PSU Halftime 9/1

Here’s the first halftime show of the year from the Penn State Blue Band. They did a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald.

For this show I arranged Summertime (show opener) and It Don’t Mean a Thing (closer). In the middle is a smokin’ arrangement of That Old Black Magic that has been in their library for years.

Enjoy!

Marching Band charts available

I'm excited to make available 15 years worth of marching band arrangements that I've written for the incomparable Penn State Blue Band.

Tresona's online licensing portal makes it easy for marching band directors to license these high-quality custom arrangements.

Beantown Blues Parade published

Here's my newest title in the terrific Alfred/Belwin Jazz catalog. Beantown Blues Parade is a Grade 1 jazz ensemble piece inspired by the joyous "Second Line" feeling of the classic Joe Avery Blues.

And, Beantown was awarded an Editor's Choice designation at JW Pepper.

Grand Central published

Grand Central, a grade 3 piece for string orchestra, is now published by FJH.

The score and recording are on JWpepper.com.

Small Town, Big Dreams premier

One week from tonight the Hollidaysburg Area HS Music Department will be premiering Small Town, Big Dreams. This brand-new 7-movement suite was the result of a 3-year commission/residency.

Read this nice article about this project in the Altoona Mirror.

Here's the program:

1. The Old Chief's Lookout—jazz ensemble
2. Flying (from the Land of Bondage)—choir
3. The Water Road—jazz ensemble
4. New Dog in Town—jazz ensemble
5. Paranormal Paso Doble—flute + rhythm section
6. Industry in Motion—string orchestra
7. Dream Big—all ensembles together!

The concert is free and open to the public:

Thursday, March 8, 2018 • 7pm • Hollidaysburg Area HS • Hollidaysburg, PA

Stretching oneself

I recently completed a 7-movement commission for Hollidaysburg Area High School's music department. This suite is anchored by 4 jazz ensemble pieces, with 3 pieces for other ensembles between the jazz band movements.

These three other ensembles are (1) chamber string orchestra (2) SATB chamber choir and (3) flute + rhythm section a la Claude Bolling jazz suites.

This was my first opportunity to write for SATB choir. And only my second opportunity to write for string orchestra. Where to begin?

I've been at this long enough to have learned a couple things:

• Make sure the music is playable by the musicians for whom I'm writing.
• Music that is idiomatic for the instruments is more likely to be played better.
• Know the cash register of each instrument or voice, and use it.

But, there were many things I didn't know about writing for a choir, because (1) I had never done it before and (2) I had never sung in one.

So I called up a couple friends who are choir teachers and picked their brains, asking questions like:

• What makes a choir piece really singable?
• What are common stumbling blocks and should be avoided?
• What are some of the things that make a good choir piece sound good?
• What are your favorite choir pieces written at this grade level? Why?

I did similar research for the strings, though I didn't have to ask quite as many questions since I had been through this before.

I borrowed a couple scores, reread the germane part of Don Sebesky's great book, and hoped for the best. And, I think they turned out pretty well.

If you'd like to listen to these pieces, you can download the scores and listen to the Finale All-Stars' performances below.

Choir:  Flying (from the Land of Bondage)

Orchestra:  Blair County Hoedown

Flute + Rhythm Section:  Paranormal Paso Doble

Hirsch down under

I just received these videos from the fantastic Sydney Jazz Orchestra (Australia). The SJO is fronted by the wonderful saxophonist Tim Oram, who is also an exceptional writer in his own right.

Here are their recent performances of my arrangements of Silent Night and Christmas Time is Here.

By the way, I get a kick out of seeing band members playing a Christmastime gig in short sleeve shirts. ;-)

Silent Night

Christmas Time is Here

And while we're at it, here's a performance of Catch Me if You Can! from a few months ago. How about that for sight-reading? Great band.

Catch Me if You Can!

Half-off-Hanukkah sale

2017 has been a challenging year for my family, but there were many bright spots as well, not the least of which was our youngest daughter's bat mitzvah. (Another bright spot is that this year is almost over!)

I am writing this post to thank you for your continued support and interest in the music I write. It really means a lot to me when I find other musicians getting a kick out of performing this music. And the significant growth I have seen in sales from my sheet music catalog (HirschMusic Publications) has also been comforting in a more tangible sense.

So, to mark the end of 2017 and offer a gesture of thanks, I am holding a Half-Off-Hanukkah (or, Chalf-off-Chanukkah) sale. (info here)

For each of the next 8 days I will offer something different from my catalog for 1/2 price. It could be a single chart one day, perhaps an entire category of music the next. Basically, 8 consecutive 1-day sales.

Check out the sale(s) here

I wish you good health, peace, and prosperity.

Honorable Mention: "Long Haul"

This is cool: my two-part jazz ensemble composition "The Long Haul" received Honorable Mention in the 2017 Ithaca College Jazz Ensemble Composition Contest.

The excellent Ithaca College Jazz Ensemble will performed it on December 8, 2017, featuring guest drummer Matt Wilson. The concert will be live-streamed, then archived here: http://www.ithaca.edu/music/live/#.WfNTBYZryV4.  Full results of the contest are here.

In 2015 my composition Mirage was the winning entry. In 2016 Metroliner received honorable mention.

*

"The Long Haul" is actually the middle half of a four-movement suite in progress, to be premiered in March by the Hollidaysburg HS music department. The two movements of "The Long Haul" are "The Water Road" and "New Dog in Town." (New Dog is discussed in this article).

PSU Halftime 9-2-17

The Penn State Blue Band's first halftime show of the year had a dance theme. Opened with Whitney Houston's I Wanna Dance With Somebody, followed by Kenny Loggin's Footloose, closed with Walk the Moon's Shut Up and Dance.

I wrote the arrangements for Footloose and Shut Up. Both were fun tunes to arrange!

Dig it: