Across the Serengeti: Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts

$60.00 USD

Across the Serengeti: Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts

Name: Across the Serengeti: Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts
Brand: Alfred Music
SKU: 98-B1658
Price: 60.00 USD
Availability: InStock

By Jack Wilds

Level:.5

Item: 98-B1658

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Across the Serengeti is a musical portrait of the grassy plains of Africa. Using only six notes, this piece establishes and sustains an infectious rhythm that students and audience will thoroughly enjoy. Percussionists have plenty to do and provide a vital component of the orchestration.

Don't just read it, hear it, play along with it, and watch your students grow with it. In MakeMusic Cloud, Across the Serengeti: Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts comes alive with professional accompaniment, adjustable tempo, and built-in practice tools that turn solo practice into real progress.

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Series: FJH Starter Series

Publisher: The FJH Music Company, Inc.

UPC: 241444368084

SKU: 98-B1658

More about this title

About the Composer: Jack Wilds

Jack Wilds teaches composition and music theory at Texas State University while maintaining an active schedule as a clinician, adjudicator, and church musician. His output spans an unusually wide range: he has written for children's choirs, collegiate ensembles, professional chamber groups, and everything in between, drawing inspiration from visual art, philosophy, and poetry alongside purely musical ideas.

Wilds spent years in the public school classroom, which shaped his gift for meeting developing musicians on their own ground while still demanding artistic integrity. His wind band works appear on festival repertoire lists across multiple continents and have been heard at the Midwest Clinic, the International Trombone Festival, and the Slider Asia Clinic in Hong Kong. He studied composition at the University of Texas with Chris Trapani and Donald Grantham, among others.

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Why we love this

A composer who spent years in the public school trenches knows exactly what a beginning band can handle and what will keep them engaged. Wilds proves here that simplicity and sophistication are not opposites; a piece built from just six notes becomes a platform for infectious rhythmic energy and orchestral color, especially in the percussion section where students get real musical responsibility rather than decorative parts.

What to expect

Evocative without being literal. The piece captures the expansiveness and rhythmic vitality of the African plains through orchestral color and propulsive groove rather than programmatic description. There is a sense of movement and life, sustained by a hypnotic rhythmic pulse that pulls the ensemble forward.

Who it's for

Beginning concert bands (Level .5/Grade ½) looking for a piece with genuine musical substance that won't overwhelm students still developing fundamental skills. Directors who want to feature their percussion section and build ensemble cohesion through rhythmic precision will find this especially rewarding.

How to get the most out of it

Lock the percussion section first. The rhythm is the skeleton of this piece, so get those parts rock solid before bringing in the winds.
Let the limited pitch palette breathe. With only six notes, clarity of tone and precision of attacks matter more than in repertoire with wider ranges.
Keep the energy lifted throughout. The Serengeti plains suggest wide-open space and movement; avoid letting the rhythm flatten into a march.

How to use it

This works beautifully as an opener on a concert, setting an uplifted tone and giving the audience immediate engagement before moving into more complex repertoire. It also pairs well with other multicultural pieces or world music-inspired works, and can anchor a thematic program exploring music from different cultures and landscapes.