United We Stand (An American Medley): Timpani
Arr. Sally K. Albrecht, Jay Althouse, and John O'Reilly
Grade: 2 (Medium Easy)
Item: 00-PC-0000402_TMP
$3.00
Pickup currently not available
Description
This stirring tribute to America is the perfect finale for your upcoming concert. After a stunning opening fanfare, excerpts of "Simple Gifts," "America, the Beautiful," "America," and the chorus of "Battle Hymn" are presented, leading up to a big final statement of the fanfare. The audience may also sing along on two sections of the choral. All three voicings are compatible, making this the perfect choice for a festival or joint finale. Add the full Concert Band arrangement and/or the StringPax and get your entire school involved. A SoundPax for brass and percussion is also available.
Don't just read it, hear it, play along with it, and watch your students grow with it. In MakeMusic Cloud, United We Stand (An American Medley): Timpani comes alive with professional accompaniment, adjustable tempo, and built-in practice tools that turn solo practice into real progress.
Open in the Player
Jump straight in and assign it today.
Start Your Free Trial
Open this title and explore the full library in minutes.
Sample Audio
1
Audio File
--:--
0:00
0:00
Sample Video
No sample videos found.
Additional Details
Series:
Young Symphonic
Publisher:
Alfred Music
Page Count:
130
SKU:
00-PC-0000402_TMP
More about this title
About the Arranger: Sally K. Albrecht
Sally K. Albrecht has shaped American choral music for over four decades as a composer, conductor, and clinician. An ASCAP award winner since 1987, she has published more than 600 choral works and 75 musicals and songbooks; she spent over thirty years leading publications at major educational music publishers, including Alfred Music, and has conducted honor choirs at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and The Kennedy Center. She holds degrees from Rollins College (B.A. in Music and Theater, 1976), the University of Miami (M.A. in Drama, 1977, and M.M. in Accompanying, 1979), and has taught at Oakland University, Jersey City State College, and Meredith College.
Albrecht's collaborative work with fellow arranger and composer Jay Althouse, her husband, reflects a deep commitment to accessible, meaningful music for school ensembles. Her leadership extends beyond composition and publishing; she has chaired the Board of Trustees for the Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society and received the Distinguished Alumna Award from both the University of Miami Frost School of Music and Rollins College in 2021.
Why we love this
The real gift here is the flexibility and scale. You get a concert band arrangement that lands at Grade 2, making it accessible for most programs, but the addition of compatible string and brass/percussion voicings means you can involve your entire school without transposing or rearranging. The medley structure lets you build momentum through recognizable Americana, and the audience participation moment gives families a genuine reason to lean in.
What to expect
Patriotic without being bombastic. The arrangement honors familiar melodies, and the opening and closing fanfares frame everything with ceremonial brightness. There's a genuine sense of gathering, especially when the audience joins on the choral sections, turning a performance into a shared moment.
Who it's for
Band directors programming a finale that celebrates American identity and tradition. This works for ensembles with mixed instrumentation and skill levels, and it's designed to work whether you field a concert band alone, add strings, include choir, or combine all three.
How to get the most out of it
- Balance the opening fanfare so it catches the room's attention immediately; the impact of this finale depends on that first ten seconds establishing something momentous.
- The hymn tune segments benefit from straightforward, confident conducting; resist the urge to oversell these familiar melodies, which carry their own weight with audiences.
- If you are using multiple voicings, rehearse the transition points between them carefully so the shift feels intentional rather than accidental.
- Shape the final fanfare statement as a true climax; build toward it from the hymn tune so the return feels earned and satisfying.
How to use it
This is built for the final piece on a spring or summer concert, or as the centerpiece of a 4th of July celebration. The compatibility across voicings makes it ideal for a festival finale where multiple groups perform together, or for a school assembly where band, choir, and strings take the stage as one.
Skills your students will build
- Balancing multiple melodic lines when combining parts from different standard voicings
- Sustaining clarity and intonation during medley transitions
- Leading and responding to audience participation cues
- Interpreting fanfare articulation and rhythmic precision at Grade 2 level