Summer Triangle

SKU: CF.BPS129F

ISBN 9781491156254. UPC: 680160914791. 9 x 12 inches.

I wrote Belvidere Park in the summer of 2017. We had recently moved to Belvidere, Illinois, and a nice selling point was the close proximity to the park. That summer, I often took my oldest daughter on morning bike rides through the park, and the piece really took shape on those bike rides. My hope was to paint the beauty and majesty of the park in a work for developing bands.
I wrote Belvidere Park in the summer of 2017. We had recently moved to Belvidere, Illinois, and a nice selling point was the close proximity to the park. That summer, I often took my oldest daughter on morning bike rides through the park, and the piece really took shape on those bike rides. My hope was to paint the beauty and majesty of the park in a work for developing bands.

SKU: CF.CPS239F

ISBN 9781491157848. UPC: 680160916443. 9 x 12 inches.

The energy and drive of this piece uses simple time signatures of 4/4 and 3/4 and mixes groups of three notes and syncopation to the rhythm and the melody. There is also a use of a musical term called hemiola, when groups of two beats are replaced by groups of three beats, creating a shift between duple and triple meter. Syncopation adds a modern, jazzy, popular feel to this exciting concert band composition. Along with syncopation and popular influences are countermelodies to the main theme that are as important as the melody for balance and blend. This adds a feeling of baroque or renaissance style to the texture. Yet the melodies, chords, and structure are recognizable and enjoyable to listen to and perform. The middle 3/4 section is slightly slower featuring brass and saxophones and played legato. Then at the key change, it becomes more articulate and contrapuntal. The a tempo at m. 88 returns to the original thematic material, differing slightly from the beginning, and the coda has some added technical and challenging woodwind passages. The cymbal/triangle part has a lot of directions on choking, hi-hat sound, etc., that will add nice color to the piece if performed as indicated.
The energy and drive of this piece uses simple time signatures of 4/4 and 3/4 and mixes groups of three notes and syncopation to the rhythm and the melody. There is also a use of a musical term called hemiola, when groups of two beats are replaced by groups of three beats, creating a shift between duple and triple meter.  Syncopation adds a modern, jazzy, popular feel to this exciting concert band composition.Along with syncopation and popular influences are countermelodies to the main theme that are as important as the melody for balance and blend.  This adds a feeling of baroque or renaissance style to the texture. Yet the melodies, chords, and structure are recognizable and enjoyable to listen to and perform.  The middle 3/4 section is slightly slower featuring brass and saxophones and played legato. Then at the key change, it becomes more articulate and contrapuntal.  The a tempo at m. 88 returns to the original thematic material, differing slightly from the beginning, and the coda has some added technical and challenging woodwind passages. The cymbal/triangle part has a lot of directions on choking, hi-hat sound, etc., that will add nice color to the piece if performed as indicated.

SKU: CF.BPS147

ISBN 9781491163436. UPC: 680160922222.

What does the life of a lone warrior look like? What stories does he or she have to tell? This piece for beginning band depicts a lone warrior beginning a journey across an ancient land. This solitary warrior is joined by others on the way, and together they defend those who cannot defend themselves. Each warrior might have a different story and experience, and I would encourage young musicians to create their own through sharing verbally, writing a short story, or even creating a work of art (a picture depicting their warrior or creating a mask their warrior wears might aid in the telling of their warrior’s story).The Warrior’s Path is about one minute and twenty seconds in length, and the technical range (first six notes of the Bb concert scale) should be very comfortable for a student in their second semester of instrumental music instruction. There are some articulations indicated, but overall musicians should strive for a unified even articulation. Throughout the work, the snares should be turned off or directors can choose to substitute with a low concert tom. The piece can be performed with as few as five winds (e.g. Flute, Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, Trumpet and Trombone) and just four percussion (suggested Bells, Snare, Cymbal and Tambourine).The piece began as a flexible chamber piece during the summer of 2020 but has been reorchestrated for use by a full band in a traditional setting. It is my hope the piece provides a meaningful opportunity for students to tell a story through music and other creative outlets. The piece is dedicated to elementary band directors who have fought for their students and their programs each and every day. In their own way, they have been warriors of a different kind using a baton as their sword and their passion for music education and their students as a shield. Thank you in advance for your support of this music, and I wish you and your ensemble well as you take The Warrior’s Path.

SKU: CF.BPS147F

ISBN 9781491163832. UPC: 680160922628.

