Hello MSW Friends!

Your section leader has received electronic copies of your section’s music. Please be on the lookout for an email from your section leader with your parts. Remember that you’re responsible for printing your own parts this concert cycle. 

Rehearsal starts well before our first downbeat on November 8. Please take a moment to listen to our repertoire and study your parts. 

A Hanukkah Festival, Bernotas
Listen 
Quarter = 88
 
A medley of three traditional Hanukkah songs, Sevivon, Maoz Tzur, and Hanukkah. Dramatic melody, clarinet cadenza, and a playful march end with an exciting conclusion.

Ancient Carol Variants, Bernotas
Listen
Quarter = 80

A new twist on and old classic, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. 

Christmas and Sousa Forever, Giroux
Listen
Half Note = 124

A jolly mix of holiday favorites and America’s favorite march, Stars and Stripes Forever.

Fanfare for the Festival of Lights, VanDoren
Listen 
Quarter = 156

From the composer: “As a young Jewish musician growing up in the United States, i performed an untold number of Christmas selections around the holiday season. Truthfully, I enjoyed them all! The concert band repertoire includes a wealth of masterfully crafted selections composed and arranged from melodies and concepts tied to the Christmas holiday. However, there are decidedly fewer opportunities for young Jewish musicians to perform music derived from their won cultural and religious heritage. My hope is that through creating this brief work, Jewish musicians will have the opportunity to perform music from their background, while all musicians join together in a musical celebration of the joy and awe of the holiday season!”

The First Snow, O’Toole
Listen
Quarter = 128-132

Commissioned by the Wabasha Kellogg Music Department, The First Snow depicts a snowy landscape with sledding, skaters, and children playing in the snow.

Joyride, Markowski
Listen
Quarter = 160

Joyride is a concert opener that blends Beethoven’s Ode to Joy with John Adams’s Short Ride in a Fast Machine. Markowski wrote it as an 18-year-old high school senior, and the piece was premiered at Carnegie Hall. Read all about it here.
    
Toboggan, Hall
Listen
Quarter = 76-144

From the composer: “The music tells the tale of an epic race down the biggest hill in the neighborhood. As the day begins, the first few snowflakes begin to fall, depicted by the solo bells that start the piece. As the flurries continue to fall, the snow builds, and the tempo picks up, kids begin pouring out of their homes to prepare for the race. While outside, they witness several snowball fights emerge around the neighborhood. The race begins atop a snow covered hill as the children speed toward the finish line. French horns pave the way through the middle section by illustrating the gorgeous landscape as the racers smoothly slide through the soft snow – a beautiful clear sky on the horizon. As the finish line pops into view, the racers frantically fly through the course, dodging stray snowballs overhead in an exciting finish.”

William Byrd Suite, Jacob
Listen
Quarter = Varies

Written in 1923 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of prolific composer William Byrd’s death, we’re playing Jacob’s piece on its 100th (and Byrd’s 400th) anniversary. The suite includes six of Byrd’s keyboard works and was originally scored for orchestra. Jacob arranged his original piece for “massed military bands” at the British Empire Exhibition in Wembley Stadium in 1924.

Listen to our rep as a playlist on YouTube.

Thank you!
Amanda Lanser
MSW librarian
amanda.c.lanser@gmail.com