Recoil Joseph Schwantner Born: March 22, 1943, in Chicago, Illinois Instrumentation: Wind Ensemble Duration: 14 minutes Composed: 2004 Recoil was commissioned through the Raymond and Beverly Sackler New Music Foundation for the University of Connecticut, and was given its premiere on November 3, 2004, at the Isaac Stern Auditorium of Carnegie Hall, in New York, by the University of Connecticut Wind Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Jeffrey Renshaw. It is the only one of Sch

Southwestern Sketches Samuel Adler Born March 4, 1928, Mannheim, Germany Instrumentation: Wind Ensemble Duration: 12 minutes Composed: 1961 Southwestern Sketches was Samuel Adler’s first work for Wind Ensemble, commissioned in 1961 by conductor Ray Tross and the New Mexico State University Symphonic Wind Ensemble. Adler’s eventual acceptance of the commission initially took some convincing because, as with composers Norman Dello Joio and Warren Benson, he “… just didn’t like

Suite Française Normandie Bretagne Ile de France Alsace-Lorraine Provence Darius Milhaud Born September 4, 1892, in Marseille, France Died June 22, 1974, in Geneva, Switzerland Instrumentation: Concert Band Duration: 15 minutes Composed: 1944 Darius Milhaud, Suite Française Eastman Wind Ensemble, Frederick Fennell, conductor Darius Milhaud's Suite Française was composed in 1944, on commission from the publisher, Leeds Music Corporation, as part of a contemplated series of ori

Overture to “Colas Breugnon“ Dmitry Kabalevsky Born: December 30, 1904, Saint Petersburg, Russia Died: February 18, 1987, Moscow, Russia Instrumentation: Wind Ensemble Duration: 5 minutes Composed: 1936-1938 Arranged: 1961, Donald Hunsberger Dmitry Kabalevsky, Overture to "Colas Breugnon," arr. Donald Hunsberger United States Navy Band, Captain George N. Thompson, conductor Russian composer Dmitri Kabalevsky based his 1938 opera Colas Breugnon: The Master of Clemency on Frenc

Theme and Fantasia Armand Russell Born June 23, 1932, Seattle, Washington Instrumentation: Symphonic Band Duration: 8 minutes Composed: 1950 The composer writes, “Theme and Fantasia is based on a simple and tranquil theme. The fantasia consists of a series of variant sections evolving from this main theme. In the first section, the variation is given to the high solo brass. In the sections following, the music becomes successively aggressive, vigorous, and expressive until th

Russian Christmas Music Alfred Reed Born January 25, 1921, New York, New York Died September 17, 2005, Miami, Florida Instrumentation: Symphonic Band Duration: 15 minutes Composed: 1944-1946 Alfred Reed, Russian Christmas Music Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra The composer writes, “Originally written in November, 1944, Russian Christmas Music was first performed in December of that year at a special concert in Denver, Colorado, by a select group of musicians from five of the leadin

George Washington Bridge William Schuman Born August 4, 1910, New York, New York Died February 15, 1992, New York, New York Instrumentation: Symphonic Band Duration: 8 minutes Composed: 1950 The composer writes, There are a few days in the year when I do not see George Washington Bridge. I pass it on my way to work as I drive along the Henry Hudson Parkway on the New York shore. Ever since my student days when I watched the progress of its construction, this bridge has had fo

Children’s March: “Over the Hills and Far Away” Percy Aldridge Grainger Born July 8, 1882, Melbourne, Australia Died February 20, 1961, White Plains, New York Original Instrumentation: Piano Instrumentation: Piano and Military Band Duration: 8 minutes Composed: 1916-1918 Among the works begun or completed during Percy Grainger’s time as an enlisted United States Army Bandsman, the Children's March: "Over the Hills and Far Away," scored for winds, percussion, and piano, is one

Orient et Occident Grand Marche pour Grande Harmonie, Op. 25 Camille Saint-Saëns Born: October 9, 1835, Paris, France Died: December 16, 1921, Algiers, Algeria Instrumentation: French Military Band Edited by Timothy Reynish and Bruce Parry, 1995 Duration: 8 minutes Composed: 1869 Camille Saint-Saens, Orient et Occident, Op. 25 "The President's Own" United States Marine Band, Col. John R. Bourgeois, conductor The French Revolution had a profound effect, not least on the Harmon

Concertino Cabocolo Jess Turner Born: 1983, Greenville, South Carolina Instrumentation: Solo Flute and Wind Ensemble Duration: 15 minutes Composed: 2012 Concertino Caboclo [pronounced ka-BOK-lu] is one of only a handful of works for solo flute/piccolo and wind ensemble. The title is taken from a Portuguese word for Brazilians of mixed Afro-European-indigenous ancestry. Caboclo, who represents the “melting pot” character of Brazil, comprise a large percentage of the Brazilian