Natalie  Steele  Royston              nasteele@iastate.edu                          http://nataliesteeleroyston.weebly.com    Bruce  McLellan                                        mclellanb@oskycsd.org      

Selecting Quality Repertoire for the Young Band and Orchestra Iowa Music Educators Conference

November 20, 2015 – 11:00AM

Natalie Steele Royston, Iowa State University Bruce McLellan, Oskaloosa Community Schools http://nataliesteeleroyston.weebly.com

• What skills should I be teaching and when? • How do I know what my students should be playing? • How do I know what is a good piece of music for a young band/orchestra? • Where do I find good music?

It is the curriculum that drives the selection of performance repertoire NOT the performance repertoire that determines the curriculum A well-designed music curriculum guides us to teach certain melodic, harmonic, rhythm, theoretical, and historical concepts consistently The repertoire is the vehicle with which we teach the curriculum Three Primary Criteria:

1. Pedagogical Value 2. Musical Integrity 3. Students’ Abilities

Appropriate Repertoire does the Following:

1) Provides a means to learn essential musical concepts 2) Keeps the entire ensemble engaged, which reinforces classroom management 3) Gives the ensemble a chance to perform successfully, which in turn improves motivation and morale 4) Offers a vehicle to performance

Where do I find good music?

1. Your own library 2. Other schools’ libraries 3. Past programs 4. Get on publisher’s mailing lists 5. Order music on approval 6. Go to concerts 7. Go to conferences 8. Magazines (SBO, Instrumentalist, MEJ) 9. Music Stores 10. Young Band Repertoire Project (online) 11. State organizations published lists (Iowa, Texas PML) 12. National Organizations (National Band Association)

Natalie  Steele  Royston              nasteele@iastate.edu                          http://nataliesteeleroyston.weebly.com    Bruce  McLellan                                        mclellanb@oskycsd.org      

Questions to consider when selecting repertoire?

• Will this piece help my ensemble grow musically? • Does it have musical integrity? • Are there opportunities for expressive playing? • Does this piece have good melodies, harmonies, and textures? • Does this piece contain a variety of keys, styles, meters, and technical complexity? • How does this piece relate to the strengths and weaknesses of my ensemble? • Is there a good full score available? • Can we play this piece without making major revisions? • Can we cover all of the percussion parts? • Is the percussion writing musical and logical? • Are the low brass. viola, or low string parts challenging and interesting? • Are the ranges and technical demands appropriate to the grade level? • Will the students benefit/enjoy this piece? • Do we have adequate time to learn this piece?

Evaluating the difficulty of music

• Will this piece help my ensemble grow musically? • Does it have musical integrity? • Are there opportunities for expressive playing? • Does this piece have good melodies, harmonies, and textures? • Does this piece contain a variety of keys, styles, meters, and technical complexity? • How does this piece relate to the strengths and weaknesses of my ensemble? • Is there a good full score available? • Can we play this piece without making major revisions? • Can we cover all of the percussion parts? • Is the percussion writing musical and logical? • Are the low brass. viola, or low string parts challenging and interesting? • Are the ranges and technical demands appropriate to the grade level? • Will the students benefit/enjoy this piece? • Do we have adequate time to learn this piece?

Natalie  Steele  Royston              nasteele@iastate.edu                          http://nataliesteeleroyston.weebly.com    Bruce  McLellan                                        mclellanb@oskycsd.org      

Natalie  Steele  Royston              nasteele@iastate.edu                          http://nataliesteeleroyston.weebly.com    Bruce  McLellan                                        mclellanb@oskycsd.org      

3rd  Position  for  violins:     Danza…R.  W.  Smith           Rocky  Top…arr.  Chase    Bowing  lanes,  spiccato:     Dramatic  Essay…Williams    Intense  and  fun:       Gauntlet…by  Spata      Vibrato,  phrasing,  expression:             An  English  Folk  Song…McQuilkin           Suo  Gan…Welsh  Folk  Song,  arr.  Clark           Ye  Bonnie  Banks  ‘N’  Braes…Scottish  Setting  by  Wagner      Classical styles: Prelude and Gavotte…Corelli, Gazda         Autumn  from  “The  Four  Seasons”,  (Third                     Movement)…Vivaldi,  arr.  Meyer   Symphony 15…Mozart, Dackow         Finale  from  William  Tell…Rossini,  Dackow   Hopak! (Ukrainian Dance)…Owens    Fiddle  and  folk:     Blackberry  Blossom…Gackstatter           Brittanic  Tryptich…Del  Borgo           Variations  on  an  Irish  Tune…Balmages      Ethnic  fun:       Japanese  Lullaby…Yamada           Rhythms  of  Africa…Newbold      Section  features:     Viola  Country…Meyer   Dancing Basses…Isaac    Kid's  choice:       Radioactive…arr.  Moore      Modern  techniques:     Rosin  Eating  Zombies  from  Outer  Space…Meyer      From  the  screen:     The  Prince  of  Egypt…arr.  Moss    

Natalie  Steele  Royston              nasteele@iastate.edu                          http://nataliesteeleroyston.weebly.com    Bruce  McLellan                                        mclellanb@oskycsd.org      

Selecting Repertoire for Young Band