Tirade: Concert Band Conductor Score

Name: Tirade: Concert Band Conductor Score
Brand: Alfred Music
SKU: 00-49960S
Price: 10.00 USD
Availability: InStock

By Robert Sheldon

Grade: 0.5

Item: 00-49960S

$10.00

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Set in the Dorian mode, Tirade, by Robert Sheldon, offers young musicians the opportunity to perform with passion and emotion to make a bold musical statement. Since there are no dotted rhythms, articulations, or 8th notes (other than in the percussion section), and using only the first five notes the students have learned, this is a perfect piece for a beginning band's first concert! Tirade (1:55) (Correlates to Sound Innovations, Book 1, Level 2).

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Series: Sound Innovations for Concert Band

Publisher: Alfred Music

ISBN10: 1-4706-5863-1

ISBN13: 978-1-4706-5863-2

UPC: 038081576190

SKU: 00-49960S

More about this title

About the Composer: Robert Sheldon

Robert Sheldon's wind band compositions rank among the most widely performed in the world. His catalog includes hundreds of works that balance accessibility with genuine musical substance, earning him recognition from the American School Band Directors Association, Phi Beta Mu, and ASCAP. He serves as lead author of Sound Innovations for Concert Band, the method series from which Tirade draws its pedagogical foundation.

Sheldon maintains an active schedule as a guest conductor, clinician, and commissioned composer. His music has been performed at Carnegie Hall, Symphony Hall Boston, Orchestra Hall Chicago, the Sydney Opera House, and the Kennedy Center. He has conducted and taught throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, and received an honorary doctorate from VanderCook College of Music in 2020.

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Why we love this

Tirade delivers genuine musicality without asking beginning band students to handle technical obstacles. The constraint of limited pitches and rhythm figures forces composer and conductor to communicate through dynamics, phrasing, and modal color. By the time your band finishes this piece, they will have learned how emotional impact comes from intent, not from complexity.

What to expect

Tirade moves with quiet intensity and focused energy. The modal harmony creates an almost hypnotic quality, with the band building emotional weight through repeated, simple musical ideas rather than flashy technique. The result feels bold because it commits fully to restraint.

Who it's for

Beginning band students who have just learned five notes and are ready to play a concert piece that sounds genuinely professional. This is ideal for groups at the end of their first semester or early in their second semester, when they need confidence more than complexity.

How to get the most out of it

Emphasize the Dorian flavor by letting the lowered seventh degree color the sound without calling attention to it; young players often brighten the tone when uncertain, so model a warmer, slightly darker sound in that mode.
Shape phrases with breath marks and dynamic contours rather than articulation variety; use crescendos and diminuendos to build momentum and release tension across longer lines.
Balance the percussion strategically; with so much of the forward motion coming from mallets and timpani, they anchor the piece but should never overshadow the band's melodic voice.

How to use it

Place this early in a concert to establish your band's musicianship and capture immediate attention; opening with a piece this assured sets a strong tone for the program. Pair it with other Sound Innovations repertoire to create a cohesive first-concert program, or contrast it with lighter fare to demonstrate the range of expression your young musicians can achieve.