Accent on Performance Concert Favorites Collection: Percussion Book

These arrangements sit at the sweet spot where pedagogical clarity meets genuine musicality. O'Reilly and Williams understood that young percussionists need material that rewards focused practice without sacrificing style, and these 22 pieces deliver exactly that across multiple contemporary genres.

Contemporary, energetic, and inventive. These pieces move beyond march-and-chorale territory into soundscapes with titles like Attack of the Cyclops and Windstar Overture, offering percussion players the chance to play dramatic, stylistically varied music that engages the whole ensemble.

Intermediate to early advanced young band percussionists who are ready for material beyond basic stroke patterns and into genuine musical collaboration. Percussion sections in middle school and early high school programs will find appropriate technical challenges alongside accessible rhythmic and melodic content.

• Balance the melodic line across your percussion section by identifying which instruments carry the primary theme in each piece and adjusting dynamic support accordingly.
• Pay close attention to rhythmic precision in syncopated passages; tap the written rhythms independently before rehearsals to internalize the patterns without relying on the rest of the band.
• Experiment with mallet choices (hard vs. soft mallets on vibraphone and bells) to shape the tone color that matches the mood of each arrangement.
• Work with your director to establish clear cues for section entrances, especially in pieces with independent percussion parts that don't double the main ensemble.

Select individual pieces to build concert programs with personality and variety without breaking ensemble cohesion. These arrangements work equally well as standalone showcase pieces or as the dramatic centerpiece of a concert built around contemporary young-band repertoire.

• Reading independent percussion lines that don't double band melody
• Performing syncopated rhythms with precision and musicality
• Tone control and mallet selection across multiple percussion instruments
• Ensemble listening and balance within a percussion section
• Stylistic interpretation in contemporary concert music