Rationale:

The sources I consulted when choosing pieces for a 7th grade band concert were Joe Kreines’s
book Music for Concert Band and the FBA music list. I consulted Kreines’s book for music
recommendations and to get a short description of the piece before I listened to it. After aurally
assessing a piece, I looked it up on the FBA list to see the grade recommendation and to see if it
was approved for a Florida Music Performance Assessment.

1. Beethoven / Stalter - March Ecossaise for Military Band: I chose this piece because it is a
good march style piece to work on with young students; It has interesting lines in all
parts, even the accompanying lines, which means that every section has to understand
march style. This piece requires the brass sections to have a brilliant tone with clear
articulations in fanfare figures, which is a great way to develop their ability to do lip
slurs. The percussion parts in this piece are a great introduction to understanding the
march style because each part, the cymbals, triangle, snare drum, and bass drum, all have
to work as a cohesive unit. This piece can also be played at a variety of different tempi
which makes it a very versatile march. Depending on the ability level of the students, it
can be played at a more moderate tempo or it can be sped up to make maintaining the
march style at a quicker tempo much more difficult. (Grade 1, approx 2’)

2. O’Reilly, John – Skye Boat Song: I chose this piece because it is written in a beautiful
lyrical style with exposed sections which will provide a vessel for the ensemble to
develop their individual musicianship and tone. This piece requires the entire ensemble to
understand their musical role in the composition in order to achieve the correct balance
and blend, which is a great learning opportunity for the students. This piece requires the
woodwinds to develop their sound without support from the brass which can be a
challenge for young ensembles. This piece will also require percussionists to develop
their understanding of delicacy when playing. I put this piece second in the program
because it is a short, calm, and lyrical transition into the final piece. (Grade 1, approx
2’)

3. Clark, Larry - Quintus for Band: I chose this piece because it is a fun, uptempo piece to
close out the concert. This piece is fast (approx 140 bpm) and includes lots of articulation
and individual parts, which makes it much more challenging than the other two pieces on
the program. It features the low woodwinds like bass clarinets and bassoons as well as the
low brass section which are two sections of the ensemble that are not typically featured in
young band literature. This piece includes style and tempo changes as well as fermati that
require the students to be watching for cues, which is a great opportunity to get students
used to watching the conductor from the beginning of their musical journey. This piece
requires timpani, sleigh bells, chimes and other misc. percussion instruments which is a
great opportunity to teach percussionists proper technique on new instruments. This piece
also has a pretty wide range for all instruments, which is a great way to expand each
student's knowledge of fingerings and notes. (Grade 2, approx 3’)