Celebrate This Day!: Mallets
By Jon Bubbett
Grade: 3.5
Item: 00-PC-0019531_M1
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Description
Full of excitement and energy, Celebrate This Day, by Jon Bubbett, will make an exciting opener for your next concert! Capturing the euphoria of the celebration of new life, this spirited and energetic opener is a great way to start your next concert. It winds through many emotions, from exhilaration to hopefulness and playfulness to robust excitement. This piece is exciting, captivating, and full of interesting harmonic surprises from the beginning. It will make your students and audiences feel lighter than air! (3:25)
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Additional Details
Series:
Belwin Concert Band
Publisher:
Alfred Music
SKU:
00-PC-0019531_M1
More about this title
About the Composer: Jon Bubbett
Jon Bubbett brings four decades of teaching experience to his compositions, having spent 26 years building the band program at Thompson High School in Alabaster, Alabama. His contributions to music education earned him six NBA Citations of Excellence and recognition as Phi Beta Mu's Bandmaster of the Year in 2015. Since retiring from full-time teaching, he has remained deeply involved in the field as a clinician, adjudicator, and active composer with works published through Belwin, Wingert-Jones, Excelcia Music, and other major publishers.
Bubbett's service extends across multiple states through guest clinician appearances in Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi, as well as participation in the Alabama Music Educators Association In-Service Conference and the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic. He conducts the Celebration Winds Community Concert Band and holds membership in the National Association for Music Education, the National Band Association, Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters Fraternity, and ASCAP.
Why we love this
This opener delivers exactly what a Grade 3.5 band needs: immediate energy without requiring virtuosic execution. The harmonic surprises and emotional range create a piece that feels sophisticated and fresh to both performers and audiences, not generic concert filler. Bubbett's experience as a teacher shows in writing that excites students while remaining accessible.
What to expect
A rush of joy that shifts shape throughout its three and a half minutes. You move from exuberant celebration through moments of genuine warmth and playfulness before landing in powerful, confident excitement. The piece feels lighter and buoyant in spirit even when it's driving forward with full band power.
Who it's for
Directors looking for an opening piece that energizes both rehearsal room and concert hall without demanding extended technical preparation. This works equally well for bands building their repertoire at the Grade 3.5 level and for stronger ensembles seeking a high-energy short work that leaves audiences wanting more.
How to get the most out of it
- Balance the opening articulations carefully so the excitement lands cleanly rather than muddily; clarity in the lower voices sets the energy level for what follows.
- Shape the transitions between emotional shifts (exhilaration to hopefulness to playfulness) as deliberate tempo and dynamic choices rather than abrupt changes.
- Use the sectional moments of robust excitement as opportunities to build ensemble unity; lock the entire band into the pulse together during these climactic passages.
- Listen to how the harmonic surprises land in the upper woodwinds and brass; bring them slightly forward so audiences hear the unexpected color shifts that distinguish this piece.
How to use it
Open your concert with this; the emotional lift it provides sets an excellent tone for whatever comes next. At just over three minutes, it serves as the perfect appetizer before a major work, or as the opening salvo in a shorter pop concert or festival performance where you want immediate audience engagement.
Skills your students will build
- Executing articulation clarity and precision in fast-moving passages
- Shaping dynamic and tempo transitions that communicate emotional content
- Balancing full ensemble sound across varying registrations and instrumental combinations
- Responding to harmonic color and unexpected tonal shifts within a tonal context
- Maintaining rhythmic accuracy and ensemble unity during energetic, driving sections