Better Place

SKU: HL.1445404

UPC: 196288206330.

After a two-decade recording hiatus, *NSYNC was back on the charts in 2023 with a new smash hit. Featured in Trolls Band Together, â??Better Placeâ? combines catchy, feel-good lyrics and a driving disco-pop beat to cast a spell that's nostalgic yet new. With typical panache, Alan Billingsley captures the infectious spirit of the original in an exciting, approachable choral arrangement. Nothing but fun for singers and audience alike!

SKU: HL.1445403

UPC: 196288206323. 6.75x10.5 inches.

After a two-decade recording hiatus, *NSYNC was back on the charts in 2023 with a new smash hit. Featured in Trolls Band Together, “Better Place” combines catchy, feel-good lyrics and a driving disco-pop beat to cast a spell that's nostalgic yet new. With typical panache, Alan Billingsley captures the infectious spirit of the original in an exciting, approachable choral arrangement. Nothing but fun for singers and audience alike!

SKU: HL.119263

UPC: 884088907020. 6.75x10.5 inches.

Written by Broadway composer Andrew Lippa while serving as Composer-in-Residence at Texas State University in 2011 in support of the “It Gets Better” project, this uplifting song is a powerful work of affirmation and inclusion to anyone who has ever been bullied or felt out of place.

SKU: CF.SPS82F

ISBN 9781491153277. UPC: 680160910779.

Resignation was composed in memory of one of Ed Kiefer's best friends. Evoking the struggle of coming to grips with the loss of a dear friend, the piece is based on the hymn, My Shepherd Will Supply My Need. It is dramatic, heartfelt, and overwhelmingly beautiful. As Hans Christian Andersen once said, When words fail, music speaks..
Dr. David S. Kirby Commission Consortium Phillip Riggs, Commission CoordinatorNorthwest District Bandmasters AssociationRodney Workman, Past-Chair Andrew Jimeson, ChairWestern North Carolina Bandmasters AssociationAllen Klaes, ChairNorth Carolina School of Science and MathPhillip Riggs, DirectorA.C. Reynolds High School BandSean Smith, DirectorSouth Caldwell High School BandJason Childers, DirectorJay M. Robinson Symphonic BandAndrew Carter, DirectorApex High School BandDaniel Jarvis, DirectorPanther Creek High School BandDavid Robinson, DirectorEastern Randolph High School BandCarolina Perez, DirectorStanley County Concert Band/Pfeiffer University Concert BandCarmella Hedrick, Tim Hedrick and Frank Poolos, DirectorsLenoir Rhyne University Wind SymphonyDr. Daniel Kiser, ConductorDr. Christopher NegrelliNumerous colleagues, fellow teachers, and former studentsProgram NotesThere is no possible way I could compose a piece of music worthy of the memory of my close friend, Dr. David Kirby, who died very suddenly at an early age. Neither could I write a piece that could come close to reflecting his kind spirit, wit, personality or talent. In fact, it was almost impossible for me to write anything at all. My own grief and the stages of my grief kept getting in the way. I ended up with a setting of the hymn-tune, Resignation. Resigned.  To the fact that he is no longer with us. I know he is in a better place, but we are not. We miss him very much. And so, My Shepherd Will Supply My Need seems to speak to those of us he left behind. I apologize if this piece does not reflect your special feelings for him or help you celebrate his moving on. Unfortunately, I could only put down what I have come to accept and hope in some way it may speak to any of you that knew him or to others of you who have also lost a close friend. My Shepherd Will Supply My Need. That is my hope and my hope for you.Although technically very easy, this composition requires a maturity of musicianship to be performed properly. The Bb contrabass clarinet part is integral to the composition, but there are cues in the tuba part if you need them.  Make sure you bring horns to the fore at m. 53 and the low brass at m. 59 so the melody can be heard without effort. Exaggerate dynamics to bring more emotion to the piece. Be careful not to diminuendo too soon near the end or it will be difficult to diminish even further at the very end, where the lone clarinetist holds over a couple of measures, fading into nothing. I hope your students will enjoy this piece and take from it a greater appreciation for the way making music can express feelings.

