The Legend of Zelda ™ Series

After 25 years, the music for The Legend of Zelda Series has finally been produced in print. Alfred  Music Publishing Co. Inc. has put together a collection of 33 transcriptions of music from the Legend of Zelda video game series.  The first to be released is the intermediate/advanced piano book. The title page of each piece includes graphics from the corresponding games.  If you have enjoyed the video games and the music associated with them, you will be delighted with this collection. No more guessing at “how the music goes!”  If you are interested in finding out more about this music book, visit us online, email us , or call us at 1-800-42-MUSIC.

Best New Marches for High School Band

Marches are a staple of concert band repertoire, and as such remain a standard part of school band curricula and community band performance.  The Stanton’s band staff is pleased to recommend the following new marches for your next concert or adjudicated performance program.

The choices for advanced level groups are dominated this year by Karl King, however, be sure not to overlook the arrangement of John Philip Sousa’s The Lambs’ March, and Larry Clark’s Refining the March Style will be an invaluable tool for developing and improving your band’s understanding and performance of any march.  We highly recommend this item regardless of whether you teach middle or high school, or direct a community band.

All of these arrangements are available from Stantons.com, or give us a call (1-800-426-8742).  We hope that you find these suggestions helpful.  If you intend to use any of these titles for adjudication, don’t forget to order your judges’ scores – ordering now can save you stress come contest time (avoid them being out-of-stock, or worse, temporarily out-of-print). Thanks for reading, and keep following the Stanton’s blog for more concert band recommendations.

Refining the March Style – Larry Clark – Grade 2
Improve your band’s march performance and concept with these 10 exercises/lessons designed to develop and reinforce characteristic march-style elements including specific patterns, phrases, rhythms, and articulations within familiar, stylistically harmonized scale patterns.

Fidelity March – Karl L. King/arr. Andrew Glover – Grade 2.5
One of Karl King’s easier marches, this excellent arrangement is a great way to introduce your advancing band to his music. All of the standard style and formal elements are here plus dotted rhythms and a slight ragtime type syncopation in the A section melody. Great as a contest selection, and solid prep. for the transition to high school music.

Aces of the Air – Karl L. King/arr. James Swearingen – Grade 3
Karl King had a true gift for crafting flawless marches for bands of all levels. This splendid, straight-ahead march is solid, clean & uncluttered, with just the right amount of technical decoration, and marvelous low brass countermelodies that just make it sing.

Georgia Girl – Karl L. King/arr. Gene Milford – Grade 3
You say you’re looking for something different? How about Karl King with a touch of ragtime? Exemplifying his ability to write whatever his circus band needed, King captured the ragtime craze with relish in this vivacious “rag-march.” A truly distinctive gem from the vault of a musical king.

The Lambs’ March – John Philip Sousa/arr. Loras John Schissel – Grade 3
Lead the way to discovering the “unknown Sousa” with this sprightly, effervescent march that absolutely sparkles with creative nuances. It’s pure Sousa, with a few charming surprises around every phrase: catchy syncopations, delicate glissandi, witty echoes, and infectious melodies they’ll be whistling all the way home!

The Victor March – Karl L. King/arr. Gene Milford – Grade 3
As clean, crisp, and perfect as a march can be! Every instrumental line in this highly playable, flawless Karl King specimen is masterfully crafted to exemplify the classic American march. Lovely, singable melodies, ear-catching countermelodies, and an overall sparkle combine in a genuine joy for players and listeners alike.

The Viking – Karl L. King/arr. Andrew Glover – Grade 4
Count on Karl King to define the timelessness of a great march–this magnificent specimen is 100 years old! Composed in 1911 when King was playing in his first circus band at the tender age of 20, it rose to prominence almost immediately whenIndiana Universityborrowed its heroic, singable trio for their school fight song. Incomparable King at his best.

New Organ Music for Lent/Easter

If you missed our recent Organ Music Clinic, you can still check out these new titles recommended by Stanton’s keyboard staff:

Lenten Reflections
Composer Dr. Ashdown’s newest volume for organ includes free-compositions as well as hymn-based settings on well-known hymns for Ash Wednesday, Lent, and beyond. The variety contained in this collection will aid organists in selecting appropriate music for the season. This also includes a lovely setting of “Beautiful Savior”! These are wonderful, contemplative settings for the Lenten season.

