Concert band

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A full concert band—Indiana Wind Symphony in

concert, 2014
A concert band, also called wind
ensemble, symphonic band, wind
symphony, wind orchestra, wind band,
symphonic winds, symphony band, or
symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing
ensemble consisting of members of the
woodwind, brass, and percussion families
of instruments, and occasionally including
the double bass or bass guitar. On rare
occasions, additional non-traditional
instruments may be added to such
ensembles such as piano, harp,
synthesizer, or electric guitar.

A concert band's repertoire includes

original wind compositions,
transcriptions/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.

Origins
During the 19th century, large ensembles
of wind and percussion instruments in the
British 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.

Development of the wind

ensemble
Prior to the 1950s, wind ensembles varied
in the combinations of instruments
included. The modern "standard"
instrumentation of the wind ensemble was
more or less established by Frederick
Fennell at Eastman School of Music as the
Eastman Wind Ensemble in 1952 after the
model of the orchestra: a pool of players
from which a composer can select in order
to create different sonorities. [1] The wind
ensemble could be said to be modeled on
the wind section of a "Wagner orchestra,"
an important difference being the addition
of saxophones and baritone/euphonium.
(The American Wind Symphony Orchestra,
which uses neither of these, adheres more
strictly to the "expanded orchestral wind
section" model.) While many people
consider the wind ensemble to be one
player on a part, this is only practical in
true chamber music. Full band pieces
usually require doubling or tripling of the
clarinet parts, and six trumpeters is typical
in a wind ensemble. According to Fennell,
the wind ensemble was not revolutionary,
but developed naturally out of the music
that led him to the concept.

Bands today
Military bands

A military band is a group of personnel

that performs musical duties for military
functions, usually for the armed forces. A
typical military band consists mostly of
wind and percussion instruments. The
conductor of a band commonly bears the
title of Bandmaster or Director of Music.
Ottoman military bands are thought to be
the oldest variety of military marching
band in the world, dating from the 13th
century.[2]

The military band should be capable of

playing ceremonial and marching music,
including the national anthems and
patriotic songs of not only their own nation
but others as well, both while stationary
and as a marching band. Military bands
also play a part in military funeral
ceremonies.
There are two types of historical traditions
in military bands. The first is military field
music. This type of music includes bugles
(or other natural instruments such as
natural trumpets or natural horns),
bagpipes, or fifes and almost always
drums (see military drums). This type of
music was used to control troops on the
battlefield as well as for entertainment.
Following the development of instruments
such as the keyed trumpet or the saxhorn
family of brass instruments, a second
tradition of the brass and woodwind
military band was formed.
A military band—The United States Army Band, 2012

Professional bands

Professional concert bands not

associated with the military appear across
the globe, particularly in developed
countries. However, most do not offer full-
time positions. The competition to make it
into one of these concert bands is
incredibly high and the ratio of performers
to entrants is narrowly small. Examples of
professional non-military concert bands
include:

Dallas Wind Symphony, led by Jerry

Junkin
Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra, led for
many years by Frederick Fennell, and as
of 2006 conducted by Sir Douglas
Bostock
Osaka Municipal Symphonic Band
Royal Hawaiian Band, created by royal
decree in 1836 by King Kamehameha III

Community bands
A community band is a concert band or
brass band ensemble composed of
volunteer (non-paid) amateur musicians in
a particular geographic area. It may be
sponsored by the local (municipal)
government or self-supporting. These
groups rehearse regularly and perform at
least once a year. Some bands are also
marching bands, participating in parades
and other outdoor events. Although they
are volunteer musical organizations,
community bands may employ an Artistic
Director (conductor) or various operational
staff.
Notable community bands currently
include:

U.S.A.

