Curtain Up!: Concert Band Conductor Score

Four distinct pieces that showcase different compositional styles and energy levels give you a complete, satisfying concert program without the stress of programming separately. The Grade 1 level means your developing band can execute the music cleanly while still sounding polished and confident. At this price point, you get the flexibility to program a concert with real variety without worrying about your budget.

This collection moves from the grandeur of a Roman processional through clever instrumental commentary, ventures into Latin-tinged fun, and closes with dignified reflection. You get pageantry, humor, rhythmic excitement, and contemplative moments all in one package.

Directors building a first or second year concert band program who need a complete, ready-to-program collection at an economical price. Groups with limited rehearsal time benefit from having four contrasting pieces that span styles and moods, giving you concert options without extra preparation work.

• Balance the march sections in Parade of the Gladiators by letting the melody sing through while keeping accompanying figures light and rhythmically locked.
• Bring out the wit in Ten Masters in Two Minutes by keeping transitions crisp and tempos steady; the humor lands when the orchestration is clean.
• Shape the syncopated figures in Funtango with precise articulation so the tango character emerges clearly across all sections.
• Give Gettysburg space to breathe; resist pushing the tempo and let the ensemble find the reverent quality the piece asks for.

Open a concert with Parade of the Gladiators for immediate audience engagement, follow with Ten Masters in Two Minutes to shift the mood and keep energy up, place Funtango before intermission for a fun closer to the first half, and finish the concert with Gettysburg as a powerful, thoughtful finale. Alternatively, use these pieces to fill out a concert program where you're performing longer works by other composers; the variety here ensures a well-paced evening.

• Reading and executing mixed articulation patterns across march, contemporary, and lyrical idioms
• Maintaining steady tempos in syncopated and rhythmically active passages
• Balance and blend when accompanying figures support single melodic lines
• Stylistic flexibility and quick adjustment between contrasting musical characters