And It Begins: Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts

This piece genuinely celebrates what it means to be a young band musician, captured through music that respects your ensemble's abilities while introducing them to harmonic concepts they won't find in most Grade 2 repertoire. The balance of contrasting sections—snare showcase, low-winds feature, and a full-band climax—keeps every section engaged and gives your students moments to shine individually and collectively. Winning the National Band Association's Young Band Composition Contest signals that this isn't just educational; it's musically distinctive.

Fresh and purposeful. The piece opens with a direct, memorable melodic gesture, then shifts through contrasting moods—from the personality of a snare solo to the warmth of low winds carrying the main idea, to a section bathed in the shimmer of lydian dominant harmony. By the final return, students feel the satisfaction of a journey completed.

Grade 2 concert bands and beginning high school ensembles ready to move beyond simple diatonic writing. Students in this piece encounter chord extensions and alternative harmonic language while remaining within technical reach, making it ideal for groups developing harmonic literacy alongside their performance skills.

• Highlight the lydian dominant sonority in the middle section by ensuring your clarinet and saxophone lines sit above the harmonic foundation, letting students hear how this extended harmony differs from the traditional triadic sound they've been playing.
• Balance the snare solo so it speaks clearly without overwhelming the ensemble when it returns; this is a feature moment, and your percussionist needs confidence in the pocket.
• Give the low woodwinds (bassoons, bass clarinets) and low brass the room they need for their melodic feature; they're carrying the voice, not providing accompaniment, so encourage them to shape the line with intent.
• Use the piece's arch structure (intro, snare feature, lyrical middle, climax, snare return) to shape rehearsals section by section, building understanding of how Woodrow creates momentum across the full five-minute arc.

Program this as a concert centerpiece for a fall festival performance or winter concert where you want to feature young band writing that stands alongside traditional standards. Its National Band Association recognition and balanced instrumentation also make it a natural choice for beginning high school bands entering their first solo competition season.

• Hearing and performing extended harmonies (seventh chords, lydian dominant sonorities)
• Balancing solo passages within ensemble texture
• Following arch-shaped musical structure across contrasting sections
• Reading and responding to cueing in a multi-section work
• Blending low woodwinds and low brass as a feature unit