The American Band, Providence, Rhode

Island, conducted by Brian Cardany
Brooklyn Wind Symphony, Brooklyn, NY,
conducted by Jeff W. Ball
San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom
Band, San Francisco, California,
conducted by Pete Nowlen.
Lesbian & Gay Big Apple Corps, New
York, New York, conducted by Kelly
Watkins
 Northshore Concert Band, Evanston,
Illinois, conducted by Mallory Thompson
Salt Lake Symphonic Winds, Salt Lake
City, Utah, conducted by Thomas P.
Rohrer
The TriBattery Pops, New York, NY,
conducted by Tom Goodkind
East Winds Symphonic Band, Pittsburgh,
PA, conducted by Susan Sands

United Kingdom

Birmingham Symphonic Winds,

conducted by Keith Allen
Newark and Sherwood Concert Band,
Newark, Nottinghamshire, conducted by
 Colum J O'Shea
North Cheshire Wind Orchestra,
Warrington, Cheshire, conducted by
Catherine Tackley
Nottingham Concert Band, conducted by
Robert Parker
National Youth Wind Orchestra of Great
Britain, various conductors

Canada

Pacific Symphonic Wind Ensemble,

Vancouver. David Branter, Resident
Conductor and Acting Music Director

Australia
 North West Wind Ensemble, Sydney,
James Brice, Musical Director
Sydney Wind Symphony, Mark Brown,
Musical Director
Queensland Wind Orchestra, conducted
by David Law

New Zealand

Gisborne Youth Concert Band,

conducted by Alex Nyman

Norway

Dragefjellets Musikkorps (Bergen

Symphonic Band)
 Sandvikens Ungdomskorps, Bergen,
conducted by Tormod Flaten and Bjørn
Breistein

Portugal

União Filarmónica do Troviscal,

Troviscal—Aveiro, conducted by André
Granjo

Finland

Tikkurilan Soittokunta, Vantaa,

conducted by Kimmo Nurmi

School bands

A school band is a group of student

musicians who rehearse and perform
instrumental music together. A school
band is usually under the direction of one
or more conductors (band directors). A
school band consists of woodwind
instruments, brass instruments and
percussion instruments, although upper
level bands may also have string basses or
bass guitar.

Instrumentation
Instrumentation for the wind band is not
completely standardized; composers will
frequently add or omit parts. Instruments
and parts in parentheses are less common
but still often used; due to the fact that
some bands are missing these
instruments, important lines for these
instruments are often cued into other
parts.
Woodwind
Piccolos 1 (, 2)[note 1]
Flutes 1, 2 (, 3)
(Alto flute)[note 2]
Oboes 1, 2
(English horn)[note 3]
Bassoons 1, 2
(Contrabassoon)[note 4]
(Clarinet in E♭)
Clarinets in B♭ 1, 2, 3 (, 4)
(Alto clarinet)
Bass clarinets 1 (, 2)
(Contra-alto clarinet/Contrabass
clarinet)[note 5]
(Soprano saxophone)[note 6]
Alto saxophones 1, 2[note 7]
Tenor saxophone
Baritone saxophone
(Bass saxophone)
Brass
Trumpets/Cornets in B♭ 1, 2, 3 (, 4, 5,
6)[note 8]
(Flugelhorns in B♭ 1 (, 2))
(Alto (tenor) horns in E♭ 1, 2 (, 3,
4))[note 9]
Horns in F 1, 2, 3, 4
Tenor trombones 1, 2 (, 3)[note 10]
Bass trombone
Euphoniums/Baritone horns 1 (,
2)[note 11][note 12]
Tubas[note 13]
Percussion
[note 14]

Non-pitched (possibilities):
Snare drum
Bass drum
Tenor Drum
Cymbals
Tam-tam
Triangle
Tambourine
Guiro
Timbales
Slide whistle
Sleigh Bells
 Wood blocks/Temple blocks
Tom-toms
Bongos
Congas
Claves
Anvil
Vibraslap
Wind Chimes
Rain Stick
Whip
Maracas
Finger Cymbals
Drum set
Pitched (possibilities):
Timpani[note 15]
Glockenspiel
 Xylophone
Marimba
Crotales
Vibraphone
Chimes
Keyboards
(Piano)
(Celesta)
(Organ)
(Synthesizers)
Strings
(String bass)[note 16]
(Harp)
(Violoncello)
(Electric guitar)
(Acoustic Guitar)
 (Electric Bass Guitar)

