10 Band, Orchestra, and Chamber Winds Pieces to Consider for Next Season

Some are new, some are not-so-new, but these are 10 pieces that have been resonating with both musicians and audiences for the past 1-2 seasons. 

ORCHESTRA

In the Still Early Light was commissioned for St. Olaf College's 2025 Christmas Festival by Dr. Chung Park, conductor of the St. Olaf Orchestra. Loosely based on the Austrian carol Still, Still, Still, the music aims to capture the beauty, peace, and stillness of early morning. 

Grade 4.5 Symphony Orchestra
4 minutes
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CHAMBER WINDS & VOCAL SOLOIST

Six Little Songs is a set of short songs with texts written by my wife, Ashley. Each poem describes a moment or memory from our life together. The music paints the scenes in music, bringing the listener into each moment. 

Soprano solo, flute, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 1 percussion, piano
9 minutes
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Alcott Songs is a whimsical set of six short pieces, with clever, playful texts by 19th century American poet Louisa May Alcott. From the light, dance-like opening song (Awake, Awake) to the soft, dreamy closing (Lullaby), these songs are organized to depict a carefree summer day.

Soprano solo, flute, oboe, 2 bassoons, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet (or string bass)
12 minutes
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WIND BAND GRADE 5

Magnolia Star is inspired by the blues scale and the American Railroad. The music tells the story of the train Magnolia Star, which ran between New Orleans and Chicago in the mid-20th century. 

Fast, driving, exciting
6 minutes
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Lauda is a two-movement prelude and fugue. The first movement is largely based on a repeated ground bass pattern, which grows over many repetitions to a soaring climax. The second movement is contrapuntal, using a theme and a number of varations to lead the movement to a climactic moment. A delicate chorale brings the work to a close. 

Two movements
16 minutes
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WIND BAND GRADE 4

Into the Silent Land, scored for wind band and narrator, reflects on the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy. The piece blends elements of a funeral march and a lament, and near the end of the piece a moving poem is read over the music by a narrator. (This work is also available for orchestra here.)

Slow, lyrical
9 minutes
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American Nocturne is the third and final piece in the Magnolia Star trilogy. Inspired by the blues scale and the American railroad, it depicts a nighttime train ride from New Orleans to Chicago and includes jazzy riffs and driving rhythms. 

Fast, exciting
7 minutes
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Message of Light is a transcription of a piece for women's choir. The title comes from one of my favorite lines of the text, which was written by high school singers: “May our message be the light that takes your future to new heights.”

Slow/lyrical
4 minutes
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WIND BAND GRADE 3 / 3.5

Pictures of Memory was commissioned in 2026 by Graham-Kapowsin High School and Frontier Middle School in Graham, Washington. The piece is dedicated to Ben, a French horn player who lost his life while a student in high school. Ben loved lyrical music, and so it was my goal to compose a heartfelt lyrical work in his memory, with a couple of solo French horn moments to honor him. 

Lyrical / Slow - Grade 3.5
6 minutes
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In Covered Bridges, I created two main musical ideas that capture the scene of traveling along a quiet New Hampshire road and coming upon a beautiful, covered bridge.

A companion piece to Aaron Copland’s charming work, Down a Country Lane.

Medium tempo - Grade 3
4 minutes
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