Solo Concert Works
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Funk, jazz, and rock collide in this alto saxophone solo work that is accompanied with digital playback. The digital playback was created in Cubase (computer program) and features vibrant and active synthesized sounds. The final minute of this composition features an opportunity to improvise and the accompaniment is designed to create energy and hype as you improvise. Get On With It is sure to create an exciting groove for your audience that will keep your audience involved until the very end. It is a perfect addition to any saxophone music recital because you don’t have to worry about hiring an accompanist and it can provide variety to any classical or jazz program. This package comes with sheet music, a track for the accompaniment, and a track with a demonstration of how the sax part fits with the accompaniment.
Hold That Thought
• flute and piano accompaniment
• Total performance time – 4’ 09”
• Price – $6
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Hold That Thought is a vibrant, contemporary solo work for flute with piano accompaniment. Bends, quirky rhythms, polyrhythms, and dramatic gestures combine to create a unique piece of literature that will pull your audience in. The piano part is crafted to interact with the flute part in interesting ways.
Old Men and Young Ladies
• male voice and piano accompaniment
• Total performance time – 9’44”
• Price – $12
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
This serious, yet funny, song cycle takes four children’s limericks that were penned by Edward Lear (1812-1888) and transforms them into a unique concert piece for male voice and piano. The range is from G#2 (bottom line of the bass clef) to E5 (fourth space of the treble clef) and provides a challenge because it requires the vocalist to sing in falsetto. However, singing the falsetto well is not required since the falsetto is used for humorous effect.
Old Men and Young Ladies is ideal for a vocalist who wants to add dramatic presentation to their concert or recital. For example, the third movement requires the vocalist to stomp a foot and clap hands in a pattern that becomes more and more ridiculous as the music progresses. The final movement requires the vocalist to play a villainous part in a song full of black humor by closing the lid of the piano as if it was the lid of a coffin that held his wife. The wild and unexpected imagery found throughout the piece and the opportunities to invite the audience to laugh makes this piece a highlight to any concert or recital.
I.
There was a Young Lady of Bute,
Who played on a silver-gilt flute;
She played several jigs,
To her uncle’s white pigs,
That amusing Young Lady of Bute.
II.
There was an Old Man on a hill,
Who seldom, if ever, stood still;
He ran up and down,
In his Grandmother’s gown,
Which adorned that Old Man on a hill.
III.
There was a Young Lady of Russia,
Who screamed so that no one could hush her;
Her screams were extreme,
No one heard such a scream
As was screamed by that Lady from Russia.
IV.
There was an Old Man on some rocks,
Who shut his wife up in a box,
When she said, ‘Let me out!’
He exclaimed, ‘Without doubt,
You will pass all your life in that box.’
Vega Glitch
• unaccompanied bass clarinet (with low “C” extension)
• Total performance time – 5’ 49”
• Price – $8
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This unaccompanied solo work for bass clarinet with a low “C” extension explores the full range of a bass clarinet. The opening is mysterious and spacious and allows for the performer to showcase tone quality. Slow trills with octave displacements give this section a contemporary feel. As the music unfolds, a jam ensues. A bluesy bass line becomes integrated with funky, jazzy melodies to create a feel that is much like the style of Joshua Redman’s Hide and Seek from his album “Freedom in the Groove” or many of Bobby McFerrin’s recorded improvisations. The culmination of the jam is an improvisatory moment that can last as long as the performer wants. Vega Glitch brings a hint of jazz to the concert hall and would be a fresh and exciting piece for a clarinet recital.
Raw Deal
• alto saxophone and piano
• Total performance time – 1’ 55”
• Price – $4
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Raw Deal is a concert work for alto saxophone and piano that is action-packed. It combines a blend of contemporary techniques, jazz influences, and counterpoint to create an exciting ride with attitude. This piece would fit nicely in a jazz or classical saxophone recital because it bridges the gap between the two styles. Some of the techniques that create interest in this piece are bends, growls, scoops, and even an easy to achieve multiphonic.
What If…
• violin with piano accompaniment
• Total performance time – 4’ 30”
• Price – $7
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Bring some soul to your next violin recital with this solo violin work with piano accompaniment. This piece fuses blues, R&B, and funk with contemporary compositional techniques. The result is an exhilarating new perspective for solo violin.