BandQuest Series Grade 3-American Composer's Forum - BandQuest Series - Grade 3 Rhythm Stand pays tribute to the constant presence of rhythm in our lives: from the pulse of a heartbeat to the rhythmic sounds of the world aroundus. Celebrating the regular order in our lives composer Jennifer Higdon incorporates traditional and non-traditional sounds within a 4/4 swing style setting to heighten student awareness and enhance their creativity. Organized inunique compositional and rhythmic patterns this work invites students to explore multiple ways of organizing sounds and making music.

The Chinese Lunar New Year is a celebration of renewal and reconciliation. It is also a holiday steeped in ancient melodies and traditions. Composer Chen Yi's piece captures the spirit of this month-long event and brings Chineseculture and customs to the traditional band setting. (Includes score parts and CD-ROM.)

BandQuest Series Grade 4- The Odyssey was written by Homer about 2700 years ago and tells of the adventures of the Greek hero Odysseus during his harrowing return trip home after fighting the Trojan Wars. This work is suggestive of his dramaticencounter with the sirens famous for luring sailors to their death with their beguiling wind-like song. In this descriptive piece you can hear the wind-song becoming evermore insistent the rocking of the ship Odysseus' screams and finally the sirens plunging to their death as they fail in their attempt to lure Odysseus.

Composed by 2012 Pulitzer Prize-winner Kevin Puts Charm is a short joyful piece written in the meter 7/8. Of the title Puts writes I decided to call it Charm because for me the music conjures up magic good-luck charms and such and I was also thinking of the other meaning of the word that intangible quality possessed by certain people and places that truly can cast a spell. Free interdisciplinary curriculum for thepiece is available for download at www.BandQuest.org.

BandQuest-Inspired by the ever-popular snack Pop! is a grade 3 band piece by composer Tawnie Olson that imitates the sounds popping popcorn beginning with that first single kernel to the exploding sounds of an overflowing pot. Through the use of imitation additive processes playful articulation and the development of tune fragments Olson crafted a piece that is relatable and great fun to play. Pop! also has an aleatoric passage that gives young performers the opportunity to co-compose by improvising sounds that suggest of pop of popcorn in the making. BandQuest« an exciting series of new music and accompanying curricula for band is a program published by the American Composers Forum.The series was started as a response to feedback from music educators that there is a pressing need for new fresh band music. The heart of this program is new works written by a diverse group of leading American composers who have created challenging pieces that are a true departure from standard middle school repertoire. Every BandQuest project includes a residency component in which the composer works collaboratively with a middle school as they create their new piece. Many BandQuest pieces are accompanied by an interdisciplinary curriculum designed to assist students as they learn the music and to integrate each piece with non-music studies. Visit www.bandquest.org to learn more about this innovative series and email bandquest@composersforum.org to request a free downloadable audio catalog.

Deep Dish

BandQuest Series Grade 3-American Composer's Forum - BandQuest Series - Grade 3 Mosaic is an aural representation of the varied qualities each of us possess and contribute to the whole of our American society. As a kaleidoscopeof various musical elements coming together this work evokes a visual of mosaics - tiny tiles individually glued together to create a broader image. Composer Stephen Paulus integrates layers of sound with varying metersthat feature every instrument in the band.

BandQuest Series Grade 4.5- Smash the Windows is a vigorous piece full of energy and motion. The work is based on a traditional Irish jig with the same name. Robert Xavier Rodríguez calls the piece a toccata moto perpetuo themusic gradually builds from its quiet beginning to a brilliant flourish that with sound effects truly befits the title.

Libby Larsen's composition is a great way to engage students in the lives and histories of some of modern music's most influential contributors. From Sedalia Missouri to Ghana and the Ivory Coast Hambone combines three styles ofmusic: hambone rhythms cakewalk melodies and early rock-and-roll. Join in the fun with this rousing and rollicking piece! (Includes score parts and CD-ROM.) Free interdisciplinary curriculum for the piece is available fordownload at http://www.BandQuest.org.

