--> Always "reload" the webpage to be sure you have the up-to-date info.<--

I hope that with the soundfiles, you will do more listening and following along in your music rather than playing. (The more you listen and learn what the piece sounds like, the better you will play it and the easier you'll be able to jump back in when you get lost! - Note, not "if" you get lost!) We want you to get in the habit of learning it by looking at the music, not learning by ear. Just listening is not always accurate and you can end up with some pretty obnoixous mistakes that are hard to unlearn. ALSO, too much playing along with the soundfiles can get you stuck so that you can only play the piece at the recorded tempo instead of whatever tempo the conductor gives you! AND, you will end up lagging behind the group because you are listening to hear the sound then you play! That kind of thing can slow down the whole group!

IF YOU NEED MUSIC, it is located in the Dropbox folder for your instrument; you should have saved that link. PARTS ARE NOT ON THE WEBPAGE AND MUSIC WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE AT REHEARSAL

To download our Practice Soundfiles, get them from our Practice Soundfile Dropbox - posted sometime in the fall.

LINKS TO INFORMATION

Updated May 13, 2025

SUMMER BAND

FALL STRINGS and BAND TOGETHER

FALL STRINGS

FALL BAND

USING SOUNDFILES EFFECTIVELY

(let me know if soundfiles don't work OR of omissions in info OR errors)

Always "reload" the webpage to be sure you have the up-to-date info.

SUMMER BAND

LISTEN A LOT to these soundfiles and any other recordings you can find.
The more you listen, the better you will understand the flow of the music and the faster you will learn to play the piece! That said, please do not try to learn the music by listening - it is never accurate enough.

Some of these soundfiles are better than others, but all will give you a taste of the music.

CLICK THE LINKS FOR SOUNDFILE

CantinaBd by John Williams, arr. Michael Kamuf. Play with a swing style - pay close attention to the articulations, staccatos ("dit"), accents ("dot"), all notes not marked should be played with a "doo" syllable. This recording is pretty fast, but our tempo will be determined by what we can play accurately! Be VERY careful to us the correct articulations!

BallGame - This is a practice soundfile from other summers. It has a count-off and measure numbers.

CohanCavalcade - Here is a YouTube performance by an adult band. It is a bit noisy because it is outdoors, but a pretty decent performance. Remember - ours is a touch different in 2 places, so don't get too confused! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JylxTA1G0n8

Darklands - We played this piece during the last session, so most of us know it. This is the practice soundfile with a count-off and measure numbers.

GeneralGreene - A wonderful march! We've played it several times during the summers. There are 4 clicks and then the piece begins. No announcement of measure numbers.

HolstHymn - We played this piece during the last session, so most of us know it. This is the practice soundfile with a count-off and measure numbers.

JohnnyBGoode - This recording is from a 2010 combined band concert with SV and the Cape Cod New Horizons Band. There are 6 clicks because the piece starts on beat 3: 1 2 3 4 1 2

LibertyBell - This recording is my middle school kids (about 120 6th, 7th and 8th graders) getting ready for the Memorial Day Parade! There is some messiness, but it gives you the sense of the piece! Four drum beats to get you started. Our arrangement is a shortened version: only the Intro, dog fight and last strain - no 1st & second strains.
BUT!!! Definitely watch this terrific performance of the whole march by the United States Marine Band, The President's Own. There is an introduction about the history of the writing of the great march! The bell used is the one from the USS John Philip Sousa! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7FD9PNpfpo

WizardOz - We will be using the same music that we played last fall, but with a few changes at the places where there was dialogue - Linda will give you the changes at the first rehearsal. Meanwhile there is just a little space between sections. In this (computer generated) soundfile you get 4 clicks to start you off.

YorkshireBallad - We played this piece in the fall, so most of us know it. This is the practice soundfile with a count-off and measure numbers.