SKU: CF.SPS82

ISBN 9781491152591. UPC: 680160910090. Key: Bb major.

Resignation was composed in memory of one of Ed Kiefer's best friends. Evoking the struggle of coming to grips with the loss of a dear friend, the piece is based on the hymn, My Shepherd Will Supply My Need. It is dramatic, heartfelt, and overwhelmingly beautiful. As Hans Christian Andersen once said, When words fail, music speaks..
Dr. David S. Kirby Commission Consortium Phillip Riggs, Commission CoordinatorNorthwest District Bandmasters AssociationRodney Workman, Past-Chair Andrew Jimeson, ChairWestern North Carolina Bandmasters AssociationAllen Klaes, ChairNorth Carolina School of Science and MathPhillip Riggs, DirectorA.C. Reynolds High School BandSean Smith, DirectorSouth Caldwell High School BandJason Childers, DirectorJay M. Robinson Symphonic BandAndrew Carter, DirectorApex High School BandDaniel Jarvis, DirectorPanther Creek High School BandDavid Robinson, DirectorEastern Randolph High School BandCarolina Perez, DirectorStanley County Concert Band/Pfeiffer University Concert BandCarmella Hedrick, Tim Hedrick and Frank Poolos, DirectorsLenoir Rhyne University Wind SymphonyDr. Daniel Kiser, ConductorDr. Christopher NegrelliNumerous colleagues, fellow teachers, and former studentsProgram NotesThere is no possible way I could compose a piece of music worthy of the memory of my close friend, Dr. David Kirby, who died very suddenly at an early age. Neither could I write a piece that could come close to reflecting his kind spirit, wit, personality or talent. In fact, it was almost impossible for me to write anything at all. My own grief and the stages of my grief kept getting in the way. I ended up with a setting of the hymn-tune, Resignation. Resigned.  To the fact that he is no longer with us. I know he is in a better place, but we are not. We miss him very much. And so, My Shepherd Will Supply My Need seems to speak to those of us he left behind. I apologize if this piece does not reflect your special feelings for him or help you celebrate his moving on. Unfortunately, I could only put down what I have come to accept and hope in some way it may speak to any of you that knew him or to others of you who have also lost a close friend. My Shepherd Will Supply My Need. That is my hope and my hope for you.Although technically very easy, this composition requires a maturity of musicianship to be performed properly. The Bb contrabass clarinet part is integral to the composition, but there are cues in the tuba part if you need them.  Make sure you bring horns to the fore at m. 53 and the low brass at m. 59 so the melody can be heard without effort. Exaggerate dynamics to bring more emotion to the piece. Be careful not to diminuendo too soon near the end or it will be difficult to diminish even further at the very end, where the lone clarinetist holds over a couple of measures, fading into nothing. I hope your students will enjoy this piece and take from it a greater appreciation for the way making music can express feelings.

SKU: HL.49017441

9.0x12.0x0.376 inches.

This composition evolved from an improvisation played by Petr Eben himself on numerous concert tours across Europe. Now the printed version long awaited by many organists has been published. The fourteen pieces are based on themes taken from the book by the same name by the humanist philosopher, educational theorist and theologist Johann Amos Comenius (1592-1670). Eben writes about the piece: 'The pilgrim who wanders through the labyrinth of the world finds nothing here to delight him and turns his heart towards God. What touches me most about Comenius' view is his tireless striving to make the world a better place. The whole atmosphere of the text is not that of an idyllic stroll through the world, but of a satirical, bizarre and sometimes even apocalyptic vision.'.

SKU: HL.282926

UPC: 888680790875. 5.0x5.0x0.148 inches.

Here's a Tom Cochrane hit from 1991 which gained renewed popularity when covered by Rascal Flatts in the Disney Pixar film Cars. This upbeat driving rock song reminds us all to do the best we can at all times. This wonderful new arrangement with positive lyrics can become a theme song for your young musicians and a reminder to the audience to do their best to make this world a better place.