"Deep Dish" is an engaging new piece for band inspired by the quintessential pizza in Chicago, from where composer James M. Stephenson hails. "Deep Dish" serves up a bluesy feel with challenging chromatic passages and saucy harmonies, and gives students the opportunity to create their own percussive sounds with kitchen utensils. A free downloadable interdisciplinary curriculum for teaching Deep Dish is available for download at www.BandQuest.org: https://composersforum.org/bq-compositions/deep-dish/
Learn more on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ComposersForum/search?query=stephenson
BandQuest, an exciting series of new music and accompanying curricula for band, is a program published by the American Composers Forum. The series was started as a response to feedback from music educators that there is a pressing need for new, fresh band music. The heart of this program is new works written by a diverse group of leading American composers who have created challenging pieces that are a true departure from standard middle school repertoire. Every BandQuest project includes a residency component in which the composer works collaboratively with a middle school as they create their new piece.Many BandQuest pieces are accompanied by an interdisciplinary curriculum designed to assist students as they learn the music and to integrate each piece with non-music studies. Visit www.bandquest.org to learn more about this innovative series, and email bandquest@composersforum.org to request a free downloadable audio catalog.
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James M. Stephenson is a composer and educator based in Chicago whose work spans concert music, film scoring, and educational projects. He is deeply invested in creating accessible yet substantive pieces that connect student musicians to contemporary composition and their own communities.
Why we love this
Stephenson brings real personality to a grade 3 score without sacrificing musical substance. The bluesy harmonies and chromatic writing feel genuinely modern, and the kitchen utensil percussion idea transforms a fun novelty into a legitimate compositional choice that engages students in sound design and orchestration thinking.
What to expect
Sassy and soulful, with the swagger of a blues number and the unexpected textures of found percussion. The chromatic turns feel playful rather than academic, and the whole work radiates confidence without pretension.
Who it's for
Grade 3 bands ready to tackle contemporary writing with attitude. This piece works equally well for groups looking to program something distinctly modern or for teachers wanting to connect music study with local culture and everyday materials.
How to get the most out of it
Spend rehearsal time experimenting with the percussion instruments before locking in the final sounds. Let students discover which pots, pans, wooden spoons, and metal utensils produce the colors Stephenson's score demands.
Balance the chromatic passages in the melodic voices by having players mark their accidentals in pencil and isolate problem measures in sectionals early.
Shape the bluesy phrases with natural rubato rather than metronomic precision. The saucy harmonies need space to breathe.
How to use it
Perfect for a fall or winter concert where you want to anchor a set of new works. The Chicago pizza theme and kitchen percussion create natural crossover appeal with non-music audiences, and the BandQuest curriculum opens pathways into social studies and cultural geography.
Skills your students will build
reading chromatic passages with confidence
interpreting bluesy articulation and phrasing
creating and controlling non-pitched percussion sounds
tuning and balancing complex harmonies
understanding contemporary compositional techniques in accessible repertoire
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