1. In Bavarian wind music no piccolo is

called for, as the E♭ clarinet substitutes for
it.
2. If called for, sometimes doubled by flute
2 or 3.
3. If called for, sometimes doubled by
oboe 2.
4. If called for, sometimes doubled by
bassoon 2.
5. The contrabass clarinet part is usually
provided in both B♭ and E♭ (contra-alto).
6. In most cases, if a soprano saxophone
is called for, it will replace the first alto
saxophone part.
7. In very rare cases, only a single alto
saxophone will be called for (e.g., Holst
Band Suites). However, this practice has
generally been discontinued with two alto
saxophones almost always called for.
8. Trumpet and cornet parts have often
been considered interchangeable and are
sometimes separated into 3 or 4 cornet
parts and two trumpet parts; however, this
practice is no longer used and is usually
only seen in older (e.g. pre-1950) works
and transcriptions. Trumpets are almost
always in B♭ though Trumpets in E♭ and C
were used commonly in the heyday of
professional concert bands.
9. In older works, there was often a middle
brass part that could be played on either
alto (tenor) horn in E♭, French horn in F, or
mellophone in F or E♭. There were usually
copies of the parts in both F and E♭, for
players to read off of based on the key of
their instrument. Some modern publishers
still include E♭ horn parts, which are the
same as the F horn parts, except
transposed to E♭. Alto (tenor) horns are
especially common in Britain.
10. Trombone parts will usually be divided
into three parts with the first two parts
(trombones 1, 2) played by tenor
trombones and the third played by a bass
trombone. However, in rare cases where a
fourth part is required, either trombone 3 is
a tenor and trombone 4 is a bass, or
trombones 3 and 4 are both Bass. Scores
will typically notate which one is preferred.
11. The baritone/euphonium part is
usually provided in both bass clef (concert
pitch) and treble clef (in B♭, sounding a
major 9th below written).
12. Baritones and euphoniums are often
used interchangeably, though some works
have distinct parts for the two
instruments. Most of the time when a
composer writes for "baritone", they are
actually thinking of the larger-bore
euphonium.
13. Many tuba parts are written in octaves.
In that case the higher notes are to be
played by the double bass, sounding an
octave lower and therefore at the same
pitch as the lower part. Sometimes two
separate tuba parts will exist, for example
for E♭ and lower-pitched B♭ basses.
14. Percussion ensembles in concert
bands can range from 2 to over 14 players.
The type of percussion instruments used
varies with the piece of music being
played. Many percussion instruments from
different cultures are used in a lot of
contemporary concert band literature,
especially in high school and college
bands.
15. Timpani will always be included in
percussion parts. It will have its own staff.
16. String bass parts are typically included
in more advanced band pieces and larger
ensemble instrumentation. The String
Bass part is sometimes replaced with an
electric bass guitar part in certain
contemporary band pieces. Some high
school and most college and professional
bands will have a string bass/electric bass
player in the ensemble.
A high school concert band—BHS Band in
performance, 2013

Instrumentation differs depending on the

type of ensemble. Middle school and high
school bands frequently have more limited
instrumentation and fewer parts (for
example, no double reeds, or only two horn
parts instead of four). This is both to limit
the difficulty for inexperienced players and
because schools frequently do not have
access to the less common instruments.

The standard concert band will have

several players on each part depending on
available personnel and the preference of
the conductor. A concert band can
theoretically have as many as 200
members from a set of only 35 parts. The
wind ensemble, on the other hand, will
have very little doubling, if any; commonly,
clarinets or flutes may be doubled,
especially to handle any divisi passages,
and others will have one player per part, as
dictated by the requirements of a specific
composition. Also, it is common to see
two tubas playing the same part in a wind
ensemble. Some people have observed
that this distinction is antiquated and the
terms "concert band," "wind ensemble,"
"wind symphony" and the like are now
more or less interchangeable.
Complicated percussion parts are
common in concert band pieces, often
requiring many percussionists. Many
believe this is a major difference between
the orchestra (which usually lacks a large
battery of percussion) and the concert
band. While in older transcriptions and
concert works, the timpani were treated as
its own section as in the orchestra, today,
in bands, the timpani are considered part
of the percussion section. Consequently,
the timpani player often will double on
other percussion instruments.

Contemporary compositions often call on

players to use unusual instruments or
effects. For example, several pieces call
on the use of a siren while others will ask
players to play recorders, whirly tubes, or
to sing, hum, snap, clap or even crinkle
sheets of paper. The wind band's diverse
instrumentation and large number of
players makes it a very flexible ensemble,
capable of producing a variety of sonic
effects.

