Accent on Performance Concert Favorites Collection: Alto Saxophone Book

These 22 arrangements deliver genuine musical substance in pieces designed to sit comfortably in an alto saxophone's sweet spot. O'Reilly and Williams avoid the trap of oversimplifying style, giving your students arrangements that sound like real music rather than pedagogical exercises, which means they stay engaged during rehearsals and audiences stay interested during concerts.

Energetic and stylistically varied. One arrangement might evoke a fantasy adventure narrative; the next brings contemporary concert idioms into the band setting. These pieces invite students to inhabit different musical worlds, which keeps rehearsals fresh across a full collection.

Alto saxophonists in intermediate concert bands (grades 2-4) who are ready to move beyond basic repertoire. This collection works well for programs building a library of performance-ready pieces that suit year-round programming rather than single-style repertoire.

• Balance your alto sax section's presence carefully in ensemble passages. These arrangements rely on full band sonority, so listen for moments where the saxes should anchor the harmony rather than push for soloistic projection.
• Study the stylistic cues in each arrangement individually. Centurian demands a march-like precision; other titles pull from contemporary concert styles that ask for different articulation and phrasing choices.
• Mark cut-offs clearly in your part so the section locks with the rest of the band during transitions. With 22 different pieces, resets between movements happen frequently.

Build a concert around a theme using selections from this book. Programming Centurian, Knights Kingdom, and Attack of the Cyclops together creates a narrative arc. Alternatively, scatter individual arrangements throughout the year as concert pieces that require minimal preparation time because the parts are written idiomatically for young players.

• Articulation variety across contemporary styles
• Phrasing and balance within ensemble contexts
• Stylistic interpretation beyond march and chorale traditions
• Sight-reading facility across multiple keys and time signatures