“Why Not?” is the most well-known piece by Dominican Republic pianist/composer Michel Camilo. It appeared for the fist time on his 1984 album record “French Toast”. He re-recorded it in 1985 for the “Why Not?”-album whoich is among his best-selling to date. The song has also been recorded by other artist like the vocal group The Manhattan Transfer. “Why Not?” ia a modern latin-jazz classic and this demaning arrangement for Brass Band captures the featureless and musical challenges of the original piece.

In Charge was commissioned by the Home Guard Band of Eksjö to honour Thomas Samuelsson whose efforts with the orchestra have been of great significance. He was a driving person within Swedish military music and furthermore project manager for Eksjö International Tattoo. Thomas worked at Eksjö Energy and the title of this work hints both to his occupation and his administrative leadership in the band. The first part of this concert march concentrates a lot on syncopation while the second part is more robust with a traditional and lyrical trio part. In Charge was premiered by the Home Guard Band of Eksjö on the 22th of December 2018 conducted by Maria Sandberg.

In Charge was commissioned by the Home Guard Band of Eksjö to honour Thomas Samuelsson whose efforts with the orchestra have been of great significance. He was a driving person within Swedish military music and furthermore project manager for Eksjö International Tattoo. Thomas worked at Eksjö Energy and the title of this work hints both to his occupation and his administrative leadership in the band. The first part of this concert march concentrates a lot on syncopation while the second part is more robust with a traditional and lyrical trio part. In Charge was premiered by the Home Guard Band of Eksjö on the 22th of December 2018 conducted by Maria Sandberg.

Folkloric Pastiche for Wind Band-Grim was commissioned by Sandviken Ungdomskorps in 1998. Grim is a folkloristic pastiche but also with a jazz-flavoured inspiration. The piece ends with the folk-music played on top of a theme from a march: Sandvikguttenes marsj to salute the band that commissioned the music. The title is taken from the word grimen a kind of troll that lives in water. He teaches fiddlers how to play if they offer him food a Thursday night in a north-faced waterfall.Grim was commissioned by Sandviken Ungdomskorps in 1998. Grim is a folkloristic pastiche but also with a jazz-flavoured inspiration. The piece ends with the folk-music played on top of a theme from a march: Sandvikguttenes marsj to salute the band that commissioned the music. The title is taken from the word grimen a kind of troll that lives in water. He teaches fiddlers how to play if they offer him food a Thursday night in a north-faced waterfall.

Homesickness-«Homesickness» is one of the wellknown old Russian marches of the imperial era. The march is in a minor key throughout and like so many other Russian marches it is based upon old patriotic songs. The march appears in different editions and variants. The first time I heard the march was on a record I bought in Berlin in the earley eighties but it was impossible at that time to obtain a printed copy for band this was long before Internet. Occasionally I later found a piano score in an antique store in Vienna. With help from this score and listening to the record I was able to make an arrangement. Later I have revised it and it is the revised version that is presentedhere. Skien January 4th 2019 Øyvind Strand

March in March-At last here is a joyful march for those who really enjoy playing marches in March! Challenges in all instrumental groups. At last here is a joyful march for those who really enjoy playing marches in March! Challenges in all instrumental groups.

for Concert Band-«Seid» (pronounced sayed was a divination ceremony practised by the Vikings which could be used to reveal knowledge of the future. During the ceremony woman sang incantations and the Seeress (Völva) passed into a kind of trance. In other arctic cultures similar ceremonies took place during which the Medicine man (Sage) or Shaman would beat a drum covered with magic runes and he too would pass into a trance reaching the deepest part of his own sub-consciousness - a journey beyond time and space... “Seid” was commissioned by The Norwegian Band Federation and European Brass Band Assosiation for the European Brass Band Championship in 1996. The version for Concert Bandwas commissioned by Frode Amundsen and Borge Musikkorps in 2018. Supported by NOPA (Norwegian Society of Composers and Lyricists)

Elegi - Solo for Trumpet

Ceremonial for Concert Band

Organ Sonata No. 1 in F Minor Op. 65

This piece is a kind of flashback on my experiences of my time as an amateur musician in my hometown of Gjøvik (often called “The White City”). It was at a time when the expressionas had to be created by myself and the music performed by the band (“The Liverflower”) was a kind of a voyage of discovery for a young boy. A lot of the music I played at that time has shaped me as composer and musician. I remember the beautiful melodies and the rhythmic passages with a nostalgic smile. Maybe this music can make an impression on new generations of band musicians.

Fantasy on My Heart remains in Wonder-This arrangement was commissioned by B3 (The Bergen Woodwind Ensemble). B3 is a large woodwind ensemble located in Bergen with a mix of professional and amateur players. My Heart Remains in Wonder is a well-known Christmas hymn in Scandinavia. I wanted my version to be different to the traditional hymn tune style in which it is normally performed. One day I was outside walking and this idea came to me: an ostinato-like mechanical skeleton of arpeggio semiquavers on which I could 'hang' the melody. However I also wanted to do the melody line a bit different. The inspiration for this comes from folk music and the way fiddlers hardly ever lift their bow off the strings when they play. Because of this it is important that the melody is played in a very sostenuto style in this arrangement. The harmonies lie somewhere between jazz and folk music with a little nod towards Grieg (himself heavily influenced by folk music) in the slow middle section.