Three-Part Treble with Optional Hand Percussion-When I Sing is a new ChroalQuest work by Rosephanye Powell that expresses the joys of choral singing! The text written in collaboration with the girls chorus of Auburn Junior High School in Alabama moves from I to We in this rhythmic soulful piece and gives young singers the opportunity to experiment with circle song structure. ChoralQuest« an exciting series of new music and accompanying curricula for middle-level choir is a program published by the American Composers Forum. The series is designed to breathe new life into the available repertoire for choral students in middle school and junior high. At the heart of this program are new works written by a diverse group ofleading American composers who have created challenging pieces that are a true departure from standard middle school repertoire. Based on the success of ACF's decade-long BandQuest« program ChoralQuest has a residency component in which the composer works collaboratively with a middle school as they create their new piece. Visit www.choralquest.org to learn more about this innovative series and emailchoralquest@composersforum.org to request a free downloadable audio catalog.

Composer Alex Shapiro's piece Paper Cut is reminiscent of a movie soundtrack to which the musicians can imagine their own dramatic scene. Paper Cut is written to make the players themselves part of the action withchoreographed maneuvers that look as compelling as they sound. In fact the band members don't even play their instruments until halfway into the piece - instead they play paper along with a prerecorded track!The unusual element of paper and the myriad sounds that can emerge from something so simple offers a fresh view of what music-making can be and opens everyone's ears to the sonic possibilities found among everyday objects.Although Paper Cut was composed with middle schoolers in mind it's also suited to more advanced musicians since the paper techniques and the skill of playing against a prerecorded track are interesting for all ages.

BandQuest Series Grade 3.5-Composer Chris Brubeck wrote Ghost Walk as part of his BandQuest residency at West Rocks Middle School in Connecticut. The piece combines Brubeck's lifelong experiences with both jazz and classical idioms creating a workthat's as fun to play as it is to hear. The title was inspired by the wedding of Brubeck's son at Gettysburg College which hosts a ghost walk as well as the minor mode and haunting atmosphere of the piece. (Grade3.5) Dur: 3:10

BandQuest-Inspired by the ever-popular snack Pop! is a grade 3 band piece by composer Tawnie Olson that imitates the sounds popping popcorn beginning with that first single kernel to the exploding sounds of an overflowing pot. Through the use of imitation additive processes playful articulation and the development of tune fragments Olson crafted a piece that is relatable and great fun to play. Pop! also has an aleatoric passage that gives young performers the opportunity to co-compose by improvising sounds that suggest of pop of popcorn in the making. BandQuest« an exciting series of new music and accompanying curricula for band is a program published by the American Composers Forum.The series was started as a response to feedback from music educators that there is a pressing need for new fresh band music. The heart of this program is new works written by a diverse group of leading American composers who have created challenging pieces that are a true departure from standard middle school repertoire. Every BandQuest project includes a residency component in which the composer works collaboratively with a middle school as they create their new piece. Many BandQuest pieces are accompanied by an interdisciplinary curriculum designed to assist students as they learn the music and to integrate each piece with non-music studies. Visit www.bandquest.org to learn more about this innovative series and email bandquest@composersforum.org to request a free downloadable audio catalog.

Steps Ahead is a new BandQuest work by Michael Gandolfi that takes young players on a journey! Along the way there are musical/compositional techniques that are intended to educate the performers about basic compositional techniques that areintended to educate the performers about basic compositional techniques. “Steps Ahead is a delightful piece with something interesting for every instrument in the ensemble. Each of its three sections addresses a kind of compositional technique –transposition tutti (a 2-part homophonic section) and developing tutti (parts of the band enter to build to a 2-part homophonic tutti). Less experienced players might enjoy the challenges of easy syncopation and musical lines constructed with largerintervals.” –Tom Duffy series editor.BandQuest® an exciting series of new music and accompanying curricula for band is a program published by the American Composers Forum. The series was started as a response to feedback from music educators that there is a pressing need for new fresh band music. The heart of this program is new works written by a diverse group of leading American composers who have created challenging pieces that are a true departure from standard middle school repertoire. Visit www.bandquest.org to learnmore about this innovative series and email bandquest@composersforum.orgto request a free downloadable audio catalog.

