Fortify: Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts

$55.00 USD

Fortify: Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts

Name: Fortify: Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts
Brand: Alfred Music
SKU: 98-B1884
Price: 55.00 USD
Availability: InStock

By Katie O'Hara LaBrie

Grade: 1

Item: 98-B1884

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Guards at the ready! Time to fortify the castle! Use your courage and power for good! This powerful, medieval-inspired work juxtaposes physical strength and inner strength through contrasting marcato and legato sections. The rhythmic energy that continues throughout is sure to energize your students! (1:45)

Don't just read it, hear it, play along with it, and watch your students grow with it. In MakeMusic Cloud, Fortify: Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts comes alive with professional accompaniment, adjustable tempo, and built-in practice tools that turn solo practice into real progress.

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Series: FJH Beginning Band

Publisher: The FJH Music Company, Inc.

UPC: 241444448038

SKU: 98-B1884

More about this title

About the Composer: Katie O’Hara LaBrie

Katie O'Hara LaBrie is a Northern Virginia-based composer, conductor, clinician, and cellist whose work across orchestral and band settings has earned consistent recognition. She spent 15 years teaching orchestra in Fairfax County schools before establishing herself as a composer, studying at St. Olaf College and George Mason University under Steven Amundson and Anthony Maiello respectively.

Her compositional voice emerges directly from the classroom. LaBrie writes with a teacher's ear for what works pedagogically while refusing to compromise musical integrity or the player experience. Her pieces have received J.W. Pepper Editor's Choice selections, performances at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Directors Clinic, and in 2022 she was named one of Yamaha's "40 Under 40." She founded the Fairfax Chamber Players and co-created "the Big IDEA" practice method.

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Why we love this

Fortify delivers genuine musical substance at Grade 1 without talking down to young musicians. The medieval narrative hook lands immediately with students, but the real strength lies in how LaBrie uses contrasting marcato and legato writing to build musical understanding. Beginning bands rarely encounter this kind of intentional textural work, making it both accessible and educationally rich.

What to expect

Medieval castle walls meet modern confidence. The piece radiates kinetic energy through its driving rhythms while the shifts between marcato attack and singing legato lines create a satisfying emotional arc. Students finish energized, audiences feel the power.

Who it's for

Grade 1 concert bands ready to explore contrasting articulation and build musical storytelling. It's equally effective for festival programming or a thematic concert exploring strength and courage.

How to get the most out of it

Shape the marcato sections with clear articulation from every section; have students think about the crisp attack as part of the "fortifying" character rather than just a technical exercise.
Balance the legato passages by establishing a secure pulse first. The rhythmic energy drives throughout, so the sustained phrases should breathe without losing forward momentum.
Let the story guide interpretation. Encourage students to think about what physical versus inner strength sound like, which deepens their musical choices beyond the notes on the page.

How to use it

Include this in a festival rotation where you want a piece that excels musically while giving judges something substantive to respond to at the Grade 1 level. It pairs well on a concert addressing themes like courage or resilience, and its 1:45 length fits cleanly into diverse program designs.