Sacrifice and Splendor
Mary McDonald has done it again! This three-part suite is designed for a joyful Easter Sunday celebration, beginning with the fanfare-like prelude “Christ Is Alive,” followed by a meditative offertory medley reflecting on the cross, and concluding with a classical-style arrangement of “Jesus Christ is Risen Today.” Enjoy a service full of new arrangements with this memorable “Sunday Suite.”

Loving Spirit
David Maxwell of Portland, Maine, is warmly welcomed to the AFP organ catalog. Of moderate-level difficulty, the collection includes settings of tunes for Lent, Easter, and general Sundays with fresh imagery, perfect for worship voluntaries.

For more suggestions for Lent, Easter or any time of year, contact our keyboard department!

FREE School Choral Clinic!

It’s been a long time since those reading sessions at the end of last summer…come refresh your memory and your ears with our recommended choral music for finishing out the school year!

*FREE*
SPRING CHORAL READING SESSION
Saturday, March 3rd from 10-11:30

James E. Strouse Workshop Hall
Stanton’s Sheet Music
330 South Fourth St
Columbus, OH 43215

We will read selected titles for SATB, men’s and women’s ensembles appropriate for high school spring concerts and graduation. Because we will be reading music directly from our large inventory and sharing the expertise of the Stanton’s school choral staff, we are able to offer this reading session at no cost to you!

For more information, email us or call 1-800-426-8742 ex 1.

Suggestions for Choral Adjudications

The beginning of 2012 is a perfect opportunity to look back at what your students have learned so far this school year, and to look forward to the new and exciting musical challenges you will present to them in the coming months.  As you prepare for your upcoming concerts, festivals or adjudicated events, Stanton’s School Choral Music staff would like to recommend these repertoire choices, carefully chosen from many new and classic publications as “the best of the best!”

For advanced SATB groups, Kevin Memley’s Ave Maria is beautifully orchestrated for a cappella divisi voices, and features tasteful programmatic effects throughout the musical structure.  Andrea Ramsey’s On Some Solemn Shore is a stunning choice for developing groups, with graceful simplicity in the vocal lines and an expressively hopeful 19th century text.  Add some light-hearted fun to your program with a folksong like Old Dan Tucker, arranged by Neil Ginsberg with an inventive, hoedown-like accompaniment, or a classic choral standard such as Ralph Vaughan Williams’ glorious O Clap Your Hands.

Capable treble choirs will excel with Zoltan Kodaly’s Dancing-Song, an exuberant and intricate arrangement of a Hungarian folksong, and younger groups can work on part-singing and ensemble skills with the expressive The April Rainbow by Laura Farnell or Benedicamus Domino, a buoyant setting by Cristi Cary Miller.  Travelin’ Train is another strong choice – the incorporation of blues, gospel and jazz styles will be immediately appealing.

A Red, Red Rose is an artistic an expressive a cappella setting of a Robert Burns text – a great choice for accomplished men’s ensembles – or try an arrangement of Mozart’s famous Dies Irae from the “Requiem,” specially adapted for men’s voices.  For younger ensembles, try the Hebrew song Ani Ma’amin or original settings A Thousandfold or My Bonnie Anne Marie.

Click here for all of our suggestions for select pieces for adjudicated events – while we have specifically geared these selections to be appropriate for Ohio Music Education Association events, this quality repertoire is sure to be successful on any spring concert or other event as well!  For even more recommendations, please contact us.

Follow Your Dreams!

For many young people, the most intense performing experiences they may have are as part of a cast in a musical or play. Or, they may fall in love with a Broadway or touring production to the extent that they jump headlong into the pursuit of such a dream without the necessary planning and thought that should accompany such a big decision.

Veteran actor and educator David Ladd has created “Footlight Dreams – Following Your Passion for a Career in Musical Theatre”, a practical guide for performers, teachers and parents to help the decision-making process for aspiring performers as they contemplate their futures in the theatre.

Drawing on his experience as a singer/dancer, including a sabbatical year in New York where he chronicled his challenges and successes, Ladd presents the full range of information a student would need before setting their sights on a music theatre career, including a full range of interviews from professional actors detailing the significant obstacles to success in the field, statistics on costs of housing, transportation and training, and the audition/casting process for a new, non-Equity performer.

The final section of the book guides the reader as he/she explores their own career options, with thought-provoking questions, journaling opportunities and career resources, making this chapter especially useful for teachers working one-on-one with students or in the classroom.

