Slideshow image
<previous next> view play stop

ComposeYourself!

An interactive, educational and entertaining show designed to introduce children of all ages to the instruments of the symphony orchestra.

The 45-minute presentation combines humor and information throughout its narrative to maintain the students' interest right to the thrilling conclusion.

Watch a video.

Fanfares and Overtures

ConcertosPremieres

  • Chamber Concerto for chamber orchestra

    Play

    View

    Click the button for a PDF-file download of the score for "Chamber Concerto."

    Rent

    Click to go to the sheet music store.

    Info

    Chamber Concerto  [2009]

    Concerto for chamber orchestra

    Duration: 11:30

    Instrumentation: 1111 - 1110 - t+1 - str

    St. Barths Music Festival Orchestra / Klein

  • Concerto Brazilianofor orchestra with solo trombone

    Play

    Nitzan Haroz, trombone
    Alex Klein, conductor

    View

    Click the button for a PDF-file download of the score for "Braziliano trombone concerto."

    Rent

    Click to go to the sheet music store.

    Info

    Braziliano  [2007]

    Concerto for trombone and chamber orchestra

    Duration: 16:30

    Instrumentation: 2222 - 2100 - t+1 - str - solo trombone

    Nitzan Haroz / St. Barths Music Festival / Klein

  • Concerto #1 for Trumpetfor chamber orchestra with solo trumpet

    Play

    Jeffrey Work, trpt
    w/ Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, Boston

    View

    Click the button for a PDF-file download of the score for "Concerto for Trumpet."

    Rent

    Click to go to the sheet music store.

    Info

    Concerto for Trumpet  [2003]

    Concerto for trumpet and chamber orchestra

    Duration: 21:30

    Instrumentation: 1222 - 2100 - t+0 - str - solo trumpet

    Jeffrey Work / Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston / Jackson

  • Cousinsconcerto for orchestra with solo trumpet and saxophone

    Play

    Rodney Mack and Branford Marsalis with the Interlochen World Youth Symphony conducted by Jung Ho Pak

    View

    Click the button for a PDF-file download of the score for "Cousins."

    Rent

    Click to go to the sheet music store.

    Info

    Cousins  [2007]

    Concerto for trumpet, sax and orchestra

    Duration: 16:00

    Instrumentation: *3*3*32 - 4331 - t+3 - hp - pf - str - solo sax +solo trumpet

    Read a
    review

    World Youth Symphony, guests shine

    By JOE RICE

    Special to the Record-Eagle

    Sunday evening's World Youth Symphony Orchestra concert was a particularly rare one for performers and audience alike.

    Celebrated saxophonist Branford Marsalis was the featured soloist "" a first for him at Interlochen. Marsalis made his mark first as a cutting-edge jazz musician, but like his equally well-known brother Wynton, Branford plays music all across the spectrum.

    In this concert, he was featured soloist in music by classical composers Giacomo Puccini and Gustav Mahler. Then the focal point of the evening was a world premiere composition by Interlochen alumnus James Stephenson, "Concerto for Saxophone and Trumpet." This work also featured trumpeter Rodney Mack, who is a second cousin to Branford and one of Stephenson's best friends.

    Mack is a formidable virtuoso. He's studied with his cousin, soloed with the Boston Pops and a number of other orchestras around the world and is principal trumpet for the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia.

    One of the strengths of conductor Jung-Ho Pak is his more adventurous way of programming for the WYSO. The concert opened with Igor Stravinsky's "Greeting Prelude," an angular version of "Happy Birthday" to celebrate the 80th season of the Interlochen Arts Camp (originally called the National Music Camp). Then Marsalis was invited on stage to perform the two classical works Puccini's "Denaro! Nient'altro che denaro!" the lovely aria for mezzo soprano from the opera La Rondine, and Mahler's "Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen" ("I was misplaced in the world"), the moving melody Mahler took from the five Ruckert lieder. Here, Marsalis played soprano saxophone with great subtlety and sensitivity. The Puccini work in treble meter was sweet and lyrical. His entrance in the Mahler came out of nowhere, blending into the softness of the strings so that his tone emerged out of the violin sound. His vibrato and the purity of his tone showed another side to this remarkable musician "" and in contrast to his hard-driving jazz style.

