Steve Goldeck Seminar in Band Conducting

Spring 2014

Topic #7: Programming

What is the intention of the performance, our mission(s), the audience, the performers,
the conductor? Provide examples of programming mindsets for Middle School
concerts, High School Concerts, University Concerts (for competitions and concerts for
parents) and Community Band (concerts for general public).

As music educators, our primary purpose is to provide our students with quality
musical experiences. In order to accomplish this goal, we must strive to expose our
students to the nest repertoire of lasting quality available to us. When we get right
down to it, the repertoire is the curriculum and must be treated with the utmost care.
You may have heard it said , and I agree, that a band is only as good as the repertoire it
performs!
To start, lets consider what is the purpose of concerts? Is it to entertain the
audience? Well, yes and no. In school ensembles, regardless of level, the concert
provides a venue to share their musical education and preparation. Of course, we
must take into account audience engagement in the concert. For instance, if the
ensemble has prepared a piece that is not so easy to listen to for the average
concertgoer, careful attention must be taken by the conductor to program it at an
appropriate time during the concert. We would not want to program it as an opener or a
closer but rather save those spots on the program for a more audience-accessible
piece. Ive always been taught to program such pieces early on in the program, if at all
possible second.
Lets go back to the audience for just a moment. As conductors, no one would
argue that we are to educate the ensemble about the music were performing. I would
like to take that a step further by saying that we also need to educate the audience!
Especially in those less accessible selections we program, why not let the audience
know what to listen for. Tell them how hard the ensemble worked to get the piece
performance ready. While they might not go home humming and the mountains rising
nowhere, I wholeheartedly believe they will appreciate the musicianship required for
such a work.
The question now becomes how do we select quality repertoire? I have attended
many conducting symposiums and have had many conversations with wind band
conductors regarding this question essential to our profession. I have found no better
answer than the criteria Acton Ostling, Jr. presents in his groundbreaking 1978
dissertation evaluating band repertoire. Ostling lists 10 criteria for evaluating repertoire.
They are as follows:

1. The composition has form not a form, but form and reects a proper balance
between repetition and contrast.

2. The composition reects shape and design, and creates the impression of conscious
choice and judicious arrangement on the part of the composer.


3. The composition reects craftsmanship in orchestration, demonstrating a proper
balance between transparent and tutti scoring, and also between solo and group
colours.

4. The composition is sufciently unpredictable to preclude and immediate grasp of its
musical meaning.

5. The route through which the composition travels in initiating its musical tendencies
and probable musical goals is not completely direct and obvious.

6. The composition is consistent in its quality throughout its length and various sections.

7. The composition is consistent in its style, reecting a complete grasp of technical
details, clearly conceived ideas, and avoids lapses into trivial, futile or unsuitable
passages.

8. The composition reects ingenuity in its development, given the stylistic context in
which it exists.

9. The composition is genuine in idiom, and is not pretentious.

10.The composition reects a musical validity which transcends factors of historical
importance, or factors of pedagogical usefulness.

Mindsets

Depending on the level of your group, different mindsets emerge in regard to
programming. However, it should go without saying that the overall goal remains the same, to
expose our ensembles to the highest level of quality repertoire appropriate to their skill level.

Middle School

Assuming that your middle school students have come to you with 2 years of experience
at the elementary level, I highly suggest not using a method book. Early in the year, the
conductor should evaluate the competency of his musicians and make sure that repertoire
selected challenges noted deciencies. At the middle school level, every effort should be made
to keep students engaged and motivated in band. As with any level of band repertoire, there is
a lot of garbage to wade through but it is worth the added effort. There are many quasi-pop
compositions that are, on the whole, undesirable. As tempting as it might be to program a piece
of this nature to make band fun I warn against it. This is akin to the English teacher teaching
comic books. The fun part of band is performing, the social aspect of band, making friend and
memories that last a lifetime. Lets keep the pop music where it belongs, on the radio and not
on the concert stage.
With that said, it is my opinion that most middle schools in our area are not programming
literature that challenges their groups. There are many, many quality pieces written at a Grade
1-3 level. A fantastic source for nding quality literature at this an all levels is GIA Publications
Teaching Music Through Performance in Band series. There are currently nine volumes and
even two volumes devoted just to beginning bands. These books are an invaluable resource for
conductors and provides analyses and rehearsal suggestions for many works. Some great
composers for middle school include Frank Erickson, Clare Grundman, W. Francis McBeth,
David Holsinger, Brian Balmages, James Hosay and many, many more.
In 2012, I was invited to guest conduct the Olympic Conference Honors Jr. High Band
and would like to use my program as an example of what I consider to be a quality middle
school program.

