Initiatives:Small Band Repertoire

From Wind Repertory Project

The following information is part of the Small Band Repertoire initiative, formed by Clifford Towner (Georgia College) and James Adams (Northeastern State University). From the Initiative:

One of the greatest challenges and responsibilities of a collegiate band director is selecting repertoire that will challenge, educate, and inspire his/her musicians. This can be an especially difficult task for directors at small band programs where limitations on ensemble numbers, instrumentation, and musician quality pose an even greater challenge. The majority of college-level music is written for fully staffed ensembles, yet the majority of wind bands fall into the small band program category. Too often, programming inferior or lower level literature in order to sound polished or playing quality collegiate level repertoire at a substandard level seem to be the only options. Neither option serves students well, and both options may alienate students that either are not challenged by the first option, or that are overwhelmed by the second. Yet, between these two realms, there are quality, high-level pieces of literature that are ideally suited or can be effectively adapted for smaller college ensembles.


The purpose of this project is to use the collective experience and wisdom of the greater collegiate director community to collect and compile these high quality works that have worked for small band programs. The following is a (partial and growing) listing of music that is suitable and appropriate for smaller university and college programs that face limited instrumentation challenges. Links to associated Wind Repertory Project (WRP) entries for the music designated are provided wherever available. In the discussion section of those associated pages (reached via the Discussion tab in the upper left side of the WRP window), the researcher may find descriptions of the challenges and rewards that each piece may bring to the smaller university ensemble.


If you would like to submit a work for the purposes of this project, you may do so by following this link to submit.


Repertoire List



Bach, Johann Sebastian


Barber, Samuel


Bayolo, Armando


Biedenbender, David


Blackshaw, Jodie


Bohm, Karl


Bolcom, William


Brooks, BJ


Brown, Richard E.


Buckley, Robert


Bukvich, Daniel


Camphouse, Mark


Cichy, Roger


Coakley, Donald


Copland, Aaron


Copley, Katahj


Danziger, Itamar


Dell Joio, Norman


Erb, Donald


Etezady, Roshanne


Fukushima, Hirokazu


Galante, Rossano


Gershwin, George


Gibson, John


Gilbert, Jay


Giroux, Julie


Grieg, Edvard


Hailstork, Adolphus


Hanson, Howard


Hanson, Shelley


Hazo, Samuel


Hilliard, Quincy


Holmquist, Carl


Holsinger, David


Hultgren, Ralph


Ives, Charles


Jager, Robert


Lo Presti, Ronald


Mackey, John


Markowski, Michael


Maslanka, David


McBeth, W. Francis


Navarro, Oscar


Pann, Carter


Perrine, Aaron


Persichetti, Vincent


Puccini, Giacomo


Puts, Kevin


Reed, Alfred


Reisteter, Steve


Respighi, Ottorino


Root, Thomas


Santos, Giovanni


Schuller, Gunther


Shapiro, Alex


Shostakovich, Dmitri


Smith, Claude T.


Sousa, John Philip


Stahl, Sonya Leonare


Spittal, Robert


Stamp, Jack


Stanhope, David


Strauss Jr., Johann


Suppé, Franz von


Taylor, Clifton


Tchaikovsky, Peter I


Ticheli, Frank


Turner, Jess Langston


Van der Roost, Jan


Whitacre, Eric


Vaughan Williams, Ralph


Walczyk, Kevin


Williams, Clifton


Wittrock, Carl


Young, Charles Rochester