AmericaTheBeautiful - This is this last section from Linda's arrangement called, American Folk Song Celebration. We played this small snippet of the longer piece as our closer last year, too - BUT DON'T USE last year's! This one is slightly different so be sure to download the new music. This is a computer generated soundfile - sorry about the sound quality - we will sound better!!

STRINGS & BAND TOGETHER--WINTER/SPRING

TBA - We haven't yet chosen a piece.

STRING ENSEMBLE - WINTER/SPRING

LISTEN A LOT to these soundfiles and any other recordings you can find.
The more you listen, the better you will understand the flow of the music and the faster you will learn to play the piece! That said, please do not try to learn the music by listening - it is never accurate enough.

Oliver & Kett have chosen 3 terrific classics for you. Here is information for each of these pieces, links to recordings of the originals, and hints to help you play them better.

YESTERDAY, Lennon McCartney, arr. Robert Longfield

Directed by Oliver

He says:

While we're venturing outside of classical music, this one is certainly a classic! I love this arrangement, the timbre of strings just fits so perfectly (unsurprising with the original song featuring strings as well!), Yesterday always has a place in my terribly sentimental heart. The arrangement is in the key of E minor, so along with the expected F sharp in the key signature, watch out for C sharp and D sharp accidentals (both somewhat common in E minor!). Every section of the orchestra gets a portion of the melody, marked with "soli" meaning a section solo (no one's playing alone!). I recommend listening to the Beatles original, of course.

To listen and watch the score of our arrangement:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca5vSb0J1d0

Yesterday (Beatles-remastered)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrgmdOz227I

Themes from THE NUTCRACKER, P.I. Tchaikovsky/arr. arrie Lane Gruselle

Directed by Oliver

He says:

We'll be playing a lovely arrangement of the March, Waltz of the Flowers, Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, and the Russian Dance from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker! Each movement flows into the next, with only a slight pause (in the style of the original ballet). We'll be largely be working on tone and color, from the joyful yet austere March, to the lush Waltz of the Flowers, to the delicate elegance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, and finally to the boisterous Russian Dance! The recording is of the New York City Ballet giving a full performance of the ballet (feel free to skip around!)

To listen and watch the score of our arrangement:  https://www.jwpepper.com/themes-from-the-nutcracker-10008676-125315/p?preview=true

Nutcracker - NEW YORK CITY BALLET - 2011 Click on the link to hear a performance by NYC Ballet

INTERMEZZO Op 118. No.2, Johannes Brahms/arr. Michael Hopkins

Directed by Kett

He says:

This piece comes from a set of six piano works Brahms wrote later in his life—some of his most personal and reflective music. In this string arrangement, the Intermezzo really shines with a warm, singing quality, especially in the lower strings. I can't wait to rehearse this piece with all of you.

Please listen to the original work on piano, performed by Evgeny Kissin:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIPy-Du9DdE

And here is a pretty good YouTube performance of our arrangement:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZgkxlHRMzs

NO ONE IS ALONE, from INTO THE WOODS, Stephen Sondheim/arr. James Kazik

Directed by Kett

He says:

One of my favorite productions of Stephen Sondheim, No One Is Alone from Into the Woods is a hauntingly beautiful reminder of connection, responsibility, and the shared human experience. Sung at a pivotal moment in the musical, the song explores how even in moments of solitude or moral uncertainty, we are never truly alone. I hope you'll enjoy playing this piece and diving into Sondheim's magical world. 

To listen and watch the score of our arrangement:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He-dkgtw5fE

Here is a link to the original version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unVTf5_p_1A

BAND - WINTER/SPRING

LISTEN A LOT to these soundfiles and any other recordings you can find.
The more you listen, the better you will understand the flow of the music and the faster you will learn to play the piece! That said, please do not try to learn the music by listening - it is never accurate enough.

All three of us got a bit verbose in our instructions and info about these pieces, so I am not including them here. Be sure you have downloaded the "BAND MUSIC INFO-FALL2025 and read it (you will learn things!).

