Concert Band Worksheet Class: _____________________Name:__________________________

Read and answer the following questions

History
A concert band, also called wind band, symphonic band, symphonic winds, wind orchestra, wind symphony,
wind ensemble, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of several members of
the woodwind,brass, and percussion families of instruments.
A concert band's repertoire includes original wind compositions, arrangements of orchestral compositions, light
music, and popular tunes. Though the instrumentation is similar, a concert band is distinguished from
the marching band in that its primary function is as a concert ensemble. The standard repertoire for the concert
band does, however, contain concert marches.
In the 18th century, military ensembles were doing double duty as entertainment at the royal courts, either alone
or combined with orchestral strings. Composers such as Mozartwere writing chamber music for these groups,
called Harmonie bands, which evolved to a standard instrumentation of two oboes, two clarinets, two horns, and
two bassoons. In addition to original compositions, these groups also played transcriptions of opera music.
Contact with the music of the Turkish Janissaries contributed to the expansion of the Western European wind
band. The splendor and dramatic effect of their percussion prompted the adoption of bass drum, cymbals, and
triangle, as well as piccolo to balance the increased weight of the percussion section; see Turkish music (style).
More clarinets were gradually added and brass instruments were further developed. By 1810 the wind band had
reached its current size, though the instrumentation differed in various countries.
[citation needed]

During the 19th century large ensembles of wind and percussion instruments in
the English and American traditions existed mainly in the form of the military band for ceremonial and festive
occasions, and the works performed consisted mostly of marches. The only time wind bands were used in a
concert setting comparable to that of a symphony orchestra was when transcriptions of orchestral or operatic
pieces were arranged and performed, as there were comparatively few original concert works for a large wind
ensemble. The first notable and influential original symphonic work for band was Gustav Holst's First Suite in E-
Flat, written in 1909, considered to this day the classic work of symphonic band. Following Holst, a variety of
British, American, Canadian and Australian composers wrote for the medium, including Percy Grainger, James
Swearingen andRalph Vaughan Williams.
The works of the British band masters, in conjunction with the aspirations of college band directors, led to the
belief that the wind band could complement the symphony orchestra as a vehicle of artistic expression at the
highest level. This led to the formation of the University and College Band Conductors Conference in 1941
renamed the College Band Directors' National Association in 1947and spawned the commissioning of works
from a wide variety of composers.
Since the 1950s, military bands have been the primary force behind the concert band genre.

Instrumentation (instruments used for a particular group or piece of music, in this case music for concert
band)
Woodwind
Piccolo
Flutes
Oboes
Bassoon
Clarinet
Bass clarinet
Alto saxophone
Tenor saxophone
Baritone saxophone





Barass
Trumpets
French horn
Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba



Percussion


















Seating Chart

















Complete a seating chart below for the band you are watching: Name the instruments too












































What is the role of the conductor (the person in front of the band waving the stick (the baton!) around?


Imagine you are the conductor- as part of your job you have to select a wide range of music for your
concert band to play.

Go to jwpepper.com, click on Shop Sheet Music & More , select Concert Band

Select 7 pieces of music you want to play with your concert band. You can listen to the audio samples on
some of the pieces. Out of the 7 pieces, one has to be a March, one has to be an original composition (i.e.
not an arrangement of some pop music pieces), one has to be a slow/lyrical piece, and the rest can be your
own selections:
Title Composer (or arranger if not an original piece)
1. (March)
2. (original)
3. (slow/lyrical)
4. (own choice)
5.
6.
7.