SCORE STUDY EPISODE #30: CELEBRATION OVERTURE (Creston) 

My high school band ( Havre, Montana) played this at the International Band Festival in Moosejaw, Saskatchewan in 1966. It was the required test piece for the Open competition category. Our band placed 2nd, only defeated by a university ensemble. Our director C.I. Carson, a graduate of St. Olaf and the Vandercook School of Music, was a brilliant musician. Like Dr. Revelli at Michigan, he played all the instruments in the band except flute and that was our most phenomenal section. The Havre High School flute quartet won the woodwind ensemble competition defeating even university players performing the " Grand Qurtet in E minor by Kuhlau. In a band of about 80 players, we had 24 Bb clarinets..2 altos..2 bass..and 1 contrabass..12 flutes..Mr. Carson stressed a " warm orchestral" sound with the woodwinds balancing the brass. He did not like an " edgy" sound. Playing in his band was one of the great experiences in my life !

Thank you for this! Amazing piece. Appreciate the theory in the beginning!

An absolutely brilliant piece!

I LOVE this piece!

Never heard of this one. Exciting!

Nice work! Especially the super well-done introduction!

Wow - I really enjoy a lot of the recordings Lowell Graham did with the USAF band during his tenure there. He worked the band hard, but man they sounded good.

bro i’m going to all state in two days and lowell graham is my clinician and we are playing this. i’m so excited. i’m playing alto clarinet on it

I love the intro!

I played Celebration Overture in the Weslaco, TX high school band in the early ‘60s. My instrument was the oboe!

Do American Overture by Joseph Willcox Jenkins!

The jury has always been out on the piece for me. I have always loved the beginning and the end. The middle seems to "ramble" for me with a lot of stuff sounding like he just threw it in

Good stuff! You ever thought of doing Tam O'Shanter Overture? Just food for thought haha, you probably have a million suggestions

I don't have the score but it sounds to me like the E natural for cornet 1 in measure 142 should be a D#/Eb. Otherwise excellent work!

Could you consider doing Sevens by Hazo? I wanna learn so much about that piece

Yo, what youre doin with these wind pieces is super cool! I got 3 pieces that Id love to see here Homages by Michael Djupstrom Cantus Laetus by Gillingham Wine Dark Sea by John Mackey

You should do Fallen, Fallen is Babylon

太平洋の祝祭

Definitely a cool piece but I’ve never heard a piece that make a B-flat major chord feel so out of place lmao