Spring: Score
By William Owens
Grade: 1.5
Item: 98-DB1386S
$5.00
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Description
Inspired by the composer's most entrancing season, this charming lyrical work is a musical depiction of new beginnings, pleasant climates, and an omnipresent feeling of happiness and tranquility. A brief trumpet solo is accompanied by a rich harmonic progression that helps suggest a calmness that everyone should experience from time to time. An excellent way to include a lyrical piece on your next program without the demands of sustaining long phrases.
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Additional Details
Series:
FJH Developing Band
Publisher:
The FJH Music Company, Inc.
SKU:
98-DB1386S
More about this title
About the Composer: William Owens
William Owens has spent decades building a reputation for writing music that works in the rehearsal room. A native of Gary, Indiana, and 1985 graduate of VanderCook College of Music, he balanced a 30-year career as a high school band director in Texas with an prolific compositional output spanning concert band, string orchestra, and chamber works. His three hundred-plus published titles have become teaching standards across the country and appear on contest and festival lists nationwide.
Owens brings a clinician's ear and a director's practicality to every score he writes. His work has earned recognition through commissions from major organizations including the American Bandmasters Association and Phi Beta Mu International, and he holds memberships in ASCAP, TMEA, and the Association of Texas Small School Bands. Now retired from classroom teaching, Owens continues to influence young musicians through his deeply considered approach to composition for developing ensembles.
Why we love this
Owens understands exactly what a developing band needs from a lyrical piece: musical substance without the endurance test. The trumpet solo sits at a comfortable range and length, and the harmonic foundation underneath requires attention without demanding perfect balance from uncertain players. You get genuine musicality and a chance to program something genuinely lovely in a Grade 1.5 setting.
What to expect
Spring opens with a sense of gentle awakening. The trumpet's simple, singing melody floats over rich harmonies that feel both stable and luminous, evoking the quiet joy of warm weather and renewal. There's a meditative quality here, a moment of peace that feels earned rather than rushed.
Who it's for
Concert bands at the Grade 1.5 level seeking a genuine lyrical work that doesn't require the technical demands or phrase length of intermediate-level pieces. Directors programming contest or festival events who want to show musical maturity without overreaching their ensemble's capabilities.
How to get the most out of it
- Give the trumpet soloist time to shape the melody with dynamic shading rather than playing it straight. The piece relies on that personal voice to sing.
- Focus the band on supporting the solo with steady, warm harmonic support. Tuning the inner voices will make that trumpet sound even more radiant.
- Resist rushing the tempo when you first introduce it. The tranquility Owens describes lives in space and breath, not forward motion.
How to use it
Pair this with a more energetic opener or closer to create a balanced concert arc. A piece like this gives audiences permission to slow down and listen, making it ideal for the second or third number on a program where attention is sharp but tension hasn't built yet.
Skills your students will build
- Playing sustained harmonic progressions with blend and intonation control
- Supporting a solo line without dominating it
- Phrasing and shaping simple melodies with musicality rather than technical display
- Maintaining steady tempo through a lyrical, unrushed setting