It’s not an easy path, but if performing is your passion, pursue it with an open mind and listen to your heart – the successes can be glorious!

Contact Stanton’s for more valuable musical theatre resources!

Best New Marches for Middle School Band

Marches are a staple of concert band repertoire, and as such remain a standard part of school band curricula and community band performance.  The Stanton’s band staff is pleased to recommend the following new marches for your next concert or adjudicated performance program.

We are pleased to feature two original marches for beginning and young bands alongside new arrangements of Harold Bennett and Karl King titles.  In addition, Larry Clark’s Refining the March Style will be an invaluable tool for developing and improving your band’s understanding and performance of any march.  We highly recommend this item regardless of whether you teach middle or high school, or direct a community band.

All of these arrangements are available from Stantons.com, or give us a call (1-800-426-8742).  We hope that you find these suggestions helpful.  If you intend to use any of these titles for adjudication, don’t forget to order your judges’ scores – ordering now can save you stress come contest time (avoid them being out-of-stock, or worse, temporarily out-of-print). Thanks for reading, and keep following the Stanton’s blog for more concert band recommendations.

March of the Champions – Timothy Loest – Grade 0.5
Courage, character, and the indomitable human spirit are conveyed using only six notes. Solid percussion writing (including a tam-tam) really adds color, and the triumphant style works as a beginning concert opener, or even a processional.

Pinnacle of Distinction – Larry Clark – Grade 1.5
Quality, traditional marches are not the providence of upper level bands alone. Larry Clark has written an exciting original march loaded with teaching opportunities that could be right out of the turn-of-the-last-century. A strong melody, counter lines in the low brass, bells, 8th note based rhythms, trio section, dynamic contrast, call and response, a fantastic “shout” section, a “stinger” – it’s ALL here!

Precision – Harold Bennett/arr. Larry Clark – Grade 2
Larry Clark’s arrangements of Harold Bennett marches have become educational and performance staples. Precision is no exception. Its stop-time style initial melody, call and response figures, mix of legato and staccato articulations, and break-strain make this a perfect teaching piece. Your horns, baritones, and saxes will love the counter line in the “shout” section, and your audience will enjoy its “fight-song” type sound.

Refining the March Style – Larry Clark – Grade 2
Improve your band’s march performance and concept with these 10 exercises/lessons designed to develop and reinforce characteristic march-style elements including specific patterns, phrases, rhythms, and articulations within familiar, stylistically harmonized scale patterns.

Fidelity March – Karl L. King/arr. Andrew Glover – Grade 2.5
One of Karl King’s easier marches, this excellent arrangement is a great way to introduce your advancing band to his music. All of the standard style and formal elements are here plus dotted rhythms and a slight ragtime type syncopation in the A section melody. Great as a contest selection, and solid prep. for the transition to high school music.

Aces of the Air – Karl L. King/arr. James Swearingen – Grade 3
Karl King had a true gift for crafting flawless marches for bands of all levels. This splendid, straight-ahead march is solid, clean & uncluttered, with just the right amount of technical decoration, and marvelous low brass countermelodies that just make it sing.

Don’t forget the Judges!

We’re now halfway (!) through January and here in Ohio, thoughts are turning to OMEA Adjudicated Events! Solo & Ensemble events begin January 28th, and High School Large Group events are in March, followed by Junior High events later in the spring. While many of you have been planning since August, our biggest sales for contest music are in January.

Stanton’s strongly suggests that when you order your music for Adjudicated Events, you order the copies or scores for your judges at the same time. Solo & Ensemble events have one adjudicator, and Large Group events have three – each adjudicator needs their own copy of each score. Please do not wait until the week of (or the DAY of) your event to order – every year we get many panicked calls from directors at the last minute! If we don’t have the piece you need in stock it may take as long as two weeks to order it in, and if it is Permanently Out-of-Print, receiving photocopy permission may take even longer.

Still searching for the perfect contest piece? Our website is up-to-date with this year’s Large Group required lists for high school choir, concert band, and orchestra, junior high choir, concert band, and orchestra, and Solo & Ensemble lists for high school instumental and vocal ensembles

Adjudicated Events can be an exciting and rewarding time for you and your students. Let Stanton’s help you by placing your orders early!