CANTERBURY CHORALE, Jan Van der Roost

Directed by John
Notice:

This lovely piece has a nasty key signature and lots of accidentals, but most of the fingerings are actually quite easy and it is a slow tempo. Work on one section at a time and play as slowly as you need to in order to play the correct notes in the correct time. Don't be shy about breaking it down into 5 note sections! Just be sure that you have a "linking note". That means, if it is a passage like: "Db Eb Db Eb F" you start your next practice session by starting on the "F" to link the two sections together.

The best way to get into this piece? Listen to it at least 10 times!!! 15 or more is better!!! Just listen and let it flow over you.

John said: You will possibly see a lot of cued notes in your parts which I don’t think we will need as we have the parts covered (tubas, this includes a string bass cue). The “OBL.” Indication is the equivalent of “PLAY” which I’m sure you have seen when cues have appeared in your parts before alerting the player that these notes are “truly yours” and the cued section has ended. Think of this abbreviation to mean “obligatory” as in “obbligato”.

Originally written for Brass Band, the range of the lower brass instruments may be challenging. The composer converted it for wind band in the late 90s but drove the tubas far into the depths while trombones and euphs climb into the stratosphere. Given the dark key of Db Major, this has a particularly beautiful effect.

To listen and watch the score of this piece:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEFKs-Xq5tc

Link to the Portland (Oregon) Wind Symphony performance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHgmNQJsqR4  

WHEATLAND Sammy Nestico

Directed by Linda
She says:

Imagine yourself somewhere in the middle of the country, someplace amid waving fields of wheat as far as the eye can see… It’s evening, the sun is setting in the west, a gentle breeze is stirring, and the sounds of the day are quieting.  As you approach a well-kept farm, you hear the sounds of music.  You walk into the barn… and it’s filled with people, food, musicians, laughter, talking, dancing — it’s a hoedown!!  

The piece we will be playing, “Wheatland,” is an upbeat, joyful hoedown written by the outstanding composer Sammy Nestico.  Nestico (1924-2021), has an illustrious biography that includes playing trombone in his early years with Gene Krupa, Tommy Dorsey, and Woody Herman, as well as being the leader of the U.S. Air Force “Airmen of Note” and a staff arranger for the U.S. Marine Band “The President’s Own". He arranged for the Count Basie band as well as for TV and movies, and left over 600 published works ranging from elementary bands to professional concert and jazz bands.

Wheatland is one of my favorite pieces of Nestico’s — upbeat, joyful, and lots of fun to play.  A couple things to note about playing this piece — everyone has interesting parts to play (including the horns & tuba!), but everyone must be careful about the dotted eighth sixteenth rhythms — do NOT play them like triplets!  And trumpets, trombones & euphoniums will need to work on your double-tonguing skills!

Here is an old (2010) SVNHB recording.  Messy beginning, but you’ll get the general gist of the piece!
https://svnhb.org/soundfiles/Wheatland.mp3

SHAKER VARIANTS Eliot Del Borgo

Directed by Linda
She says:

Elliot del Borgo (1938-2013) was an American composer and music educator who wrote over 600 works, including music for the closing ceremony of the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid.  According to the biography on his website, his music “reflects the aesthetics of 20th-century musical ideals through its eclectic nature and vigorous harmonic and rhythmic style.”

The piece that we will be playing, Shaker Variants, was written in 1995, and is a beautifully developed fantasy on the tune Simple Gifts, with interweaving melodic lines throughout in the different instrumental voices.  One of my favorite things about band arrangements is the way that a band arranger can use the variety of timbres of the different instruments, and del Borgo does this masterfully.  

Everyone has a chance to play the melody at some point, and the combinations of instruments change throughout the piece.  The J.W. Pepper website notes, “Elliot Del Borgo has created a fine composition that develops through various moods until it bursts forth into the glorious harmonization that’s so familiar.”  In playing this piece, because the voices and melodic lines overlap, you will need to count carefully in order to come in on time.

