Winter from ‘The Four Seasons'

Winter (L'inverno) was the fourth and final of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, a series of violin concerti written at the height of the composer's career. The music was unique for its time in that it was published with sonnets to accompany each movement, which, along with the music itself, are highly evocative of the sights and feelings of each season portrayed. Today we hear movement 1, Allegro non molto,  which will surely resonate with a Minnesotan audience - "To tremble from cold in the icy snow, In the harsh breath of a horrid wind; To run, stamping one's feet every moment, Our teeth chattering in the extreme cold."

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The Prayer of the Children

Kurt Bestor wrote the lyrics to The Prayer of the Children out of frustration and sadness over the civil war and ethnic cleansing taking place in the former country of Yugoslavia, where he had once lived. The song's powerful message of hope and longing for peace has resonated with audiences since its debut, and the piece has been performed at memorials for 9/11, the Columbine High School tragedy, and the Oklahoma City bombing. Composer and former TCBB member José Sánchez III was among the many people affected by Prayer, and he arranged the piece for brass band in 2022 in response to the  war in Ukraine and the ongoing effects of the Coronavirus pandemic.

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Improvisations on Christmas Carols

In Improvisations, composer Bryan Kelly presents six well-known Christmas tunes in a playful, almost comical fashion. The five short movements are as follows: 

1. Allegro (God rest ye merry gentlemen)

2. Andante non troppo (Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen)

3. Slowly (Past three o'clock)

4. Moderato (I saw three ships)

5. Allegro (Ding dong merrily on high / Unto us a boy is born)

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Walking in the Air from ‘The Snowman’​​​​

The Snowman is a British animated film from 1982 based on a children's book of the same name by Raymond Briggs and scored by Howard Blake. The film wordlessly tells the story of a young boy who creates a snowman which comes to life. In Walking in the Air, the boy and the snowman fly to the North Pole to join a party of snowmen and meet Santa Claus. ​

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Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Hark the Herald Angels Sing first appeared in Methodist hymnals in 1739 and quickly became one of the most beloved Christmas hymns. Darrol Barry's arrangement for brass band has a fanfare-like quality that evokes an image of the titular heavenly chorus but is still familiar enough for an audience to sing along.​

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White Christmas

White Christmas was written by Irving Berlin for the movie Holiday Inn, and won an Oscar for Best Original Song. The original recording, by Bing Crosby, has reached the top 40 chart numerous times since its release in 1942 and is now the best-selling single in the world. 

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A Circus Suite

​A Circus Suite is an example of program music - music which seeks to convey a story or picture. Originally written for concert band, the piece captures the excitement of a big top Circus in four movements: Bareback Riders, Elephant Act, Trapeze Artists, and Slapstick. 

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Bugler’s Holiday

Leroy Anderson's Bugler's Holiday is perhaps the most famous trumpet trio ever written. This virtuoso piece, which features cornets in the brass band arrangement, is a perennial audience favorite. Anderson is known for light, crowd-pleasing concert pieces, including another favorite you may hear this season - Sleigh Ride. 

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