BandQuest Series Grade 4.5-In her tone poem City Rain Judith Zaimont captures the spirit and vitality of a summer shower as it falls on a busy city street. This piece draws a lively picture of a passing storm and is unified by the jazz-like rhythmicmotive based on the pattern of the title words city rain. Zaimont paints the image of rain through the rhythmic motive and the use of body percussion and alternative instruments (such as tapping patterns on musicstands). As the music unfolds each section of the band is spotlighted at different times. The instruments also join together to produce layers of sound that create interesting and complex jazz chords.

Eye of the Hawk

Steps Ahead is a new BandQuest work by Michael Gandolfi that takes young players on a journey! Along the way there are musical/compositional techniques that are intended to educate the performers about basic compositional techniques that areintended to educate the performers about basic compositional techniques. “Steps Ahead is a delightful piece with something interesting for every instrument in the ensemble. Each of its three sections addresses a kind of compositional technique –transposition tutti (a 2-part homophonic section) and developing tutti (parts of the band enter to build to a 2-part homophonic tutti). Less experienced players might enjoy the challenges of easy syncopation and musical lines constructed with largerintervals.” –Tom Duffy series editor.BandQuest® an exciting series of new music and accompanying curricula for band is a program published by the American Composers Forum. The series was started as a response to feedback from music educators that there is a pressing need for new fresh band music. The heart of this program is new works written by a diverse group of leading American composers who have created challenging pieces that are a true departure from standard middle school repertoire. Visit www.bandquest.org to learnmore about this innovative series and email bandquest@composersforum.orgto request a free downloadable audio catalog.

American Composer's Forum - BandQuest Series - Grade 3 Rhythm Stand pays tribute to the constant presence of rhythm in our lives: from the pulse of a heartbeat to the rhythmic sounds of the world aroundus. Celebrating the regular order in our lives composer Jennifer Higdon incorporates traditional and non-traditional sounds within a 4/4 swing style setting to heighten student awareness and enhance their creativity. Organized inunique compositional and rhythmic patterns this work invites students to explore multiple ways of organizing sounds and making music.

From the composer: Nature's Way for intermediate level band was commissioned by BandQuest a project initiated by the American Composers Forum. Their mission is for major composers of national reputation to writeworks of high quality that take into consideration the (still comparatively limited) levels of musical development--both technical and conceptual--typical of such ensembles. I eagerly accepted the commission and the challengesimplied thereby--that is to reign in my creative imagination to some extent and limit the technical/conceptual demands to a more moderate level than is to be found in my previous compositions for band. Nonetheless since theprocess of rehearsing studying and performing a work created specifically for the school student market is--and must be in my view--primarily educational it was very clear to me that my work would (and should) challenge theplayers at least to their top levels and even a little beyond that. Thus Nature's Way in no way represents a compromise of my personal style nor my long held concepts of form continuity texture and instrumentation. Ihave known for a long time that young inquisitive minds are eager to learn from new experiences from previously never encountered challenges that is to say to be pushed--gently--to rise above their present levels ofachievement. That's what education is all about.

Letter from Sado is an exciting new piece for young band based on a Japanese haiku of the same name. Sado refers to Sado Island in Japan in which various artists religious and military leaders were sent in exile many years ago. The island hashistorically had a strong community of taiko drummers and as such the piece incorporates optional homemade taiko drums. Blackshaw writes: “To capture the idea of interpretation and the concept of reading between the lines the students are invitedto become decision makers about particular sections in the music. For example the opening and closing sections of the piece use the same material which is a selection of repeated melodic figures. The students themselves decide how to play thesefigures as individuals in small teams and then as a whole band. Their decisions include ideas regarding tempo (how fast?) dynamics (how loud?) and articulation (smooth short or hard?). To inspire them we use the haiku poem; i.e. the openingsection invites the students to play the material as if it were a stormy wild sea and the closing section invites the students to play the same melodic figures but this time draw their inspiration from Heavens River or as we know it the MilkyWay. In-between there is an elaborate heavily textured section that becomes increasingly powerful. The music doesnt rest harmonically until the whole band plays in unison. These multiple layers of sound represent the many thoughts and ideas thatwould have surrounded those individuals sent to Sado Island in exile the final unison is representative of their own breakthrough experience sending them on a pathway to inner peace and acceptance.” Embrace your players creativity offer them yourtrust and see how far Letter from Sado can take your band!