CONCERT BAND COMPOSITIONS
Here are some scores available for purchase. I have also included a few pieces that are almost done but not quite ready for print! My concert band music has been played by college, high school and community bands in Canada, the United States and South Korea. My composition Three Balloons was a finalist in Category 1 of the WASBE (World Organization for Symphonic Bands & Ensembles) Composition Contest for 2024. My composition Forward, received honorable mention in Category 3 of the same contest. I was lucky enough to travel to South Korea for the WASBE Conference in the summer of 2024 and it was an unforgettable and inspirational experience! I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in concert band music.
I workshop all my band compositions with my students at Albert Campbell C.I. We perform them at school concerts and band festivals. It is such a thrill to work with students on the creative process and observe them breathing life into the music. Check back again soon as I am always working on new music!
NEW MUSIC!
MORNING JOY $75.00 (CAD)
Grade 3.5
I wrote this piece over March Break this year. The idea for the song came about during a morning jam session with my seven year old son. He helped come up with the first two chords as well as the title of the song. He is pretty proud of himself! This piece will be a good introduction for my students to the time signature of 5/8. The middle section gives a break from the 5/8 groove and the melody is a transposition of the bass line from the main theme.
SLIGHTLY $75.00 (CAD)
Grade 2.5
Slightly is an adverb we use when we cannot find the exact words to describe what we want to say. In a similar way I think music inexactly describes feelings and ideas. This music is slightly slow, some of the chords are slightly dissonant and the middle section is slightly sentimental!
GRADE 3.5
THREE BALLOONS $75.00 (CAD)
*Ontario Band Association - Concert Band Syllabus 2024/2025
*Finalist in Category 1 of the WASBE (World Organization of Symphonic Bands & Ensembles) Composition Contest 2024
This march utilizes bursting balloons as a percussion instrument. The composition celebrates the music department at Albert Campbell C.I. as the balloons in the performance represent the three music teachers at the school (Emily Elkouby, Maddie Peterkin and myself). The music contains bars of 3/4, 3/8, phrases repeated three times, three note motifs and a form with three A sections! The middle is a lullaby that describes the challenges of Campbell’s music teachers juggling parenthood and running a busy music department. A special thanks to Mark Caswell whose orchestration suggestions gave the final draft increased clarity and warmth.
GRADE 3
FLEETING $50.00 (CAD)
Over the last four years, I witnessed many friends and family lose people close to them. Fleeting is an intentionally short piece of music. If it leaves you thinking there should be more, this mirrors the feeling of wishing we had more time with those who are gone. The imagery of temple blocks as the ticking of a clock reminds listeners to make the best of each day, and the castanets at the end are the sound of loved ones as they dance their way to whatever comes next! Thank you to David Lum and Mark Caswell for their musical insights and for making this music a bit brighter. Thanks to my student Victor Su for insisting on a few more notes for the low brass!
FORWARD $75.00 (CAD)
*Honorable Mention in Category 3 of the WASBE (World Organization of Symphonic Bands & Ensembles) Composition Contest 2024
The sentiment behind the music is to move forward following the learning challenges high school students faced during the pandemic. We can move forward with a positive attitude on new challenges, new learning and new music. A special thanks to Vince Gassi and David Lum for their insightful feedback during the writing process.
LAMENT FOR A FALLEN PIANO $75.00 (CAD)
This song is a tribute to a public piano that was located outside of University Settlement, which is a community center in Toronto where my son takes music and swimming lessons. Someone vandalized the piano by throwing paint over the keyboard rendering the instrument useless. We will sadly no longer hear the musical tinkering of children and local musicians while we play at the park.
GRADE 2
CALABOGIE $65.00 (CAD)
Calabogie is a small town in southern Ontario where I spent a weekend with my wife's family this past summer. The town and its surroundings are stunning and Eagle's Nest Lookout in particular gives an amazing cliff top view of the area. The warbling whistle and the woody sound of the marimba are intended to help depict the natural beauty of Calabogie. Thanks to Paul Sylvester, Emily Elkouby and David Lum for some solid orchestration advice on this music!
AWAY YOU GO $65.00 (CAD)
I wrote this for the graduation ceremony of Albert Campbell C.I.'s Class of 2023. Most of my students like Studio Ghibli films so some elements of the music are reminiscent of the music from those movies. This piece features an optional part for melodica! It is in five short movements, with each movement representing a different year in the lives of these students.