New OMEA Required Concert Band Preview #7 – Junior High Class C

Our final preview of the new required pieces on the OMEA junior high/middle school concert band lists features the new Class C titles.  You can view and listen to the complete OMEA required concert band lists by clicking on the OMEA Required Music Lists option on our concert band webpage, and selecting the list you wish to view.  We hope you find this preview to be useful, and look forward to helping you plan a successful contest program.

New OMEA Junior High Class C Required Selections

Above and Beyond – James Swearingen
All of the sound educational and musical characteristics that make James Swearingen’s music popular with students and teachers alike are present in this triumphant fanfare. A strong melody, solid rhythmic pulse and patterns, and uplifting sound combine to make this work a great teaching piece that is a perfect concert opener or festival selection.

Air Force One – Chris Bernotas
The U.S. Presidential aircraft represents freedom and evokes a sense of pride wherever it travels. The sense of flight is ever-present in this rhythmic, overture-style work for young bands. Contrasting 8th note patterns with soaring, lyrical lines, call and response between the low winds and percussion, and never-ending forward motion Chris Bernotas creates an exciting work that is perfect to open your concert or festival performance.

Ovation – Michael Story
Aptly titled, Ovation is a celebratory overture for very young bands.  Its stately theme provides bookends to a lyrical B-section during which the tempo is maintained.  This work is perfect for working articulation, basic quarter and 8^th note patterns (including dotted quarter-8^th), accidentals, and some rhythmic independence – the melodic line passes through sections of the band in the B section.  A positive selection for concert programming.

Racing the Sun – Roland Barrett
The inspiration for this piece comes from a phrase used by solar-powered car enthusiasts to describe the act of piloting their exotic vehicles. Employing a variety of styles and textures, this original work will capture the imagination of your students.

Siege of the Dark Castle – Travis J. Weller
The chance for a lesson on early western music and medieval history is presented with this excellent work by Travis J. Weller. Characteristic 8th note rhythms, minor tonality, and even a 3-voice fugue create plenty of learning opportunities, and the period style and sound make for a nice programming alternative in this musical depiction of medieval battle.

All of these titles can be ordered via Stantons.com, or by phone (1-800-426-8742).  Don’t forget to order your judges’ scores – ordering now can save you stress come contest time (avoid them being out-of-stock, or worse, temporarily out-of-print).  Keep following the Stanton’s blog for more concert band recommendations from our band staff.

Gian Carlo Menotti – American Masterpieces: Choral Music

The National Endowment for the Arts’ American Masterpieces: Choral Music initiative is designed to celebrate our national musical heritage by highlighting significant American choral composers and their works of the past 250 years.  Stanton’s Sheet Music is proud to present this series highlighting the composers and their works featured in this groundbreaking project.

(from NEA.gov)
In America, especially after World War I, the popularity of opera was challenged by both the cinema and the Broadway musical show. All the more striking, then, has been the success of Gian Carlo Menotti (1911-2007), an Italian-American who has dared to center his career on writing operas, two of which (The Saint of Bleecker Street and The Consul) won the Pulitzer Prize for music among other awards.

Unashamedly conservative in technique, Menotti has always written in a traditional tonal language. His television Christmas opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors, won him a mass audience and remains today one of the most frequently performed stage works in America.

Despite his concentration on opera, he has also composed a significant body of choral music. The largest has been the cantata The Death of the Bishop of Brindisi. The Unicorn, the Gorgon and the Manticore, designated a “madrigal-ballet,” is sung as well as danced. Missa O Pulchritudo is scored for soloists, chorus, and orchestra and was premiered at the Spoleto Festival in Italy, which Menotti founded in 1958.

Menotti showed extraordinary vigor at an age when most people have been long retired. He continued to compose, and to direct opera, well into his 90s. In his later years he became if anything even more prolific in the choral field. For the Death of Orpheus was first performed under the direction of Robert Shaw in 1990, a Gloria was written in 1995 as part of a composite Mass by various composers, and “Jacob’s Prayer” (1997) was commissioned by the American Choral Directors Association.

Selected Works:
Amahl and the Night Visitors
The Death of the Bishop of Brindisi
For the Death of Orpheus
Llama de amor viva
Missa O Pulchritudo
Muero porque no muero (Cantata for St. Teresa of Avila)
The Unicorn, the Gorgon and the Manticore

For more distinguished choral repertoire suggestions, please contact us.