#30 Suggested Repertoire from Around the World for Developing Bands

This 30th installment of suggested repertoire is proposed by Ruth Suppiger, Swiss Conductor of Stadtmusik Winterthur and Musikverein Helvetia Marthalen, Coach for conducting courses and Boardmember of the Zurich Windband Association (responsible for Youth Bands). Clarinet pedagogue.

Grade 2.5

La Cueva del Rey (2014) – 6'30" – Purchase at APMUSIC

Alexander Paredes Salazar (Colombia, 1977)

“La Cueva del Rey” (The King's Cave) is a programmatic piece for wind orchestra and narrator that draws on the traditional musical style of Nariño - South Colombia. Young bands can take their first steps in aleatoric music with this piece. It tells the legend of a small Colombian village that was enchanted by a king who lives in a cave. To break the spell, a brave and beautiful maiden must enter the cave, make the king fall in love with her, and steal his precious crown. Only then will the village be freed from the spell, awaken from its lethargy, and progress arrives. However, if a commoner enters the cave and snatches the king's crown, the mountains on which the village sits will open up and causing the people to be swallowed up into the depths of the earth.

Alexander Paredes is a colombian composer, musical director, and teacher. He holds a degree in Music from the University of Nariño, a specialization in Music Education from the University of Valle, and a master's degree in Music Research from the International University of La Rioja (Spain). He is currently pursuing a master's degree in Composition at the International University of Valencia.

Alexander has conducted various wind ensembles and youth groups, winning awards in national competitions (2021 Composition Award in the Symphonic Band category, awarded by the Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra). He is a professor at the University of Nariño and artistic director of the Pasto International Music Congress.

His creative work is inspired by traditional Colombian and Latin American music, with a catalog ranging from chamber works to symphonic band pieces. His compositions have been performed in the Americas and Europe. As a researcher, he is the author and co-author of methodologies and publications on band repertoire in his country, as well as participating as a jury member, cultural advisor, and music project manager.

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Grade 3

The Blue Giants (2022) – 8' – Purchase at Musikverlag Frank

Théo Schmitt (Switzerland, 1991)

The Blue Giants is a programmatic hymn to the beauty of whales, but also a reflection on their status as endangered species. A few cluster moments, repetitive motifs, and the film score-like character make this piece something special for young orchestras. Some of the parts are optional, which makes it possible for smaller orchestras to play the piece as well.

The piece is structured in four parts: the first one, Tireless Travelers, illustrates musically their journeys around the globe. A long and expressive melody swells in the ensemble like the waves during their migrations. In Playful Titans, the music, vivid and cheerful, describes how these giants like to play with boats or other species despite their enormous size and strength. Hunted by Humans on the contrary is threatening and frightening. It depicts a relentless chase between a whaler and a small group of whales until one is killed. Bringer of Hope starts with a mourning song to represent the capability of these mammals to feel and express the loss of their congeners. The music then rises slowly to reach the main theme full and bright. It shows the cycle of life and the hope that these beautiful animals will survive the challenges of our time.

Théo Schmitt is a young musician from Switzerland currently working as a composer and a conductor in Los Angeles. After obtaining a Bachelor's degree in Music Education, Théo continued his studies at the Haute École de Musique de Lausanne (HEMU) and, in 2018, obtained a Master's degree in Orchestral Conducting under the mentorship of Aurélien Azan-Zielinski. Upon graduation, he was awarded the prestigious Fritz Bach Prize for the best Master's thesis and highest grade of the final exam. From 2019 to 2021, he studied composition with Richard Danielpour, Ian Krouse, and Peter Golub at the prestigious University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). In 2022, he graduated from the very selective program of Screen Scoring at the University of Southern California (USC).

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Grade 3.5

Walpurgisnacht (2021) – 4'20" – Purchase at OrchestralArt Music Publications

Florian Moitzi (Austria, 1979)

Walpurgis Night – A Witches’ March! In the past, it was believed that witches were up to mischief on Blocksberg mountain on the night of May 1. They danced wildly around a fire, singing and drinking. This bizarre and crazy atmosphere is expressed both harmonically and rhythmically in this march. As the march becomes increasingly challenging, developing bands can train their skills in augmented chords and polyrhythms.

