#25 Suggested Repertoire from Around the World for Developing Bands

This 25th installment of suggested repertoire is proposed by Denis Salvini, artistic director and principal conductor of Orchestra Fiati di Valle Camonica - Italy, main conducting teacher at Centro di Formazione Bandistico di Brescia - Italy, clinician, horn player and brass pedagogue.

President of DIBA – Italian band directors association since 2022, Wasbe member since 2015.

Choosing five meaningful pieces to recommend for developing bands is not easy, especially today, when we have an almost limitless repertoire with enormous accessibility and numerous tools to help with selection. However, I firmly believe that the growth of bands inevitably depends on the growth of their conductors.

For this reason, I have selected five pieces that encourage conductors to deepen their understanding and study of a score in a broad sense—not just technically or harmonically. These five pieces require conductors to make choices, prompting them to analyze the music carefully and thoughtfully, so they can then translate these insights into their ensemble and guide its development.

My mentor, Dr. Ronald Johnson, always told me:

"The solution to a problem doesn’t come from the person who gives you the answers, but from the one who makes you ask the right questions."

Grade 2.5

Urban scenese (1993) – 7'30" – Purchase at Kjos

Andrew Boysen jr. (USA, 1968)

Although this piece is somewhat dated, it remains a great challenge for developing bands. The musical language used is still modern today, which means that when the piece was first released 30 years ago, it could have been considered almost avant-garde—especially from a harmonic perspective. It also serves as an entry-level piece for introducing extended techniques in aleatoric music and the use of voice.

It is a sort of mini descriptive symphonic poem in five thematically and stylistically connected movements, forming a single body that depicts different moments of the day in a large city:

1. Skyline at Sunrise

2. The Business Day

3. Church Steeples

4. Rush Hour

5. Skyline at Sunset

Formally, it follows an ABABA structure, with movements 1-3-5 and 2-4 being stylistically and thematically linked. The contrasting A and B sections differ in every parameter, including tempo, dynamics, and musical language.

This is certainly not a piece that offers instant gratification like much of the more commercially appealing music that provides immediate satisfaction. Often, bands approaching this piece begin with a sense of incomprehension and uncertainty in the first reading, gradually developing an increasing awareness. In the final stage of performance, this process proves to be highly rewarding—just like any great achievement that requires effort to attain.

Andrew Boysen Jr. is a professor of composition and conducting at the University of New Hampshire, where he also serves as the conductor of the Wind Symphony. Previously, he taught at Indiana State University and Cary-Grove High School (Illinois). After earning his master’s degree at Northwestern University, he studied at the Eastman School of Music, where he completed his Doctor of Musical Arts in Wind Conducting. At Eastman, he served as the conductor of the Eastman Wind Orchestra and assistant conductor of the Eastman Wind Ensemble.

Boysen is a highly sought-after composer, regularly receiving commissions from festivals, universities, and high schools across the United States. He has won numerous composition awards, and his works are published by major publishing houses for wind band, orchestra, and chamber music.

More on Andrew Boysen jr.

Grade 3.5

Tower of the winds (2010) – 15'06" – Purchase at Bukvich Music

Daniel Bukvich (USA, 1954)

Improvisation, chaos, absolute freedom, and engagement are the key words of Tower of the Winds by Daniel Bukvich. Composed in 2010 in memory of the great composer Russell Peck, it is a tribute to his masterpiece for winds and first musical-theatrical score, Cave (1976), also known as Cave of the Winds.

As in Peck’s piece, the score includes a text explaining the dramaturgy of the work. In Cave, the story unfolds within a cave where no sunlight reaches, where everyone has lost their sight, and where plants thrive on vapors and black light. In this cave, musicians do not read music—music is instinctive. No one watches, and everyone moves within the sound.

Bukvich’s piece is the exact opposite: the tower can be seen from anywhere, and from the tower, everything is visible. All it takes is the presence of peculiar musicians, and the tower appears, bathed in light, where one can savor the freedom of breathing fresh air and improvising sounds and movements in absolute harmony. The duration of the performance depends entirely on the choices made, the interaction between musicians, the available space in the hall, and, most importantly, how much fun the musicians have in developing the improvisational cells embedded throughout the score.

During the performance, the conductor actually has very little to do. However, the decisions made during the preparation phase are radical in shaping and organizing the (apparent) chaos. Musicians step off the stage, surround the audience, and use the concert hall as the “fourth dimension” of the musical performance. It is a celebration of freedom, improvisation, and interaction, a piece that forces every musician to keep their sensors fully engaged everywhere around him.

Daniel Bukvich is a percussionist and composer who has been teaching at the University of Idaho since 1978. He is highly sought after as a composer-in-residence, teacher, and clinician, particularly in the United States and Canada. His music is defined by creativity, frequent use of graphic scores, unconventional instruments, and elements of aleatoric and improvisational techniques. Many of his compositions are theatrical, incorporating movement, lights, colors, and spoken words, and he writes for a wide range of ensembles, from wind bands to choirs, orchestras, and chamber groups, crafting unique gems of creativity in each piece.

More on Daniel Bukvich

Grade 3.5

AnutaKà! (2024) – 6’50” – Purchase at Scomegna

Federico Agnello (Italy, 1991)

Premiered by Complesso Musicale Euterpe di Catona

conducted by Federico Agnello in Catona - Italy on 29 August 2024.

