Double Wind Quintet: Conductor Score & Parts

Reed uses this ten-player canvas to paint in constantly shifting instrumental colors, preventing the listener from settling into predictability. The three-movement arc spans genuine stylistic ground, from ceremonial openness through reflective elegy to rhythmic vitality, giving your group material that demonstrates range without requiring a massive ensemble or extended rehearsal investment.

The Intrada announces itself with bright fanfare energy and processional dignity. The Pavane shifts the entire mood inward, honoring quiet beauty and emotional restraint before the finale unleashes rhythmic momentum and modern color. Throughout, the music feels designed for players who understand their craft but aren't asked to perform beyond their musicianship.

Conductors leading skilled high school or early college ensembles who have strong woodwind and brass sections and want to explore chamber-scale writing without fragmenting the group. This works especially well for programs balancing concert repertoire with functional flexibility and smaller-ensemble assignments.

• Balance the two quintet sections carefully during passages where both groups sound simultaneously; the woodwinds will need projection to cut through the brass without forcing.
• The Pavane's sustained writing demands consistent air support and vowel matching across both groups, especially where the lines interlock.
• Attack the rock and rag rhythms in the Toccata with precision and character; let the syncopation breathe rather than rush it.
• Use the intimate two- to four-player combinations as opportunities to spotlight individual section leaders and build confidence in younger players.

Position this as the anchor of a concert celebrating American wind band traditions, or use it to demonstrate compositional sophistication to audiences who assume band music lives in march tempo. The Pavane works particularly well as a standalone memorial piece or quiet moment in a mixed program.

• Balancing independent lines within a ten-player texture
• Responding to frequent instrumental combinations and accompaniment roles
• Sustaining legit phrasing through longer melodic lines (Pavane movement)
• Executing syncopated rhythms in contemporary idioms (rock and rag materials in Toccata)
• Intonation control across mixed woodwind-brass sonorities