Concerto for Piano and Wind Ensemble (1966): Concert Band Conductor Score

Reynolds wrote a concerto that takes the wind ensemble seriously as an artistic partner to the keyboard soloist rather than as mere accompaniment. The writing is generous to both forces, and the orchestration crackles with color and vitality. Performing this alongside standard band repertoire signals to your ensemble that contemporary concert band music can be sophisticated, rewarding, and genuinely exciting.

Energetic and dialogic, with the piano both sparring with and soaring above the winds. The music balances lyrical moments with driving rhythmic passages, creating a sense of virtuosic conversation rather than display. The concerto has the sophistication of chamber music but the color and power of a full ensemble.

This score is for wind band directors and ensembles at the high school advanced, college, or community band level who are ready to tackle a substantial contemporary work with both technical and interpretive demands. You need a strong pianist willing to collaborate with the ensemble and parts must be rented, so plan ahead.

• Balance the piano with ensemble textures carefully during full sections; the solo part will need to project without dominating the wind sound.
• Coordinate keyboard fingerings with the pianist beforehand. Snyder's editorial indications are there to support both musical interpretation and technical execution.
• Mark sectional entrances clearly in all parts, especially where the ensemble drops in and out around the soloist.
• Work the rhythm section (if present) as a unit to anchor the ensemble's response to the piano's rubato and cadential gestures.

Feature this as a centerpiece concert work on a program that celebrates contemporary music and keyboard-winds collaboration. It pairs naturally with other twentieth-century wind ensemble compositions and makes a strong case for the concert band's artistic credibility in serious chamber and solo-with-ensemble contexts.

• Ensemble balance with a featured soloist
• Contemporary harmonic language and tonal interpretation
• Sectional independence and precision in complex textures
• Collaboration between wind ensemble and keyboard accompaniment
• Conducting gestures that support rubato and cadential freedom