    Then, without further comment from the conductor, Marsalis and Mack entered the stage, each loaded with instruments "" Marsalis with alto and tenor saxes and Mack with a C trumpet, a B-flat cornet and a piccolo trumpet.

    Stephenson's composition is built in three sections, quick, slow and quick. In it, I heard rhythms and harmonies that echoed the music of Paul Creston and Frank Martin. Those were, I think, tips of the hat to composers worthy of acknowledgement, but the music in this piece stands on its own. While it may not be considered groundbreaking in form or style, it is quite original. Each section includes conversational moments between sax and trumpet and other moments of delicious solo work that required virtuosic technique from both soloists. The opening section dances along in jaunty fashion with soloists exchanging comments, then coming together in harmony. The middle section is quite lyrical, offering each one ample time for melodious expression. The third section is a lively dance, which calls for a high level of skill.

    The solo parts throughout the piece are well thought out, and offer both musical and technical challenges to each. And the orchestra accompaniment provides a subtle but solid backdrop for the solos, but also has its moments in the sun. The work is very listenable, and as these two soloists continue their collaborations, this concerto will be a favorite. There is a very short list of good double concerto works for trumpet and saxophone. Branford and Mack complement each other musically, and I'm certain that when they collaborate again, it will include this work.

    It was annoying and disappointing that no mention of the composer's background, his connection to the soloists or his importance to Interlochen was made in the printed program and, at the end of the performance, he was not brought up on the stage to share in the well-deserved standing ovation. Stephenson is one of many alums of the Interlochen Arts Camp and graduates of the Interlochen Arts Academy who have distinguished themselves as world-class artists. He has established himself as an arranger, composer and professional trumpet player, and this world premiere performance certainly deserved recognition for him every bit as much as the two soloists, conductor and orchestra. All he got was a handshake at the foot of the stage, so only a few people in the audience even saw who he was.

    The WYSO closed the concert with Leonard Bernstein's Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story." To say the least, it was electric and thrilling. Maestro Pak is an energetic conductor, and the orchestra responds with equal amounts of energy. The alternating moments of quiet intensity and passion and the fiery, sometimes vicious times where the Sharks and Jets are in conflict, were powerful.

    The soloists in the orchestra were worth noting. Xylophone, timpani, drumset, the principal strings (violins, viola and cello), each member of the brass and the principal woodwinds all stood out. Bernstein's music is always a handful, especially if you're a high school musician, and these young people were up to the task. It meant the audience stood in loud and enthusiastic appreciation once more at the end.

    Joe Rice, of Traverse City, is a former high school band and orchestra director and current member of Encore Wind Symphony

    Marsalis, Mack, Pak and Stephenson
    Marsalis, Mack, Pak and Stephenson

    Rodney Mack, Branford Marsalis, Pak and Stephenson
    at the July 15, 2007, premiere of 'Cousins'

    Branford Marsalis, Rodney Mack / Interlochen WYSO / Pak

  • Duels and Dancesconcerto for chamber orchestra with solo oboe

    Play

    View

    Click the button for a PDF-file download of the score for "Duels and Dances oboe concerto."

    Rent

    Click to go to the sheet music store.

    Info

    Duels and Dances  [2011]

    Oboe concerto for oboe and orchestral winds + 3 saxes

    Duration: 13:00

    Instrumentation: *30*31 - 2231 - t+5 - hp - pf - solo oboe

    Alex Klein / St. Barths Festival Orchestra / Daniel

  • Fantasie for Violinconcerto for orchestra with solo violin

    View

    Click the button for a PDF-file download of the score for "Fantasie for Violin concerto."

    Rent

    Click to go to the sheet music store.

    Alex Kerr w/ the Rhode Island Philharmonic / Rachleff

  • La Grande Vitesse trio concertofor orchestra with solo trumpet, horn and trombone

    Play

    Trumpeter Charley Lea, hornist Erich Peterson and trombonist Daniel Mattson with the Grand Rapids (MI) symphony

    View

    Click the button for a PDF-file download of the score for "La Grande Vitesse."

