This 21st installment is submitted by french conductor and WASBE Member Emilie Chabrol.
Grade 4
Jeu de cartes for SATB Saxophone quartet and wind band (2012) – 21’00" Purchase at Minorscale music
Bart Picqueur (Belguim, 1972)
Premier Berlin based saxophone quartet Claire-Obscur/ Bläserphilharmonie Heilbronn
Jeu de cartes was written in 2012 for the Berlin Saxophone quartet Clair-obscur.
Jeu de cartes depicts 4 different characters of playing cards in 4 movements, all of them with a different saxophone in the frontline.
The four movements are : Queen of hearts, Jack of Spaces, 10 of diamonds and The Foul.
Several musical styles (baroque, milonga, jazz, funk, waltz) define the different cards and blend subtly throughout the piece.
The work is very virtuosic for the saxophone quartet but very accessible for the orchestra.
It is interesting for working on the different articulations and phrasings specific to each musical style. It also allows the conductor to work on the colour of the orchestra's sound to blend with the sound of the saxophone quartet.
Bart Picqueur is a Belgian composer, music educator, conductor and clarinetist .
Picqueur studied at the Royal Conservatory in Ghent, where he obtained a Master of Music studying with Dirk Brosse and Freddy Arteel, as well as an aggregation degree. He also spent two years studying conducting with Fabrice Bollon.
As a conductor, Picqueur works in the world of wind music, including the Musikalo Sint-Katherina-Lombeek (1996-2004), Youth Harmony Royal Band "St. Cecilia," Zele (1990-) and the Royal Urban Harmony Holly (2004-2010). He is co-founder and conductor of the "Wonder Brass AWEFUL Power Band".
As a composer, he had great success with the works such as Devil's Paradise (1997) and Jan Praet (2000). As an arranger he worked with both classical and light music for, among others, Dirk Brosse, the National Orchestra of Belgium, the Remuze Festival, the Hasselt Proms and many military and brass bands in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Grade 4
Pinocchio (2008) – 9'30"– Purchase at Molenaar Edition
Alex Poelman (The Netherlands, 1981) Premiere by Harmonie Arti et Religioni at Alphen aan den Rijn
The piece Pinocchio was written for the 100th jubilee of Alphen aan Den Rijn (Netherlands.)
In telling us the well-known story of Pinocchio, Poelman has given a voice to all the instruments in the orchestra. We can hear each register distinctly through the different characters and emotions in the story. Many of the solos give the different registers a chance to interact. This allows the musicians to develop not only their playing technique but also their listening skills and flexibility within the orchestra. Many of the characters, such as the fox and the cat, require great precision of articulation and lightness of phrasing. The wide variety of themes allows the orchestra to experiment and broaden its palette of colours.
Alex Poelman began playing the french horn at the age of eleven in the local Wind Band of Oosterbeek. After six years of high school, Poelman moved to Enschede to study computer science at the University of Twente. During his time at university, Poelman remained active in the Student Wind Orchestra Twente and the National Youth Wind Orchestra of the Netherlands as a horn player. While studying, Poelman began composing music for small ensembles and arranging pieces for Wind Band. In 2001, he wrote his first composition for Wind Band, Volcano. Three years later, in 2004, he released his first symphony, The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, which quickly became a great success, performed all over the world and recorded by the KMKJWF (Military Band of the Netherlands), conducted by Norbert Nozy. In 2015, he premiered his second symphony, The Odyssey, a 45-minute composition for choir and wind band, with the National Opera and Concert Choir of the Netherlands and Wilhelmina Glanerbrug. Next to writing for professional bands, Poelman started focussing on scoring for film and theater. In 2024 he won the summer edition of the Indie Film Music Contest, a competition with participants from all over the world.
More on Alex Poelman
Grade 3
The carnival of the insects (2001) – 8'20" – Purchase at G&M Brand British Music Publishers
Bruce Fraser (United Kingdom, 1948-2017)
Composer’s note about the piece :
« Carnival of the insects was commissioned by the National School Band Association and was first performed at the Scottish Festival organised by NSBA and Brian Duguid of West Lothian Arts on 12 May 2001.
The music letters SBA were used to form the basis of the melodies to personalise the piece for the Association. (S can be Eb, B can be Bb using European note names)
The Carnival is inspired by Saint Saens « Carnival of the Animals » and derives a lot of the rhythmic structures from it.
The piece is composed of 5 short movements:
March of the Ants - The Thin Black Line
The composer was reminded of a French holiday when a line of ants would march every night from the gate of the house, past the pool and up into the garden.
Crickets and stick insects
Here the composer remembered balmy Mediterranean nights and the sound of crickets.
Insectivores
These are the creatures which eat insects and the music has a dramatic scary feel to it with a chase in the middle.