The first time I heard Bach's Goldberg Variations was in the movie Silence of the lambs in the early 1990s. I noticed the beautiful background music in one of the scenes but at that time I didn't know what it was. A few years later when I was studiying at the Grieg Academy I got to know the entire piece. For me this is a piece of music which I can listen to countless times. I think it sounds as fresh today as it did more than 15 years ago and it never ceases to inspire me. Both Bach's composition and Glenn Gould's famous 1955 recording (which was the first one I heard) still makes a great impression on me. Before Gould recorded it at age 22 it wasn't a highly ranked piece amongst pianists and Bach was by many viewed as a bit old-fashioned. The young Canadian turned all this around. He managed to portray Bach in a reformed way producing fine nuances in phrasing and making the many layers in Bach's music more transparent than anyone before him. Thus he plunged both himself and Bach (back) onto the international music scene. When The Norwegian Band Federation (NMF) asked me to write the test piece for NM in 2012 it was only natural for me to use the Goldberg Variations as a starting point and inspiration for my work. Since I was a teenager at NMF's summer courses in the mid eighties I've always listened to many different styles of music. Growing up in Sunnmøre with the Brazz Brothers as teachers and mentors jazz- pop/rock- and folk music were early on a natural part of my musical background. I also have my classical education from the Grieg Academy on trumpet. As the title of my piece implies I've wanted to bring Bach to the present and put his music into various modern musical landscapes. I think you can bring about a special kind of energy when music from different genres are mixed and I've tried to do this by mixing Bach with artists and musical styles from the present. In Goldberg 2012 the music is often constructed by several layers which in a way are living parallel musical lives. They are seemingly moving or floating freely almost unaware of each other but bound together by the same basic pulse. The rythms however are often notated on a different rythmic subdivision level than the usual 8th- or 16th note levels. By doing this I hope to achieve transparent sounds that rythmically are perceived as more free and detached from each other. In large sections of the piece pop/jazz is fusioned with elements from Bach. I guess you could have this little scene as a synopsis for the piece: picture a group of musicians meeting: some are classical performers some are jazz. They start to improvise together each in their own voice or musical dialect and I'm sort of in the middle trying to write down what they are playing. This is what I feel much of Goldberg 2012 is about. The foundation of the piece in addition to Bach and references from pop/jazz music lies also in my own material. This materia

The Jazz Police

“Why Not?” is the most well-known piece by Dominican Republic pianist/composer Michel Camilo. It appeared for the fist time on his 1984 album record “French Toast”. He re-recorded it in 1985 for the “Why Not?”-album whoich is among his best-selling to date. The song has also been recorded by other artist like the vocal group The Manhattan Transfer. “Why Not?” ia a modern latin-jazz classic and this demaning arrangement for Concert Band captures the featureless and musical challenges of the original piece.

Good Night Suite - Suite in Five Movements-Good Night Suite is written for beginning band and suitable for the youngest musicians. The level of difficulty is at lowest grade and the rhythms are equal in all wind parts. The register on each instrument is also customized to each part. Some easy solos appears in some sections and in Mvt. 4 there are different rhythm in the melody and bass parts. The level of difficulty is the same for all five movements. The movements may of course be played as single pieces. When all movements are mastered it's possible to play the suite as a kind of fairytale with simple dramaturgy or choreography. Maybe the whole band can be dressed in their pajamas?

This is the main theme from the movie “Gåten Ragnarock” (2013) superbly composed by Norwegian composer Magnus Beite. The music is narrative with long melodic lines combined with a rhythmic drive. This arrangement tries to capture the symphonic expression from the original orchestral score. There are several unison lines. Intonation balance and phrasing are important to make these sounding as good as possible. Clear articulation in the rhythmic passages are also important. The piece is very evocative and may fit very well into any concert program.

This is really a powerhouse of a piece! Hard-driving rock’n roll at a high tempo with the Jazz Police at the heels… Please note the dynamics. Tempo and good articulation is a very big part of the energy of this piece. Fortissimo first appears at bar 113. A useful tip: It’s possible to practice this one also at lower dynamic levels.

Clifford Brown was a very promising trumpeter who played with the best ones when he was killed in a car accident only 25 years old. Benny Golson (tenor saxophone) played with him in Lionel Hampton's band and wrote this melody as a tribute to his colleague. The original was recorded by Donald Byrd in 1957. The melody was quickly picked up and recorded by a myriad of musicians and eventually lyrics was added. This varies a bit from recording to recording. This arrangement is based on the ability to use both vocal and instrumentalists as soloists. There are two different graded written solos for instrumentalists or they can play the melody and improvise on therepetition. It is important that the conductor make the shure that the balance in the accompaniment is good. Stylistically eighths are initially played even while there is a slight swing feeling in drums. Solo Options: Vokal Eb-Instruments grade 3 Eb-Instruments grade 4 Bb-Instruments grade 3 Bb-Instruments grade 4

Good Night Suite - Suite in Five Movements-Good Night Suite is written for beginning band and suitable for the youngest musicians. The level of difficulty is at lowest grade and the rhythms are equal in all wind parts. The register on each instrument is also customized to each part. Some easy solos appears in some sections and in Mvt. 4 there are different rhythm in the melody and bass parts. The level of difficulty is the same for all five movements. The movements may of course be played as single pieces. When all movements are mastered it's possible to play the suite as a kind of fairytale with simple dramaturgy or choreography. Maybe the whole band can be dressed in their pajamas?