#43 Suggested Repertoire from Around the World for Developing Bands

This 43rd installment of suggested repertoire is proposed by Muhamad Yusri Bin Mohamed Ali is currently a doctoral student with an emphasis in Wind Band Conducting at the University of Minnesota studying with Dr. Emily Threinen. Yusri serves as Graduate Teaching Assistant in the School of Music and Band program.

Prior to coming to the U.S., Yusri served in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Band for 18 years rising from a Trumpet player to becoming the Director of Music of the SAF Central Band. Yusri was also the conductor of Republic Polytechnic Wind Symphony where he started the Woodlands Young Conductors Workshop (WYCW) to help young conductors learn the Art of non-verbal communication.

Outside the University of Minnesota, Yusri is the Principal Conductor of the Twin Cities Gamer Symphony Orchestra (TCGSO), an 85-member orchestra comprising community members who are passionate about video games and video games music.

Grade 3

Mosaic (2003) – 3'30" - Available at Hal Leonard

Stephen Paulus (USA, 1949 - 2014)

Program Notes:

Mosaic is a representation in sound of the varied qualities each of us possesses and contributes to the whole of our society. As a kaleidoscope of various musical elements coming together, this work evokes a visual of mosaics–tiny tiles individually glued together to create a broader image. It integrates layers of sound with varying meters that feature every instrument in the band.

In the composer’s own words, “Mosaic is a work of many facets and layers. I have put it together in much the same way that a muralist would make a mosaic out of little pieces of ceramic tiles. In some sense it is like a jigsaw puzzle. Many little pieces of sound are put together to make one big picture.

The different meters (7/8, 2/4, 3/4) make for different sizes of musical bits. I also decided to orchestrate this work differently from the usual band work. So, not everyone plays all the time. Percussion players do much more than simply beat time and are often brought in with the specific purpose of helping to “color” the mural. Many times only certain woodwinds play while others wait their turn to enter and add their “personality” to the mix. To me, the idea of a mosaic also represents a contemporary picture of our world – vast mixes of people of all colors, backgrounds and experiences – who we might find living in any part of the world.”

More on Stephen Paulus

Grade 3

Bunga Raya Concert March (2022) – 3'45" – Purchase at Bravo Music

Chow Shern Yeo (Malaysia, 1988)

Program notes:

Bunga Raya, or Hybiscus is the national flower of Malaysia, which represents the celebration of unity in a multicultural nation as well as standings for courage and vitality. The melodies and motifs were inspired by Peranakan and Malacca-Portuguese folk songs.

Comments:

Chow Shern Yeo is a composer who understands the beauty of local traditional tunes and he pairs them with musical forms. In doing so, he helps to not only spread the joys of those traditional local tunes but also helps to educate the public on musical ideas and forms. I chose this work by Chow Shern because of how he cleverly showcases traditional Malaysian local tunes in a traditional March setting. I always love a good March.

More on Chow Shern Yeo

Grade 4

Seasons (2026) – 6' – Purchase at Viskamol Chaiwanichsiri

Viskamol Chaiwanichsiri (Thailand, 1995)

Program notes:

Growing up in Thailand, I often joke with friends around the world that our seasons are simply hot, hotter, and hottest! In reality, Thailand has three distinct seasons: rainy, winter, and summer. In this piece Seasons, I portray musical imagery of these seasons through different gestures.

The Rainy Season depicts droplets of rain and the arrival of a storm. The Winter Season reflects the coolness of the air and gentle wind breeze. The Summer Season captures a festive spirit inspired by the Songkran Festival (Thai New Year), when people celebrate by joyfully splashing water on one another. The motion of splashing water is reflected in the music.

From a compositional perspective, the entire piece is built from a single short original theme. Each section develops this theme through permutations such as inversion, augmentation, and fragmentation, with the full theme revealed only at the end.

The work was commissioned by the Sarasas Ektra Symphonic Wind Ensemble, a school band in Thailand. The academic year begins around May during the rainy season and concludes around March–April in the summer. I hoped the piece would resonate with the students, reflecting their journey through the school year—growing through different seasons and experiences until, by summer, a thriving new person emerges.

- Program from Composer's website

Comments:

When I met Viskamol almost 2 years ago at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago after being introduced by a mutual friend, I found him to be an amazing person with a lot of talent. I did not know then how much talent. Getting to know Viskamol over the years and having read and heard his compositions, I think I am in the presence of genius. Like Chow Shern, Viskamol also used traditional tunes in his work and in doing so helped the world to appreciate Thai music more. I chose this work because of of its masterful use of traditional tunes mixed with exciting rhythmic flourishes.