Florian Moitzi's musical career started with the flute, clarinet, and piano, and became his vocation with the saxophone. In addition to his work as a primary and special education teacher, he studied jazz saxophone at the Anton Bruckner Private University. He gained his first experience in composition at various workshops (Otto M Schwarz, Thomas Doss, Ed de Boer, Klemens Vereno) and through his major studies with Christoph Cech. His role as youth bandleader and deputy bandmaster of Marktmusik Scharnstein Redtenbacher led him to compose for orchestra. Florian Moitzi is active as a solo saxophonist in several jazz formations and regularly receives commissions for big bands, choirs, wind orchestras, and smaller ensembles. Since 2010, Florian Moitzi has been a professor of music and mathematics education at the University of Education Upper Austria.

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Grade 4

Warp (2016) – 10'20" – Purchase at Musikverlag Frank

Fabian Künzli (Switzerland, 1984)

A single melodic theme forms the backbone of this composition. The title “Warp” means “distortion/change” and indicates the way in which the piece is geared towards the listener's perception. Through repetitions, a steady pulse over a longer period of time, and shifts in emphasis, patterns are developed and consolidated on various levels, only to be broken up again or placed in a new context. This forces the listener to change their perspective: rhythmic patterns, motifs, gestures, and even harmonies are suddenly heard differently than they were immediately before.

Swiss composer Fabian Künzli has been playing the clarinet since the age of ten and completed his studies in composition and music theory at the Zurich University of the Arts. In the summer of 2010, he obtained a Master of Arts in Music with a specialization in composition and completed his master's degree in music theory in 2012.

Fabian Künzli has composed for several renowned orchestras, as well as for established chamber ensembles, bands, and soloists. He has won various composition prizes and was awarded a semester in London by the Landis & Gyr Cultural Foundation in 2012. He then held a teaching position at the Lucerne University of Music and now works as a lecturer in composition and arrangement at the Zurich University of the Arts. Fabian Künzli was composer-in-residence at the Orpheum Festtage 2013 in Zurich and works full-time as a composer.

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Grade 4.5

Fifth Avenue (Louboutin Sells Horns now) (2024) – 6' – Purchase at Luzia von Wyl

Luzia von Wyl (Switzerland, 1985)

Premiered by Swiss Symphonic Wind Orchestra conducted by Niki Wüthrich

on Sep 01, 2024 in Grenchen, Switzerland.

Luzia von Wyl draws inspiration for her composition from New York, where she lived for a year. “Switzerland has always been my home, but New York became a bit like a second home away from home for me,” says von Wyl. “Fifth Avenue” sounds like a pop song in big band style, requiring piano and five percussionists. The piece was commissioned by the Swiss Symphonic Wind Orchestra.

The Swiss pianist and composer Luzia von Wyl is writing mostly for her own group, the Luzia von Wyl Ensemble, which is a small contemporary jazz orchestra with strings, woodwinds and a rhythm section. She loves rhythm, odd meters, colours and emotional playing – and she has an absolute passion for large ensembles. Besides her own projects she regularly writes music for other musicians, ensembles and orchestras as well.

Luzia gets invited to festivals in Switzerland and abroad: To the Swiss Days Dubai, the Reset Festival Luxembourg, the Lucerne Festival, the Schaffhauser Jazzfestival, the London New Wind Festival and the Jazzwerkstatt Bern to name a few. Her compositions have been premiered in London, New York, Berlin, Vienna, Budapest, Prague, Dubai, Luxembourg, Zürich and played in many more countries. Luzia was the winner oft the following international composition competitions: NOVA Jazz Composition Prize (2022), NYC Contemporary Music Symposium (2021), Chicago Ensemble (2017) and Orchestra of Our Time New York (2011).

Born in 1985, Luzia studied piano and composition at the Bern University of the Arts (HKB), the Zürich University of the Arts (ZHdK), and the University of Music in Lucerne (HSLU), completing her studies in 2011 with master’s degrees in both piano and composition. In 2014, Luzia earned her third master’s degree in arts management at the University of Zürich (UZH).

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