Celebrating My Three Best Friends: Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts
By Richard L. Saucedo
Grade: 2
Item: 35-PK00334807
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Description
The mission of United Sound, Inc. is to provide musical performance experiences for students with special needs. In this program, each student is mentored by three general education students already in a band or orchestra. "Celebrating My Three Best Friends" pays tribute to this special relationship and bond between students. Written in a modified rondo form and in a fast 3/4 tempo throughout, this is an uplifting and rewarding piece for young players. Dur: 2:10
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Additional Details
Publisher:
Hal Leonard
SKU:
35-PK00334807
More about this title
About the Composer: Richard L. Saucedo
Richard L. Saucedo shaped the Carmel High School band program in Indiana over 31 years, retiring in 2013 as Director of Bands and Chairman of Performing Arts. His ensembles earned multiple state and national titles, including BOA National Championships in 2005 and 2012, and his Wind Symphony performed at the Music for All National Concert Band Festival three times. Saucedo received Indiana's Bandmaster of the Year award in 1999 and was inducted into both the Music for All Hall of Fame and Drum Corps International Hall of Fame.
Beyond his tenure at Carmel, Saucedo has maintained a robust presence in the marching arts and concert music worlds. He served as Brass Arranger and Composer for the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps, contributing to five DCI world championships, and currently works as music ensemble coordinator for the Blue Devils. As a freelance composer and arranger, he creates works across marching bands, concert bands, choral ensembles, and orchestras, while serving as Senior Educational Consultant for Music for All and as a Chief Judge Team Leader for Bands of America competitions.
Why we love this
This piece captures something genuinely moving: the specific bond of peer mentorship in inclusive music programs. Rather than generic "celebration" music, Saucedo writes with clear purpose, using a modified rondo structure that gives young players something architecturally satisfying to perform. The uplifting quality here is earned through good writing, not sentiment, which means students will believe in what they are playing.
What to expect
Bright and celebratory without artifice. The fast 3/4 creates a natural lift, and the modified rondo gives the piece a sense of return and familiarity that feels warm rather than formulaic. There is genuine joy here, grounded in a real story.
Who it's for
Bands at the early intermediate level who value social-emotional programming alongside musical growth. This works particularly well for schools running inclusive ensemble models or those seeking programming that honors specific student relationships and mentorship structures.
How to get the most out of it
- Shape the 3/4 meter with gentle forward motion rather than mechanical precision. The fast tempo works best when the pulse feels buoyant, not rushed.
- Let the rondo form breathe by keeping returns to the main section crisp and recognizable. Audiences appreciate tracking the form, especially at a concert focused on inclusion.
- Balance any featured sections with the ensemble sound. This piece is about collective celebration, so resist soloistic grandstanding.
- Use the two-minute-ten-second duration as a teaching point about phrase architecture. Show students how much can happen in a concise work when the writing is efficient.
How to use it
Open a concert with this piece when you want to establish an emotional anchor and signal that the program celebrates more than technical achievement. Pair it with repertoire exploring friendship, community, or inclusion themes, or use it as the centerpiece of a section honoring student mentorship initiatives. At two minutes, it also works well as a concert opener or intermezzo between larger works.
Skills your students will build
- Maintaining tempo consistency in fast 3/4 time
- Recognizing and executing a modified rondo form
- Balancing ensemble parts within a celebratory context
- Sustaining energy and lift in shorter forms
- Shaping phrase contours that serve a narrative arc