Joyous Festival: 2nd Percussion
By Jeanne Vultaggio
Grade: 1.5
Item: 00-PC-0019035_PC2
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Description
Celebrate the warmth and joy of family and community with Joyous Festival, by Jeanne Vultaggio, an original work for Hanukkah inspired by Klezmer style and depicting a lively celebration. Syncopated rhythms and repetition create a festive folk dance feel accessible to your developing musicians. A slower legato section, offering expressive opportunities, represents the sunset gathering to light the menorah's candles, with a gradually building ascending scale motif in the bells representing the lighting of one additional candle on each of the eight days of Hanukkah. (2:10)
Don't just read it, hear it, play along with it, and watch your students grow with it. In MakeMusic Cloud, Joyous Festival: 2nd Percussion comes alive with professional accompaniment, adjustable tempo, and built-in practice tools that turn solo practice into real progress.
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Additional Details
Series:
Developing Band Series
Publisher:
Alfred Music
SKU:
00-PC-0019035_PC2
More about this title
About the Composer: Jeanne Vultaggio
Jeanne Vultaggio earned her Master of Arts in Wind Conducting from Hofstra University, studying with Dr. Peter Loel Boonshaft, and completed her undergraduate degree in Music Education and Brass Performance at Boston University under the mentorship of hornist Eric Ruske. She has performed with the Hofstra University Symphonic Band, the Long Island Symphonic Winds, and regional theater orchestras.
As an elementary band director on Long Island, Vultaggio has channeled her lifelong compositional practice into creating repertoire that meets the real needs of developing musicians. Her experience arranging for chamber ensembles and a cappella groups during her studies informed her approach to writing accessible concert band music. She holds membership in NYSSMA and MENC and serves as a certified NYSSMA adjudicator.
Why we love this
Vultaggio writes for the level she teaches, which means every rhythmic gesture and harmonic choice serves a pedagogical purpose without sacrificing musical authenticity. The Klezmer influences and syncopated folk dance rhythms give developing bands genuine style to play with, while the deliberate contrast between the joyful opening and the introspective candle-lighting section creates real expressive depth. This is the kind of piece that students remember because they're playing actual music, not exercises masquerading as repertoire.
What to expect
Joyous Festival opens with infectious, syncopated energy that captures the warmth of family gathering and festive celebration. The middle section shifts into quiet reflection as candles are kindled, with a gentle rising pattern that suggests the progression of eight nights, before the opening joy returns transformed by what has come before.
Who it's for
Grade 1.5 concert bands and developing ensembles looking for accessible repertoire with cultural substance. Directors programming holiday concerts or multicultural events will find a piece that celebrates Hanukkah tradition through authentic musical language without requiring advanced technical skills.
How to get the most out of it
- Lean into the syncopated rhythms by having the ensemble lock the pulse together during the opening section; clarity here makes the folk dance character land.
- Shape the legato section with genuine phrasing rather than treating it as a tempo change; let the ascending scale motif in the bells grow organically as each "candle" adds to the texture.
- Balance the melodic lines across sections so the Klezmer-inspired lines stay warm and singing rather than thin, even at this accessible level.
How to use it
Program this as the centerpiece of a winter concert celebrating Hanukkah or multicultural traditions, or use it to introduce developing musicians to non-Western musical influences in an authentic context. The two-minute ten-second duration makes it ideal for concert pacing, and the thematic clarity allows it to stand alone or anchor a set of holiday selections.
Skills your students will build
- Syncopated rhythm reading and ensemble coordination
- Legato phrasing and dynamic shaping
- Stylistic interpretation of folk dance and world music idioms
- Balance and blend across mixed instrumentation
- Gradual crescendo and texture building over extended phrases