In Quiet Times: Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts

Swearingen understood that young ensembles need music that lets them focus on tone and phrasing rather than wrestling with technical complexity. This ballad trusts your students to find depth in simplicity, and the gentle key change creates a moment of real musical growth without asking for virtuosity. Programming it rarely fails to settle a concert into something meaningful.

A gentle, introspective journey. The music unfolds unhurried, with a humble melody that invites close listening. There's genuine warmth in the orchestration, and the key change arrives like a quiet revelation before the piece settles back into stillness.

Grade 1.5 bands looking for a piece that builds musicianship without demanding technical fireworks. It's equally at home in a concert setting or as part of a pop concert where you need to showcase what young musicians can accomplish with focused, intentional playing.

• Shape the opening clarinet melody with a warm, singing tone; this is where you establish the ballad's emotional center, so resist rushing the tempo.
• Balance the antiphonal exchanges between woodwinds and brass with clear dynamic control. The answering phrases should feel like a musical conversation, not an echo.
• Approach the key change as a moment of gentle expansion rather than dramatic transformation. Let it breathe naturally without sudden shifts in tempo or intensity.
• In the final fade, resist the urge to pull back too abruptly on the dynamics. A gradual, sustained diminuendo mirrors how the piece began and creates a satisfying sense of completion.

Place this early in a concert to establish a calm, attentive atmosphere and signal to your audience that they're about to experience careful, musical playing. It works beautifully as a contrast to more energetic works, or as the emotional anchor in a thematic program exploring introspection and reflection.

• Sustaining a singing tone over longer phrases
• Listening and balancing within antiphonal textures
• Navigating key changes with tonal consistency
• Managing very soft dynamics without loss of focus
• Ensemble blend across woodwind and brass sections