Fanfare and Flourishes 2 - James Curnow
Air for Band - Frank Erickson
Kentucky 1800 - Clare Grundman
Three Ayres from Gloucester - Hugh M. Stuart
The Liberty Bell March - Sousa/arr. Bocook

High School

The high school band mindset echoes the same sentiment described above in terms of
choosing appropriate literature of the utmost quality. At this grade level, I suggest a 6-9 week
concert cycle. School scheduling and funding may make it impossible to give a concert every
6-9 weeks and that is ok. The goal is to refresh the folder every 6 to 9 weeks, not necessarily to
give a public performance every 6 to 9 weeks. Some band directors give only two concerts a
year, one in the fall and one in the spring and only expose students to at most maybe 10 pieces
per year. This is not enough! Not only are we to expose students to quality repertoire but it
needs to be varied. Teaching Music Through Performance in Band is a great asset in high
school programming as it is in middle school programming. We want to be looking mainly in the
Grade 4-5 repertoire, occasionally stretching the ensemble with a Grade 6 piece. This isnt to
say that Grade 3 works are to be avoided at all cost. A Grade 3 piece can be included on a high
school band concert as it gives students a sense of accomplishment early on in the rehearsal
process and serves as a motivator to tackle the more challenging repertoire in the folder. In
addition to the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band series, at the high school level we
can also start to seek out Acton Ostlings dissertation, An Evaluation of Compositions for Wind
Band According to Specic Criteria of Serious Artistic Merit. This landmark dissertation has
been updated twice since the initial study, once by Jay Gilbert and most recently by Clifford
Towner. While the majority of the works presented in the study are for university level wind
bands, there are quite a few that are accessible by a high school group. The creative director
could even make some wise decisions to tweak a work for his or her group. For example, every
student should be exposed to Percy Graingers Lincolnshire Posy, one of the most signicant
works composed for the medium. The 3rd and 5th movements might not be accessible by a
high school group and it would be ok to omit them in a performance. Examples like this are too
many to list. Trust your musicianship to re-write parts for lacking instrumentation, to adjust
articulations in faster tempos, to make parts slightly easier for still developing players, etc.
A nal quick note for the students who still yearn for pop tunes in band, in high school we
have a built-in solution to this problemjoin the pep band!

University

At the university level, a variety of mindsets emerge. Most universities have a multi-tier
system in place for their concert ensembles which will deterring the most appropriate repertoire
for them to play. The University wind ensemble should be focused on the most serious works of
artistic merit. This group should actively seek out commissions for new works and regularly
perform new works. They should be the champion of all that is possible in the wind world.
For the university concert band, one must consider that some percentage of the group
will be non-majors and, hopefully, the majority percentage will be music ed majors. We have an
obligation to these music ed majors to use the concert band as a lab of sorts. This is where we
can really teach music ed majors how to rehearse, how to warm up, how to pick repertoire, etc.
While the repertoire must remain at a quality level and challenge the group, we also must
provide the music ed majors with literature choices at a variety of levels. The university concert
band should program the best works at Grade 3, 4, 5, and 6 levels, maybe even Grade 2
occasionally. For the future music educator who will most likely not have to take a repertoire
class in their degree program, this could be the only venue where they learn what repertoire is
appropriate for the middle school and high school band.

Community Band

Community bands are a unique situation in and of themselves. Each one exists for a
different purpose. Ive seen some community bands that only accept into their membership
area music educators and focus on more collegiate level works. Ive seen other community
bands that exist for entertainment and play many pops concerts. Its really a mixed bag where
anything and everything is possible. I think its important for the conductor to consider the
purpose of the ensemble. If its to entertain, then pick entertaining music! Consider the venue
and, if outdoors, choose repertoire that suits the outdoors (multiple doubling of parts). A July 4th
patriotic pops concert audience does not want to hear the latest work by Donald Grantham!
Use your own musicianship to determine what is best for your ensemble. Avoid the easy way
out. If youre going to program a march, program a march. This isnt middle school band. We
dont want Jay Bocooks arrangement of The Liberty Bell March. We want Sousas arrangement
of Sousas march! Do not water down repertoire. We are still in the business of making
beautiful music at the highest of levels. There are many ne works written at the Grade 3 level
that are of artistic merit. Our jobnd them, teach them, program them.

Closing Thoughts

The band is only as good as the repertoire it performs. Many band directors lament the
seemingly subservient status of the wind band. Yet, some of these same people program
James Swearingen and Robert W. Smith pieces for their high school groups. There is a
disparity here. If we want more out of our ensembles, we need to give them more to work with.
Theres only so far we can take a Swearingen piece. Yet, you could rehearse Lincolnshire Posy
every day for your entire career and nd something new to rehearse every day. As music
educators, it is our most important duty to select repertoire for our ensembles. Lets start taking
it seriously and choose repertoire that provides a meaningful experience for our students and
performers.

REFERENCES

Miles, Richard B., and Larry Blocher. Teaching music through performance in band. Chicago:
GIA Publications, 1997.

Ostling, Acton Eric. An evaluation of compositions for wind band according to specic criteria of
serious artistic merit. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University Microlms International, 19791978.