The latest published work by Federico Agnello, dedicated to the Greek-origin city of Catona in Calabria (southern Italy), features technically accessible challenges for instrumentalists while being complex and demanding for the conductor. The piece is built on an obsessive rhythmic drive, with rhythmic and polyrhythmic cells emerging from the layering of voices, supported by rich percussion writing that enhances the thematic lines. These long, open melodies are constructed using modal scales and octatonic scale fragments, evoking the Greek roots of the city—like an ancient and solid Greek temple surrounded by the chaotic traffic of modern civilization.

The polyrhythmic elements present the biggest challenge for the conductor. The horizontal rhythmic and melodic lines align vertically only at the beginning and end of each long phrase, making the management of the underlying rhythmic structure quite complex. A meticulous deconstruction of the compositional elements is required; once carefully analyzed and reassembled, they reveal, in a surprisingly immediate way, the depth of Agnello’s compositional research embedded in the score.

Federico Agnello was born in Augusta, Sicily, in 1991. He studied percussion at the “Corelli” Conservatory in Messina, where he graduated in 2010. Passionate about composition from an early age, his first wind band piece, Elusive Inspiration, won the 2015 Bertiolo International Composition Competition (Italy), launching his career in the wind band composition field. He later studied band instrumentation at the Trento Conservatory under Daniele Carnevali, followed also by a composition degree.

His catalog includes numerous award-winning works in composition competitions across Italy and Europe, both for wind orchestras and youth bands. He is actively involved in Trentino as the permanent conductor of several youth wind bands, and in 2013, one of his ensembles won first prize at the Costa Volpino Youth Band Competition.

Agnello's compositions are published by Scomegna Edizioni Musicali. He has taught at the Trieste and Rovigo conservatories, and he is currently a professor of Instrumentation and Composition for Wind Bands at the “Nino Rota” Conservatory in Monopoli.

More on Federico Agnello

Grade 5

Leonardo Dreams (2017) – 22’ – Purchase at Molenaar

Saul Gomez Soler (Spain, 1982)

The piece, commissioned by the Banda Musicale S. Cecilia of Cullera, one of the finest wind orchestras in Spain, is a long but highly diverse symphonic poem depicting the life and works of Leonardo da Vinci. The entire composition is fundamentally based on two thematic ideas in constant transformation, both introduced in the opening measures and then guiding the listener through a long and often surprising journey, where they are skillfully developed in numerous variations.

Formally, the piece is divided into 11 interconnected movements, each representing a specific aspect of Leonardo da Vinci’s life:

• Introduction

• Florence

• Leonardo’s Notebooks

• The Vitruvian Man

• Flying Machines

• The Virgin of the Rocks

• War Machines

• Leonardo’s Bicycle

• The Death of Leonardo

• The Genius

The level of compositional craftsmanship is remarkable—every note is meticulously placed, reflecting Saül Gómez’s profound mastery of musical composition. The conductor's role is to carefully dissect the score, carving out every detail of these transformations, some of which are not immediately apparent.

This is a beautifully structured and architecturally well-balanced piece that challenges the conductor to engage in deep score study. However, the effort is highly rewarding for both the performing ensemble and the audience, making it a truly fulfilling musical experience.

Saül Gómez Soler was born in Ontinyent (Valencia, Spain) in 1982. He holds degrees in percussion and composition from the Conservatorio Superior de Música Joaquín Rodrigo, an orchestral conducting degree from the Conservatorio Superior de Música of Liceo de Barcelona, and studied wind band conducting with Jan Cober at ISEB in Trento, Italy.

Currently, he is the conductor of “CIM LA HARMONICA” of Buñol, another of Spain’s top wind bands, as well as the Orquesta Sinfónica Caixa Ontinyent. He combines his work as a conductor with teaching, serving as a professor of orchestral studies at the Faculty of Music and Performing Arts of the Generalitat Valenciana.

He is frequently invited as a jury member for performance and composition competitions, and his award-winning music has been recorded worldwide. His works are published by Piles and Molenaar.

Currently, his focus is on the audiovisual industry in both Spain and the United States. He has received multiple nominations in this field, including three nominations for the Hollywood Music in Media Awards and another for the Jerry Goldsmith Awards.

More on Saul Gomez Soler

Grade 5

Fantasia per 4 tromboni e banda (2012) – 10’ – Purchase at Diaphonia

Claudio Bonometti (Italy, 1979)

Premiered by Orchestra Fiati di Valle Camonica & Mascolisse Quartet

conducted by Denis Salvini in Palazzolo sull'Oglio - Italy on 31 August 2013.

The “Fantasia for 4 Trombones and Band” by Claudio Bonometti is a piece commissioned in Italy in 2012 by the Mascoulisse Quartet, one of the most important Italian ensembles of its kind. It features a highly contemporary and non-traditional band language, leaning more towards the academic world while remaining distant from modern experimental and effect-based styles.

This is a thoughtfully composed work, where the trombone quartet naturally plays a leading role, yet the wind band is also given ample opportunities for expression. The extensive use of sound masses and polyrhythms, seemingly interrupted at random by vertical synchronicities and technical passages, combined with a widely expanded tonal harmonic structure, makes the piece particularly complex on a conceptual level, even though its technical conducting requirements are relatively straightforward.

This is a piece to understand before performing, one that requires deep study before the first rehearsal. It is a challenging yet rewarding work that can significantly contribute to the artistic growth of mature and ambitious wind bands.