The Haunted Factory: Concert Band Conductor Score & Parts

Mekealian captures the energy of beginning band while giving every section real work to do. The machine-like rhythms keep students locked in together, and the unusual percussion requirements (ratchet and brake drum) make this feel like a genuine concert experience rather than a training exercise. It's the rare early-grade piece that entertains both the ensemble and the audience without sacrificing musical substance.

You're inside a factory full of moving parts: gears churning, machinery grinding, all propelled by an unsettling industrial heartbeat. The dissonant harmonies and aggressive wind attacks create genuine spookiness alongside the mechanical drive, balancing fright with forward motion that keeps the whole band locked together.

Beginning band students who are ready for a concert piece with real personality and theatrical energy. This work engages young players with unusual percussion colors and rhythmic challenges while keeping technical demands accessible.

• Establish a metronomic pulse in the rhythm section before adding winds. The factory's relentless motion depends on percussionists anchoring the tempo through the repetitive patterns.
• Exaggerate the articulation markings in the winds to create the chilling edge the score demands. Short, punchy attacks in conjunction with the mechanical rhythms below will sharpen the industrial character.
• Work the ratchet and brake drum parts separately in rehearsal before combining them. These unfamiliar instruments need isolated attention to build confidence and clarity.

Perfect for a Halloween or fall concert that aims beyond costume-party territory. Program it alongside lighter concert fare to showcase what beginning bands can accomplish with engaging, character-driven repertoire, or use it as a closer to send audiences out energized.

• Reading and sustaining repetitive rhythmic patterns
• Precision articulation (staccato and accented attacks)
• Part independence within rhythmic textures
• Playing with dissonant harmonies in context
• Coordinating with non-pitched percussion (ratchet, brake drum)