Repertoire
Development of a repertoire

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Until early in the 20th century, there was
little music written specifically for the wind
band, which led to an extensive repertoire
of pieces transcribed from orchestral
works, or arranged from other sources.
However, as the wind band moved out of
the sole domain of the military marching
ensemble and into the concert hall, it has
gained favor with composers, and now
many works are being written specifically
for the concert band and the wind
ensemble. While today there are
composers who write exclusively for band,
it is worth noting that many composers
famous for their work in other genres have
given their talents to composition for wind
bands as well. This is especially true in
Japan, where an enormous market can be
found for wind band compositions, which
is largely due to commissions by the All-
Japan Band Association and leading
professional ensembles such as the Tokyo
Kosei Wind Orchestra and Osaka
Municipal Symphonic Band, as well as the
Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma
Commissioning Program, the longest-
running commissioning series for wind
band in the United States.

Prominent composers for

concert band
Early to middle 20th century

Some of the most important names in

establishing literature written specifically
for concert band in the early and middle
20th century were:
Robert Russell Bennett
Norman Dello Joio
Vittorio Giannini
Percy Grainger
Morton Gould
Howard Hanson
Paul Hindemith
Gustav Holst
Gordon Jacob
Darius Milhaud
Martin Mailman

Vaclav Nelhybel
Vincent Persichetti
 Alfred Reed
H. Owen Reed
Arnold Schoenberg
Claude T. Smith
John Philip Sousa
Igor Stravinsky
Fisher Tull
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Clifton Williams

Late 20th century to the present

Over the last fifty years, many composers

have written major new works for wind
ensemble. Some of these composers have
risen to the forefront as being particularly
important in the concert band's
development. Among these include:
Samuel Adler
Brian Balmages
Leslie Bassett
Warren Benson
Derek Bourgeois
Jerry Brubaker
Mark Camphouse
John Barnes Chance
Steven Bryant
Nigel Clarke
Michael Colgrass
John Corigliano

James Curnow
Greg Danner
Michael Daugherty
Ingolf Dahl
Elliot Del Borgo
David Del Tredici
Mohammed Fairouz
David Gillingham
Julie Giroux
Peter Graham
Edward Gregson
Jacob de Haan
Samuel R. Hazo
Frigyes Hidas
Jennifer Higdon
David Holsinger

Alan Hovhaness
Karel Husa
Yasuhide Ito
Robert Jager
John Mackey
Timothy Mahr
David Maslanka
W. Francis McBeth
Johan de Meij
Lior Navok
Ron Nelson

Vincent Persichetti
Jan Van der Roost
Richard St. Clair
Gunther Schuller
Robert W. Smith
Philip Sparke
Jack Stamp
Joseph Schwantner
Alex Shapiro
James Swearingen
Frank Ticheli
Fisher Tull
Eric Whitacre
John Zdechlik
Important concert band
literature

Competitions
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Throughout much of their history, wind

bands have been promoted through
regional and national music competitions
and festivals. Other large competitions
include the World Music Competition, held
in the Netherlands; and the Southeast Asia
Concert Band Festival, held in Hong Kong.

Band associations
Some notable band associations include:

American Bandmasters Association

British Association of Symphonic Bands
and Wind Ensembles
All Japan Band Association
Association of Concert Bands
Lesbian and Gay Band Association
National Band Council of Australia

See also
Category:Concert band pieces
Category:Types of musical groups
History of wind band
Ottoman military band
 United States military bands

References
1. Frederick Fennell, 90, Innovative Band
Conductor, Dies
2. Turkish Cultural Foundation. "Military
(mehter)" . Retrieved 2013-08-09.
"Band", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy
Grove Music Online: subscription only
Berz, William, "What's in a Name?" ,
Tempo, 52 no. 1 (November 1997): 28-
29.

External links
Community-Music—a resource for
community band musicians and
 conductors
The Concert Band Portal
Directory of American Community
Concert Bands and Wind Ensembles
Directory of Canadian Community
Concert Bands and Wind Ensembles
Wind Bands and Cultural Identity in
Japanese Schools , by David G. Hebert
(Dordrecht and New York: Springer,
2012).
A History of the Wind Band

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