Caribbean Suite: Havana Moon for Clarinet Choir and Percussion: Clarinet Choir and Percussion Part(s)

Reed wrote the first original work for clarinet choir and percussion, and "Havana Moon" earned its place as a standard not through marketing but through durability and genuine musicianship. The piece captures a specific moment in clarinet ensemble history while remaining immediately playable, and the inclusion of a substitution part for contrabass clarinet acknowledges real-world rehearsal logistics that composers often overlook.

"Havana Moon" evokes the warmth and rhythmic vitality of Cuban music filtered through the amber richness of a full clarinet choir. The harmonic language sits comfortably between traditional and accessible, offering harmonic color without dissonance, while the percussion writing channels the polyrhythmic energy of the Caribbean without demanding specialized or obscure instruments.

Clarinet choirs at the middle school through college level, especially ensembles with access to a full low clarinet family and percussion players. Directors programming concert repertoire that showcases the unique tonal palette of the clarinet choir while avoiding the most technically demanding material.

• Balance the percussion accompaniment so it enhances the clarinet sonority without overwhelming it; the groove should feel like a foundation, not a feature.
• Treat the low clarinet voices (bass and contrabass/substitute parts) as the harmonic anchor. Intonation in the low register directly affects ensemble blend, so mark those passages in rehearsal.
• Shape phrases across the full ensemble rather than within individual clarinet sections; clarinet choirs benefit from a unified melodic contour even when the line is distributed.
• Lock the tempo with the percussion section early in rehearsals. Rhythmic precision between the clarinet choir and the accompanying parts drives the Cuban idiom effectively.

Include this as a showcase for your clarinet choir on a concert that mixes standard wind band fare with specialized ensemble repertoire. The Cuban flavor makes it an excellent pairing with other Latin American works or a refreshing contrast to classical and contemporary pieces on the same program.

• Balancing clarinet choir sonority across soprano, alto, bass, and contrabass voices
• Intonation and tone matching in extended low register
• Rhythmic coordination with a percussion ensemble
• Ensemble independence (maintaining individual part integrity while listening to the full sonority)