What does the life of a lone warrior look like? What stories does he or she have to tell? This piece for beginning band depicts a lone warrior beginning a journey across an ancient land. This solitary warrior is joined by others on the way, and together they defend those who cannot defend themselves. Each warrior might have a different story and experience, and I would encourage young musicians to create their own through sharing verbally, writing a short story, or even creating a work of art (a picture depicting their warrior or creating a mask their warrior wears might aid in the telling of their warrior’s story).The Warrior’s Path is about one minute and twenty seconds in length, and the technical range (first six notes of the Bb concert scale) should be very comfortable for a student in their second semester of instrumental music instruction. There are some articulations indicated, but overall musicians should strive for a unified even articulation. Throughout the work, the snares should be turned off or directors can choose to substitute with a low concert tom. The piece can be performed with as few as five winds (e.g. Flute, Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, Trumpet and Trombone) and just four percussion (suggested Bells, Snare, Cymbal and Tambourine).The piece began as a flexible chamber piece during the summer of 2020 but has been reorchestrated for use by a full band in a traditional setting. It is my hope the piece provides a meaningful opportunity for students to tell a story through music and other creative outlets. The piece is dedicated to elementary band directors who have fought for their students and their programs each and every day. In their own way, they have been warriors of a different kind using a baton as their sword and their passion for music education and their students as a shield. Thank you in advance for your support of this music, and I wish you and your ensemble well as you take The Warrior’s Path.

SKU: CF.YPS205F

ISBN 9781491152935. UPC: 680160910434.

Cornish Coastal Walk is a beautiful new composition depicting the majestic cliffs and coastline of the Cornwall region in England. Composer Michael Miller provides young bands with an opportunity to stretch their musical muscles with this lush and tuneful piece in 3/4 time. Directors will find in this piece a strong vehicle to teach phrasing, beauty of tone, and musicianship to young bands.
In the far southwest of England reaching out towards the Celtic Sea is the county Cornwall. A peninsula, Cornwall is surrounded by some of the world’s most picturesque scenery including beaches, cliffs, and rolling hills. Separated from the rest of England by the river Tamar, the Cornish take great pride in their culture including the pasty (a stuffed pastry and preferred lunch of miners), Cornish cream tea (not to be confused with rival Devon cream tea where the cream goes under the jam), and well known national heritage sights such as Rough Tor (Cornwall’s highest point), and Tintagel Castle (rumored birth place of King Arthur).In the spring and summer of 2017, I had the pleasure to visit Cornwall, while my wife was a visiting scholar at the University of Exeter in the neighboring county of Devon. One July afternoon, while she was making field observations (she’s a Cultural Anthropologist), I decided to take a stroll along the cliffs as was recommended by a friend. I set out from Boscastle, a small inlet village where one can enjoy the most delicious black currant ice cream, and I trekked up and down the cliffs for three or four miles before finally arriving in Tintagel. I had planned to continue on to Trebarwith Strand, home of the fantastic Port William tavern, but greatly underestimated the difficulty of the terrain.Along my walk I witnessed some of the most breathtaking views I have ever seen. The coast of this particular region of Cornwall is both majestic and peaceful. It is frighteningly powerful, but also loving and kind. It is the type of place where people have for years looked out over the sea longing for their loved ones to return. I hope this music brings you the same inner peace I found on my hike that day.This piece is dedicated to Neil and his sidekick Derek, without whom I might have been just another tourist.

SKU: CF.SPS78F

ISBN 9781491153239. UPC: 680160910731.

Festival March is presented in a new edition arranged by Richard Summers. It is a tour de force composition for advanced bands and hearkens back to a bygone era during the golden age of the band movement. Directors and students will hear operatic music from composer Victor Herbert who is best known for his Christmas classic, Toyland. This is a richly scored masterpiece that deserves to return to standard status in concert band repertoire. We are proud to bring you this new setting of this cherished classic.
About the CompositionFestival March by Victor Herbert was written for the Pittsburgh Symphony and first performed under Herbert’s direction in Chicago on Dec. 9, 1901 celebrating the 12th anniversary of Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre. Also known as the Auditorium Festival March, he included it many times for programs of a festival nature. The main theme Auld Lang Syne, a famous Scottish folk song, is incorporated many times along with brass fanfares, interludes and march melodies. This band arrangement is very similar to the original orchestral composition. The missing string parts, the addition of the saxophone section and other band instruments, editing of the superimposed triplets against sixteenth notes, to one or the other, and articulations suitable for the band, were major challenges. The style of early twentieth-century American music is captured here. This arrangement will give band musicians access to a fine piece of music that could only be appreciated by orchestra musicians up to now. Although suitable for many occasions, this piece is a great way to begin or end a December holiday concert.  Notes to the ConductorVictor Herbert’s music can be interpreted in a romantic style, which is the conductor’s responsibility to read in nuance and musicality. The beginning and other triple-tonguing sections of this piece have a March of the Toys quality to it.  The interludes and Auld Lang Syne sections are legato and musical. The March sections can also be shaped musically.About the ComposerVictor Herbert was born in Ireland in 1861 and raised in Germany. When he moved to America in 1886, he joined the Metropolitan Opera as principal cellist and eventually composed many works including forty-three operettas on Broadway from the 1890s to World War I, including Naughty Marietta and Babes in Toyland. Victor Herbert conducted the Pittsburgh Symphony from 1898 to 1904 and then was the conductor of his own Victor Herbert Orchestra. He formed ASCAP with a group of composers in 1914 and was the director until his death in 1924. Among his thirty-one compositions for orchestra, Festival March was a favorite of his and was eventually published by Carl Fischer Music.  .