    Rent

    Click to go to the sheet music store.

    Info

    La Grande Vitesse  [2009]

    Trio concerto for trumpet, horn and trombone with orchestra

    Duration: 17:00

    Instrumentation: *3*3*32 - 3221 - t+3 - hp - pf - str - solo brass trio

    Read a
    review

    . . .

    The real . . . star was composer James M. Stephenson, whose Triple Concerto for Brass was premiered. Trumpeter Charley Lea, hornist Erich Peterson and trombonist Daniel Mattson each rose from their respective second chairs for a solo spot.

    It's 17 minutes of propulsive music, often syncopated a la Bernstein, orchestrated with far-out combinations of instruments, almost always tuneful. It packs a punch, though not as often as you might think with three brass players, who each enjoyed solo turns of matching musicality.

    Stephenson, visiting from Chicago, declared that the piece he titled "La Grande Vitesse" is not a programmatic piece of music. I disagree.

    Its form is ambiguous with unexpected twists and turns. It's unpredictable when the next curve will start, and it's anybody's guess where it might go and how it might end.

    It matters not whether you see orange/red, it sure strikes me as Alexander Calder's stabile etched in sound.

    What's more, Stephenson so wrote it for this orchestra, I wouldn't be surprised if he skipped the names of the instruments and just wrote each player's name on the parts.

    . . .

    By Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk
    The Grand Rapids Press

    Charley Lea, Erich Peterson, Dan Mattson / Grand Rapids Symphony / Varineau

  • Liquid Melancholyconcerto for orchestra with solo clarinet

    View

    Click the button for a PDF-file download of the score for "Liquid Melancholy" concerto for orchestra and clarinet.

    Rent

    Click to go to the sheet music store.

    Dan Gilbert / CYO / Grossman;
    John Bruce Yeh / MYA / Dennis;
    David Shifrin / PYP / Hattner

  • Pandora's Waltzconcerto for orchestra with solo flute

    View

    Click the button for a PDF-file download of the score for "Pandora's Waltz concerto."

    Rent

    Click to go to the sheet music store.

    Info

    Pandora's Waltz  [2011]

    Concerto for flute and orchestra

    Duration: 16:30

    Instrumentation: *12(Ob. + E.H.)11 - 1111 - t+3 - kybds. (pf + cel.) - hp - str - solo flute

    William Larsen / Southwest Florida Symphony / Hall

  • Rextreme - Concerto #2for orchestra with solo trumpet

    View

    Click the button for a PDF-file download of the score for "Rextreme Concerto."

    Rent

    Click to go to the sheet music store.

    Info

    Rextreme  [2010]

    Concerto for trumpet and orchestra

    Duration: 16:00

    Instrumentation: *3*3*32 - 4231 - t+4 - hp - pf - str - solo trumpet

    Rex Richardson / Australian Honors Youth Orchestra / Williams

  • The Russian concertofor string orchestra with solo trumpet and piano

    Play

    Marc Reese, trpt
    Lisa Leonard, piano

    View

    Click the button for a PDF-file download of the score for "The Russian."

    Rent

    Click to go to the sheet music store.

    Info

    The Russian  [2007]

    Concerto for trumpet, piano and string orchestra

    Duration: 22:00

    Instrumentation: str - solo trumpet + solo piano

    Lisa Leonard, Marc Reese / Lynn University Sinfonia / Schram

  • Sounds Awakenedconcerto for orchestra with solo french horn

    View

    Click the button for a PDF-file download of the score for "Sounds Awakened" concerto for orchestra and french horn.

    Rent

    Click to go to the sheet music store.

    Gail Williams / North Texas orchestra / Tuckwell

  • Tributesconcerto for orchestra with solo violin

    Play

    View

    Click the button for a PDF-file download of the score for "Tributes violin concerto."

    Rent

    Click to go to the sheet music store.

    Jennifer Frautschi w/ the Minnesota Orchestra / Vanska

    Info

    Tributes  [2009]

    Violin concerto for violin and orchestra

    Duration: 25:00

    Instrumentation: *3*3*32 - 4331 - t+3 - hp - pf - str - solo violin

Concert Pieces

Educational and Themed

Novelty