More on Viskamol Chaiwanichsiri

Grade 4

Autumnal Fireworks (2016) – 5'50" - Purchase at Lee Jinjun

Jinjun Lee (Singapore, 1990)

Program notes:

The autumn of 2016 was the first time I experienced the transition of autumn from the start to the end. Coming from a tropical country, I was naturally extremely excited and thrilled at the sight of red, orange, yellow trees whizzing past me during road trips in that season in England.

It was a sensory overload, and looked like a spectacular natural firework display. Autumnal Fireworks spells out the excitement and the sparkling sensations that I felt seeing autumnal scenery.

Program notes on composer's website

Comments:

Jinjun Lee’s works focus a lot on his experiences, past and present. What fascinates me is how he is able to tap on compositional techniques that recreates those experiences into sounds. Recently when I was in Singapore, I heard a performance on a wind band arrangement of his work which was originally written for Brass and Percussion, The Times Have Changed and I was blown away by the emotional experience I got as a listener. I chose Autumnal Fireworks because of the excitement I know the students will feel when they play it. I enjoyed working on it when I performed it.

More on Lee Jinjun

Grade 4.5

To Gold in Broadest Blue (2015) – 7' - Purchase at Jocelyn Hagen

Jocelyn Hagen (USA, 1980)

Program notes:

I grew up in the country, outside a small town in North Dakota. The prairie, the rolling hills, the colors, the peace and quiet ~ that is home to me. To Gold in Broadest Blue emulates that place. It is not majestic or grand like the mountains or the sea, but there is something magical about the space and the horizon line. For me, To Gold in Broadest Blue (a line taken from a Wallace Stevens poem) reflects upon that line between the fields of wheat and the sky. The music is built on ascending lines ~ the blue sky, cloudless, all around us, and ends with a hymn-like chorale that takes its footholds in the dirt, grounding us to the earth and our place in the world.

To Gold in Broadest Blue was commissioned by the Midwest District of Tau Beta Sigma and Kappa Kappa Psi, and premiered by the NDSU Gold Star Band, under the direction of Warren Olfert. It was then rearranged in 2015 for the Concordia Band, under the direction of Peter Haberman.

Performed by The St. Olaf Band, Dr. Timothy Mahr, conductor

February 4, 2020, Paul Shaghoian Memorial Concert Hall, Fresno, CA

Program note by composer

Comments:

Jocelyn Hagen is an alumni of the University of Minnesota where she studied composition. She specializes in vocal and choral music. Besides writing for voices, she also writes operas, music for the orchestra and the band. I chose this work by Jocelyn Hagen because I was drawn to the beauty of the melodic lines and how they intertwine with rhythmic patterns and harmonic dissonances. This work will provide the slightly more advanced (developing) bands the opportunity to bask in beauty and still be challenged.

More on Jocelyn Hagen

Grade 5

Endurance (1991) – 12' - Purchase at Neil A Kjos Music Company

Timothy Mahr (USA, 1956)

Program notes:

Endurance was commissioned by the American Bandmasters Association in conjunction with the awarding of its 36th Biennial ABA/Ostwald Composition Award for my 1990 work The Soaring Hawk. Endurance was premiered by the United States Interservice Band, Ed Lisk, conductor, at the 58th Annual Convention of the American Bandmasters Association in Constitution Hall, Washington, D.C. on March 7, 1992.

The work is a musical reflection upon the infinite endurance of the human spirit, the religious spirit, and the spirit of the earth. Initial inspiration for the piece came from a book of the same title by Alfred Lansing documenting the amazing story of the ill-fated expedition of the Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton in 1914-1916. His ship, the "Endurance", became ice-bound and eventually sank, stranding Shackleton and his crew of 27. They experienced over 15 months of life exposed to the unrelenting, dangerous Antarctic weather, and, miraculously survived to tell it. The strength of character exhibited by these men in enduring incredible hardships is truly awe-inspiring. Since reading this fascinating account, the story has been in the back of my mind whenever I find myself challenged by what seems to be insurmountable problems. It helps me put things into a proper perspective.

I have also been moved by recent expressions of religious spirit around the world, finding solace in the realization that this spirit has and forever will endure in many forms. Finally, as we continue to pollute our planet, I can't help but get the sense that it, too, will endure, going through some sort of forced evolution in spite of our maltreatment.

All three spirits -- human, religious, earth -- also seem intertwined to me. In pondering them, I find hope and peace.

- Program Note by composer

Comments:

I was introduced to Endurance when Dr. Timothy Mahr came to work with the University of Minnesota Wind Ensemble and the conducting studio when Dr. Threinen was on sabbatical. This work had multimedia that was played along with the performance and the musicians had to sing as well. Endurance was like a book told through music and I was captivated throughout the performance. There were many human emotions depicted throughout the work and musicians could feel those emotions when they played.

More on Timothy Mahr