Zephyrus Overture

The Zephyrus Overture was written in a complete whirlwind of composition in less than 72 hours. I awoke one morning with the piece fully formed in my head and knew that it had to immediately come out. The piece is an attempt on my part to write a standard band work that will delight the audience and be appealing to band directors looking for something with a classic band sound. This is in stark contrast to many of my other wind band works that seek to push the boundaries of what the band is and can do.

The name Zephyrus refers to the Greek god of the west wind and is also a reference to my own wind ensemble, the Zephyrus Wind Ensemble, of which I am the music director. The fast nature of the piece is a representation of the winds blown by Zephyrus.

Full Score - $30.00

Set of Parts - $120.00

Instrumentation

Piccolo

C Flutes 1 & 2

Oboes 1 & 2

E♭ Clarinet

B♭ Clarinets 1, 2, & 3

E♭ Tenor Clarinet

B♭ Bass Clarinet

B♭ Contrabass Clarinet

E♭ Alto Saxophones 1 & 2

B♭ Tenor Saxophone

E♭ Baritone Saxophone

Bassoons 1 & 2

F Horns 1 – 4

B♭ Trumpets 1, 2, & 3

Tenor Trombones 1 & 2

Bass Trombone

Tenor Tuba

Contrabass Tuba

Timpani

Xylophone & Glockenspiel

Snare Drum

Bass Drum and Tambourine

Cymbals and Triangle

Notes on instrumentation.

1. All instruments are required to play this piece. No instrument may be considered optional.

2. The work is designed to be played by either a wind ensemble (one player per part) or a concert band (multiple players per part). When this work is performed by a concert band, the conductor may reduce sections to one player per part for clarity, particularly in softer passages.

3. The E♭ Tenor Clarinet is the same as the E♭ Alto Clarinet. I choose to use the older name in an effort to revitalize interest in the instrument and eliminate some of the ill-founded stigma around the instrument. This part is essential.

4. I use the terms Tenor and Contrabass Tuba as I do not see a difference between orchestral tradition and band tradition for nomenclature for either of these instruments and choose to follow the older orchestral styling.