Metamorphosis
This is where the caterpillar changes into a butterfly. The Euphonium melody will strike the listener as being very similar to The Elephant of Saint Saens.
The Bug Parade
This is a grand finale where we can imagine many of the insects in a Disney like parade.
Bands may like to perform the Carnival as a complete suite or to play individual movements on their own. »
Because of its diverse character, this piece provides an opportunity to work on a variety of points with the orchestra.
It also helps young musicians to improve their understanding of rhythm: eighth-note beats, quarter-note beats and instrumental technique.
After attending the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and a short spell at Guildhall, Bruce Fraser took a position with the Telfis Eireann Symphony Orchestra in Dublin. He then settled back in Scotland as an instrumental teacher and freelance trombone player, working with the Scottish Opera, the Scottich Chamber Orchestra, the Scottish Ballet and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He has a large number of titles for wind band published mainly by G and M Brand Publications (Shawnee Press) and Studio Music (London). He was also a well established composer in the brass band world where his works range from junior band works to pieces for contests at several levels. He has composed many commissions for a variety of groups, the latest being a 20 minute Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra for John Wallace.
He was also involved with the British Association of Symphonic Bands and Wind Ensembles, and was a consultant to the National School Band Association.
Grade 3
Among the Clouds (2004) – 5'10" – Purchase at The FJH Music Company Inc.
Brian Balmages (USA, 1975)
Composer’s note about the piece :
« More than a third of the dreaming population reports having had at least one flying dream. While anyone can have them, they tend to occur in people who are especially creative and imaginative. Of particular interest are lucid dreamers, those who are actually aware they are dreaming and can then control their actions while inside the dream.
Among the Clouds take us into the minds of these lucid dreamers as they drift off to sleep and wake up in a dream where they own the skies. »
Among the clouds is written in two parts. A slow, mysterious introduction with a solo for glockenspiel, clarinets and flutes opens with a tutti. This first part gives the conductor the opportunity to work on the colour of the orchestral sound, the balance between the instruments and the flexibility of the musical phrases. A few dissonances in the brass complicate the intonation work.
The second fast part is based on the first theme, which is modified and syncopated. The musicians will need to be independent to feel the rhythm, as very little of the percussion is written down and can help in this aspect. The central part, a short fugue, complicates this second part. This fugue highlights the clarinets, flutes and saxophones. Among the Clouds is a very complete piece for working on all aspects of the wind band. The flexible instrumentation makes the piece suitable for most wind orchestras. It may be of use for a concert, but also for a competition.
Brian Balmages is an active trumpet player, composer and conductor. He received his bachelor's degree in music from James Madison University and his master’s degree from the University of Miami in Florida. Brian Balmages compositions have been performed worldwide at conferences including the CBDNA National Conference, the Midwest Clinic, the International Tuba/euphonium Conference, the International Trombone Festival, and the International Trumpet Guild Conference. His active schedule commissions and premieres has incorporated groups ranging from elementary schools to professional ensembles. Currently, he is director of instrumental publications at The FJH Music Company Inc. in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and an adjunct faculty member at Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland.
More on Brian Balmages
Grade 1.5
Two Scandinavian melodies (2014) – 2'40" – Purchase at Alfred Music Concert Band
Scandinavian (Traditional) / arr. Todd Stalter (USA, 1966)
Todd Stalter’s Note :
« These two delightful Scandinavian melodies offer a glimpse into the folk music of a region. Teaching opportunities abound for sensitive musicianship and stylistic nuance, and the romantic colour harmonies provide a rich texture that enhances the depth of the sound of the concert band. »
The two Scandinavian melodies arranged by Stalter are : The Love of our Country (Denmark) and Love and Fame (Norway).
The harmonies and colours of the melodies provide an opportunity to work on the direction of the phrases, the colour of the orchestra in tutti but also in smaller groups with short passages written like chamber music.
Todd Mr. Stalter received his Bachelor of Music Education degree and Master of Music in trumpet performance from Illinois State University, where he studied trumpet with Richard Lehman (solo cornet of "The President's Own" United States Marine Band) and Dr. James Buckner, and conducting with Dr. Stephen K. Steele. He has served as a conducting assistant for such luminaries as Robert W. Smith, Gary Green, Larry Gookin, Marguerite Wilder, Randy Vaughan, Cody Birdwell, and Richard Floyd at the Music for All Summer Symposium.
Mr. Stalter is currently the director of bands at Eureka High School in Eureka, Ill., and serves as chair of the Department of Fine Arts for CUSD #140.
He has also been active as a church musician, recently retiring as principal trumpet and arranger for the Grace Brass at Grace Presbyterian Church in Peoria, Ill. after nearly 30 years of service.
Awards for Mr. Stalter’s music include five ASCAPlus awards for excellence in music composition. Many of his works appear on national and international contest and festival lists.