz from Symphony No. 5                                                       

Johannes Brahms – Haydn Variations                                                                                

Georges Bizet – Les Dragons d’Alcala, Entr’acte from Carmen Act II                                   

Edvard Grieg – In the Hall of the Mountain King from Peer Gynt Suite #1, Op. 46                 

Jean Sibelius – Andante from Symphony No. 2                                                                  

Hector Berlioz – March to the Scaffold from Symphonie Fantastique