Kirkpatrick Fanfare ............................................................................................. Andrew Boysen, Jr.
Not graded for Festival
Commissioned by Central Missouri State University for the dedication of the James C. Kirkpatrick Library in March 1999, this work has definite Irish flavor, including a strain of Danny Boy.  The "Fanfare" features driving rhythms and exciting brass figures, making this dramatic work sure to please both performers and audiences alike.

Blue Alien Accumulation ............................................................................................. Timothy Broege
Grade 3
Commissioned by the 2003 Albemarle County (Virginia) Middle School Honors Band, Blue Alien Accumulation was composed during the summer of 2003.  The work is a single movement made up of three distinct sections:

1. "18 Modules" which consists of eighteen 2-measure units each played once, with the exception of the percussion modules (claves and triangle), which are played more than once;
2. "Alien Chorale" which is a re-harmonization of an old Lutheran church hymn, Durch Adams Fall ist ganz verderbt (or, loosely, Adam is blamed for everything);
3. "Run!" which is based on a 5-measure eighth note melody treated canonically.

Yosemite Autumn ........................................................................................................ Mark Camphouse
Grade 5
I put forth considerable effort in trying to separate my seemingly non-stop professional activities from increasingly all too-infrequent family activities.  The first ten days of a two week family vacation in 2003 to the Northern California region was shaping up just that way:  San Francisco was fascinating and entertaining, Big Sur was spectacular, and the Wine Country, Redwood and Lassen National Parks, and Lake Tahoe were all truly magnificent!  Everything was going as planned.  Musical projects and work-related responsibilities were some 2,700 miles back east.  I was on vacation, enjoying "quality time" with my family in the truly gorgeous and exciting Northern California region for the very first time.

Old Churches ................................................................................................................ Michael Colgrass
Grade 2
According to North American composer Michael Colgrass, Old Churches is one of the most challenging pieces he can remember writing.  His goal was to create music that was interesting, expressive, and challenging, yet playable by students in the early stages of performing on their instruments and who are also unfamiliar with modern music techniques.  His solution was to write a work based on copious double melodic lines.  The tempo is slow;  the phrases are all in quarter and eighth notes, and the harmonies are simple.  Some easy graphic notation and chance techniques are employed, such as pitches played without rhythm, and a murmuring effect that simulates the idea of voices echoing in monastic churches.  Colgrass hopes that Old Churches is a piece that conveys emotion at the same time it makes a young band sound good.  Old Churches uses Gregorian chant to create a slightly mysterious monastery scene filled with the prayers and chanting of monks in an old church.  Gregorian chant is ancient church music that has been in existence for over 1500 years.  The chant unfolds through call and response patterns.  One monk intones a musical idea, then the rest of the monks respond by singing back.  This musical conversation continues throughout the piece, with the exception of a few brief interruptions.  Perhaps they are the quiet comments church visitors make to one another.

Persistence ..................................................................................................................... Richard Saucedo
Grade 5
"Persistence" was inspired by that never ending feeling within all of us that pushes us to run a little faster, reach a little higher and try a little harder as we attempt to reach our life goals.  With persistence, we are capable of turning our dreams into reality.  "Persistence" was commissioned in 2004 by the Valley Forge High School Symphonic Band in Parma Heights, Ohio, Lynda S. Eubanks, director.

Yiddish Dances ........................................................................................................................ Adam Gorb
Grade 6
Adam Gorb, currently Head of School of Composition and Contemporary Music at the Royal Northern college of Music in Manchester, England, started composing at the age of 10.  In Gorb's own words:  "Yiddish Dances was written for Timothy Reynish's 60th Birthday and is very much a party piece.  It brings together two of my abiding musical passions:  the Symphonic Wind Orchestra and Klezmar - the folk music of the Yiddish-speaking people."  Intent to demonstrate the spirit verve and passion of a Klezmer band should be maintained throughout the performance of this work.  When all five movements are played, the piece is fourteen to fifteen minutes long.  The first movement "Khosidl", or scissor dance has a medium tempo in half-time 2/4 meter that moves freely between satire, sentimentality, and pathos.  The third movement, "Doina", is a free recitative in which various instruments have an opportunity to shine.  Although solos are written out, the intent is one of an improvisatory style that showcases the virtuosity of the performer, much like a cadenza in classical music.  The work closes with the "Freylachs", in a very fast 2/4 meter recalling the themes from the previous movements and ending in a riotous "booze-up" for all concerned, as Gorb states.  "Le Chaim!"

Russian Christmas Music ................................................................................................. Alfred Reed
Not graded for Festival
Most band directors are familiar with this amazing piece of music.  This composition is based on the liturgical music of the Eastern Orthodox Church, which is vocal in origin, no instruments of any kind being permitted in the Orthodox Service.  Therefore, the entire score, no matter how fast the tempi or how powerful the climaxes, must be played in a lyrical style with great sonority and sostenuto throughout.  By special permission from Warner Brothers Publications, the Chantilly Symphonic Winds and Advanced Combined Chorus will perform this special arrangement of this icon in the band repertoire.