The Cyclops

For first-year band students, this work is based on the beastly, one-eyed mythological giant. Frightful and exciting, this composition allows ensembles to learn marcato articulation, accents, tempo control and balance between sections. Use this to develop interdisciplinary lessons studying Greek mythology. Your young musicians will look forward to playing this in concert.

The Dark Crusader - Donald Josuweit

This is the perfect song for teaching 6/8 time. It is all very easy with eighth notes in groups of 3 only. No quarter/eighth rhythms, so it is easy to get the students to feel the triple meter. It is also a great song for getting the first clarinet players to play over the break. For the 1st half of the song, they play low notes. From low A, they press the register key and get the E in the staff, thus making it easy and fun to play the higher notes. It is an exciting work and one of NMP's best sellers. The first trumpet's highest note is C.

The Directorate

Written by John Philip Sousa in appreciation of an honor awarded him by the Board of Directors of the 1893 St. Louis Exposition, The Directorate was one of the first pieces Sousa composed for his newly formed Sousa Band. Featuring lively wind parts, contrasting dynamics, interesting harmonic twists in the trio, and a rousing final strain, this march is ideal for teaching the classic march style. Rescored for the contemporary concert band's instrumentation from Sousa's original Carl Fischer composition, this march is now ready to be discovered by a new generation of performers.

The Elven Eleven

With a nod toward Western movie theme songs, The Elven Eleven is a quirky look at a troop of pony-riding elves on a quest for adventure. Join them as they romp through the countryside in search of treasures, conquests, and revelry! This piece is a great chance to work on intonation, articulation, and syncopation with early students. This song was designed to entertain audiences and make your young band sound great.

The Emissary

The Fairest of the Fair

The Fencing Master

Originally published by Carl Fischer in 1932, this rediscovered treasure of the concert march world has been rescored for the modern concert band. Written in traditional march form, all sections are featured. A pleasant opening strain moves into an interesting trio with a legato trumpet melody set against high woodwind arpeggios before a more strident presentation of the same theme. With multiple dynamic contrasts and interesting countermelodies for all sections, this march is a great opportunity to teach traditional march form while also presenting a gem of the march repertoire that is unknown to many audiences.

The Fledgling

A bird is considered to have fledged at the time when its wing muscles and feathers are sufficiently developed for flight. Musically depicting this stage of life by taking a simple theme and developing it through increasing energy and compositional voice layering, this piece for young bands has flowing woodwind lines, exciting countermelodies, and interesting rhythmic challenges. Multiple percussion parts will keep your performers interested. A great choice for concert and contest or as a concert opener or closer.

The Footlifter - Henry Fillmore

The Footlifter is an authentic, tuneful, traditional 6/8 march that has not been over-performed. Robert Foster has carefully edited the original score, making sure to retain all the optimistic character of the original. This truly is a classic.

The Friendly Beasts - French Carol

Arranged to reflect the Medieval origins of this 12th century hymn, this beautiful setting offers great opportunities to develop unison phrasing of long melodic lines. With the melody set in both a 4 and 3 feel, this piece also introduces the concept of different meters. Although written primarily with holiday programs in mind, this piece also works well as a contrasting concert selection or ballad for contest.