Wind Band Literature Project

Omaha Symphonic Winds, a select 55-member adult concert band, is completing its third concert season and making plans for its concerts next year.

The ensemble, formed in 2009, consists of band directors, music teachers, retired military musicians, and area professionals. OSW is conducted by its founder, Dr. William Hall, a former trombonist with The United States Army Band (Pershing’s Own) and with The United States Army Field Band. Most recently Hall was director of bands at Dana College in Blair, NE. Dr. Hall holds degrees from The Ohio State University, The Catholic University of America, and Kent State University.

Omaha Symphonic Winds programs outstanding works for symphonic band and orchestras by recognized composers. OSW seeks to present polished performances on a limited number of rehearsals, so the choice of literature is critical. The musicians need to be challenged while enjoying the pieces, and the audience needs to be able to relate immediately to most of the pieces on a program.

The ensemble’s repertoire through three seasons includes standard symphonic band works, such as: Gustav Holst’s First and Second Suites, Dmitri Shostakovich’s Festive Overture, Malcolm Arnold’s Four Scottish Dances, Clifton Williams’ Symphonic Dance, No. 3 (Fiesta) and Festival, Darius Milhaud’s Suite Française, Norman Dello Joio’s Variants on a Mediaeval Tune, Robert Jager’s Esprit de Corps, Samuel Barber’s Commando March, Alfred Reed’s Hounds of Spring and Russian Christmas Music, Sir Arthur Sullivan’s Pineapple Poll, Vaclav Nelhybel’s Symphonic Movement, and Jack Stamp’s Pastime.

OSW has also performed several orchestral transcriptions, such as: Finale to the Kalinnikov Symphony No. 3, Finale to the Tchaikovsky Symphony, No. 4, Finlandia by Jean Sibelius, Overture to The Barber of Seville by Rossini, Mannin Veen by Haydn Wood, Early Light by Carolyn Bremer, and Leonard Bernstein’s Overture to Candide.

As OSW considers it’s fourth concert season, and the need to extend its list of repertoire, it seems incumbent on me, as conductor, to learn more pieces that are within our rehearsal/performance ability. I began thinking of developing a systematic process for discovery and a method of documenting the process.

Here’s an outline of the process I will use.

Limitations of the Study: The music selected for study must be:
a. Not well-known to William Hall
b. In difficulty level grades 4-5
c. Serious literature by respected composers
d. Listed in the National Band Association Select Music List, and/or
e. Listed in the Wind Repertory Project
f. Consistent with mission of OSW, that is:
i. playable in 4 rehearsals
ii. symphonic band as opposed to wind ensemble in nature
iii. attractive to mature musicians
iv. accessible to audiences

Method of the Study:
g. Locate and list possible works from NBA/Wind Band Rep lists
h. Prioritize the list
i. Seek out recordings (already in hand/iTunes download)
j. Acquire scores
k. Search for reviews/notes/score studies
l. Select one piece per week
i. listen repeatedly (at least once per day)
ii. view the score while listening
iii. read reviews/notes/score studies
iv. evaluate the piece for suitability

Blog about experience.

Program selected pieces.

In regards to my blogging goal, today is the first post. I hope to post once weekly with my findings. Perhaps next week’s blog will list the works I’ve chosen for the study. Please feel free to recommend works and to send me .mp3 recordings and .pdf scores. Also, please alert me to other blogs and websites that discuss wind band music.