On November 2, I’m leading a band reading session at the Music Conservatory of Westchester for the Westchester County Arts Leadership Association. I was asked to pick music from a range of grade levels that I liked. I tried to go beyond that and pick music from relatively unknown or up-and-coming composers that not only spanned the grade level spectrum, but was also uniformly fun to play. I also managed to find a handful of pieces that were unconventionally published. I trust that you’ll find several pieces on this list worth a look.
Flight of the Banshee – Roland Barrett (grade 1/2 – Belwin Band)
Gentle Winds – Timothy Loest (grade 1/2 – FJH)
G-Force Five! – Ralph Ford (grade 1/2 – Belwin)
Chrysalis – Michael Story (grade 1 – Belwin)
The Gates of Destiny – Gary Fagan (grade 1 – Alfred)
Pride and Purpose – Patrick J. Burns (grade 1.5 – FJH)
Adrenaline Engines – Randall Standridge (grade 2.5 – Grand Mesa)
Groundhog’s Lament – Daniel Kallman (grade 3 – Boosey & Hawkes)
Flat Rock March – Roger Vogel (grade 3 – Jon Ross Music)
Maiden Voyage – Shirley Mier (grade 3.5 – Grand Mesa)
Pentium – Peter Graham (grade 4 – Gramercy Music)
King Cotton – John Philip Sousa (grade 4 – Band Music PDF Library)
Galop – Daniel Kallman (grade 4.5 – kallmancreates.com)
Metropolitan Overture – Alexandre Travassos (grade 4.5 – e-mail composer)
September – Michael Mogensen (grade 5 – Barnhouse)
Xerxes – John Mackey (grade 5.5 – Osti Music)
Beacon Fires – Rob Smith (grade 5.5 – e-mail composer)
Monument Fanfare and Tribute – Philip Rothman (grade 6 – philiprothman.com)