To listen and watch the score of this piece: https://www.stantons.com/sheet-music/title/shaker-variants/BD9530/

SLEIGH RIDE Leroy Anderson (the original Sleigh Ride!)

Directed by Diane
She says:

While not written as a Christmas song, Mr. Anderson’s Sleigh Ride became the most played and most popular piece of music at Christmas time.  The piece was written for, and first performed by The Boston Pops Orchestra, Arthur Fiedler conducting (1948). While most of his music was written for orchestra, shortly after publication Mr. Anderson would transcribe the music for band. The piece we are playing this season is Mr. Anderson’s original band transcription of Sleigh Ride, not an easier arrangement, so it is our challenger!

First… please work on pronouncing his name correctly.  It is NOT “LEE’-roy”  it is “Le-ROY’” with a short “eh” sound and accent on “ROY”.

(More info in the Band Music Info sheet - Link above)

As a composer, he wrote popular music, “music for the people” as he liked to say.  After military service he became the arranger for the Boston Pops Orchestra, which inspired many of his greatest pieces of music.  Some of those you might know are:
    Syncopated Clock
    The Typewriter
    Blue Tango
    A Trumpeter’s Lullaby
And of course, Sleigh Ride!!
His ideas for Sleigh Ride came from his childhood memories of New England winters.

Here is a great video of the United States Air Force Band playing Sleigh Ride and you’ll see close-ups of the musicians! (Look at that sleigh bell technique, percussion!)  That big instrument in the clarinet section (he’s not playing it; it is just sitting next to him) that looks like an overgrown bass clarinet is just that – a contrabass clarinet! 
Don’t worry, we won’t go this fast!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Z648UBrAws

To listen and watch the score of this piece:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePfJ-j2SBCs

HINTS FOR EFFECTIVE USE OF SOUNDFILES IN YOUR PRACTICE

There are several really good reasons for listening to the soundfiles of music you are playing:

1. *To get a sense of how the music sounds, its style, its phrasing, its harmonies (Most important reason!)
2. Following your music while listening to the soundfile (not playing) helps you learn how your part fits with the whole and helps you learn to keep your place. If you can't keep your place while listening and following in the music, you will struggle to keep your place when you are playing!
3. Playing along with the music gives you more opportunities to "practice with the group" than you can get just in rehearsals. You will not be able to determine when to play the very first beat, so come in on the next measure.
4. If it goes by too quickly, see the next bullet
5. Purchase the software, Amazing Slow Downer (from http://ronimusic.com/) and you can practice with the soundfile slowed down to where you can play along. (Soundfiles must be on the same device where the Slow Downer resides; you can not use YouTube, AppleMusic or soundfiles that are streamed from the web). For those of you cautious about what you download, this software site is safe according to Norton)
6. You can also slow down YouTube by clicking the gear and adjusting the percentage. You don't have the minute control of the speed, but it is better than nothing!

If you are new to working with soundfiles, DO NOT try to play along right away. Your first task is to listen several times while just following along in your own music (not playing), perhaps even using your finger to keep your place in the music. See if you can stay with the music, whether or not you can hear your own part (sometimes it doesn't sound like your instrument because you are playing the same thing as some other instrument and your part adds to the overall, but isn't itself distinguishable). Watch for things like holds or sudden loud spots or a change from legato to staccato to see if you can hear those as you listen. Until you can reliably follow along & keep your place in your music while listening and looking at your part, you will never be able to successfully play along. Be sure to do the listening first or it is just frustrating! Once you get good at that, try listening and speaking your rhythms. Once you can do that, then try playing with it, although you may find that it is too fast for you to keep up. (See bullet #5 above)

SVNHM homepage SVNHM Calendar New Horizons International Music Assoc. email Diane
Sudbury Valley New Horizons Music, Inc.