Jeff Girard and Midwest Sheet Music present
The Wind Band Report
Midwest Clinic Preview
Vol. 7, No. 3 December2019 

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Hi everyone, it's been incredibly hectic here at the store. I normally have a Midwest Preview prepared before I leave for Chicago, but a few issues earlier last week ate up more time than I thought. Still, I've been keeping track of several new things and while I won't be presenting a detailed listing this time, you can still see my list of recommendations for all grade levels and listen to them, just read on below. There's also been a few major improvements on our web site I'll briefly mention. I've also got some news about a wind band publisher in Japan that has now become easier to get music from.
Wind Band Music
my recommendations for 2019-2020
Whether you teach a beginning band or an advanced University ensemble, there's plenty of good music that's become available this year. I've been keeping track of my own favorites, but there's plenty of good new works for all tastes and band sizes.

To see and listen to my list of favorites, download my list in pdf form . Works are listed from Grade 1 to Grade 6 and include the composers name and an audio link. If you want to find more details about any of the pieces you can call me or look up the piece on our web site. Which brings me to my next important bit of news...
Major Web Site improvements
I've been working constantly with our website team to make a number of improvements to our web site, and the biggest improvement just went live a few hours ago as I write this. We have a very robust and detail filled web catalog, and thanks to a major overhaul behind the scenes, the search speed of our web site as improved dramatically. We had so much product data and had set up our search parameters to be so inclusive that it ended up taking several seconds to search for any given product. No more. Average search time is less than a second now for most searches!

Want to find a recording of a band piece, or see how much it costs? Go to our web site at www.midwestsheetmusic.com and type your search terms in the box at the top right. You can include any combination of title, composer, publisher, catalog number, or more. You'll see your results instantly. If you see any media icons with the listing, you can click them to instantly view the score or listen to the piece without going through another page first.

For band directors, here's one more tip I created for you. If you're looking for a piece of popular music like "This Is Me", which has numerous band, choral, and orchestral settings, as well as for other mediums, there's an easy way to narrow your search down. Include the word "Band" in your search - in other words, search for "This Is Me Band". This will trim out all the examples that are not for concert band, marching band, or jazz band. In fact, you can even type "Concert Band", "Jazz Band", or "Marching Band" to narrow it down further. Next time you don't know the right arranger, you can at least narrow your search down to just concert band settings only. I use this all the time when I'm looking for works, it's a HUGE help.

Finally, you can now do Estimates on our web site before ordering music which you can give to your bookkeepers. We won't fill your estimates until you give us the go ahead, for those of you with strict ordering procedures. Just sign on to your account or create one for your school, then instead of adding items to your cart click the "add to estimate" button instead. When you finish you'll have an official estimate emailed to you. We'll get a copy of it as well and if we see there's a problem with an item, we can let you know right away and correct your Estimate as needed.

I'll include more tips in future newsletter, including information to help Jazz Band directors find new works that fit the style and grade level they want. For now, please take a moment to click around on our new web site. Try looking for some piece that you think is obscure. You might be surprised how much material I've been able to add to the site this last year.
Foster Music Japan
For many years, the only way to get music published by Foster Music in Japan was to contact them directly, and much for their catalog was available on a rental basis only. The pieces that people had most requested of me were " Archangel Raphael who leaves a house of Tobias" by Masanori Taruya, " The Earth from 'The Planets' " by Trouvere, arranged for band by Jun Nagao, and " Kokyou" by Masamicz Amano.

Thanks to a mutual arrangement, their entire catalog is now readily available to customers in the US. While most of their major works are still sold on a rental basis, it's a much more flexible arrangement than most rental works. You are permitted to perform the piece as often as you want within a one year period, then you return the music to them when you are finished. You're not restricted to a single performance, and the price is set up front. Just look for the piece on our web site and place an order like you would for any other work. I'll handle all the arrangements for you.

If you'd like a more concise listing of the Foster Music catalog, let me know and I can email you a full listing in excel format. Or you can click the link below to browse their titles on our web site.

Podcasts and Blogs
Mark Conner hosts a weekly podcast called Everything Band where he interviews notable composers, conductors, and other figures of the wind band world. You can download them on your favorite podcast app or go to his website.
 
Andrew Pease continues his academic work with the Wind Band Literature blog . He reviews performances of wind band concerts he attends, comments on works he conducts with his band at Hartwick College in New York and other groups, and writes about other topics concerning the wind band repertoire.

The Saint Louis Wind Symphony (SLWS) is a non-profit, all volunteer concert band dedicated to the highest-quality performance of the best wind literature. In addition to regular concert season, they now produce the Saint Louis Wind Symphony Podcast , highlighting works from upcoming concerts and interviews with musicians and guest artists.

One More Time is a bi-monthly podcast hosted by Illinois Bands. Each episode we will present a story on a topic that we hope appeals to anyone interested in wind band, both concert and marching. We will also include segments such as "Two Minute Rehearsal Techniques" for band directors and "History from the Archive" with Scott Schwartz, Director of the Sousa Archive and Center for American Music.

If you're coming to Chicago, stop by our booth and say hi. We brought even more music than last year. Yeah, try imagining that if you saw what we brought the last two years. More band music, more books, more chamber literature, more jazz and orchestra music, the works. Give yourself a few hours, there's a lot to look at. I'll be wandering around the area to help you find anything. Thanks for all your support, I look forward to doing more newsletters now that the majority of my work on the new website is winding down.
Thank you as always - 

Jeff Girard
Instrumental Specialist
 
Instrumental Music (my direct line): 314/942-1522
 
General phone line: 314/291-4686  Fax: 314/291-4166