Slingshot: E-flat Baritone Saxophone

Story's gift for crafting melodic hooks with rhythmic vitality shines here. The scoring flexibility lets you build this piece around your actual personnel rather than forcing your ensemble into a predetermined mold, and the one-and-a-half minute duration means you can program it confidently without worrying about attention spans or fatigue.

Energetic and purposeful. The piece propels forward with a sense of playfulness, driven by rhythmic momentum and well-placed dynamics that keep listeners engaged. It feels contemporary and alive, not quaint or overly simplified.

Grade 1 bands looking for an original concert work with real musical substance. Students at this level benefit from the clear melodic writing and the chance to tackle authentic scoring without transcriptions or simplifications of existing material.

• Shape the dynamic contrasts deliberately; the shifts between soft and driving passages create the piece's momentum, so resist the urge to blunt them with overly cautious transitions.
• Lock in the counting patterns early in rehearsal, especially where meter or rhythm might trip up younger players. The piece rewards precision here.
• Experiment with articulation variety across sections. Having woodwinds and brass speak different syllables (even within the same passage) prevents the sound from becoming one-dimensional.

Open a concert with this to establish energy and excitement, or place it strategically in the middle of your program where you need a tonal shift. At under two minutes, it pairs beautifully with a contrasting lyrical piece and gives students a confidence boost early in the season.

• Dynamic contrast and control
• Counting accuracy through rhythmic variety
• Articulation independence between sections
• Listening to balance while managing ensemble texture