Commissioned Works

In recent years the Association of Concert Bands has undertaken commissioning projects to increase the repertoire of music available to concert and community bands. As funds permit, additional commissions will be initiated.

ACB Commissioned work: Journey Through Orion by Julie Giroux

In 2001, the ACB Board voted to commission a new work for concert band and reached out to Julie Giroux, Emmy award winning composer and prolific composer of concert band works. This is the first work commissioned by the ACB in recent history and it is intended to help get the ACB name in front of individuals who were not aware of the ACB.

Journey Through Orion is an exciting grade 4 work that takes the listener on a musical Journey through outer space. The composer writes …“Pictures of the Great Orion Nebula, Barnard’s Loop, M78, M43, the Molecular Clouds 1 & 2 and the Horsehead Nebula never cease to capture my imagination. I have journeyed there many times in my mind so I decided to sketch that journey with notes. Travel with the music 1500 light years away into the constellation Orion the Hunter, into the Molecular Cloud Complex, and through the Great Orion Nebula where Stars and Ideas are born”.

Journey Through Orion was performed by the ACB 2006 Convention Band in Williamsport, Pennsylvania and is published by Musica Propria.

ACB Commissioned work: The American Road by Jerry Brubaker

In 2007, the ACB Board voted to commission a new work for concert band and reached out to Jerry Brubaker, former arranger for the United States Navy Band, noted composer of concert band works and strong supporter of community bands. This is the second work commissioned by the ACB and it is intended to help get the ACB name in front of individuals who were not aware of the ACB. It also meets the association’s goal of advancing concert band music.

The American Road is a musical excursion into the American driving experience. It has an opening fanfare, wide open spaces, purple mountain majesty, morning rush hour, traffic jam, covered bridges, and our favorite roads. It is a Grade 4 piece for symphonic band.

The American Road was performed by the ACB 2010 Convention Band in Plano, Texas and is published by Alfred Music Publishing.

ACB Commissioned work: The Heer of Donder Berg by Douglas Richard
In 2010, the ACB Board voted to commission a new work for concert band and reached out to Douglas Richard,  music arranger for the United States Military Academy’s West Point Band and one of the finest wind band music composers and arrangers in the nation today with compositions published through Alfred, Hal Leonard, and TRN. This is the third work commissioned by the ACB.

The Heer of Donder Berg relates the experience of of the early Dutch sailors who encountered the fabled Heer of Donder Berg (Thunder Mountain). The Heer, a bulbous goblin, was known to make dangerous storms to appear from nowhere. While travelling from the southern gate of the Hudson Highlands to Pollopel's Island (now called Bannerman’s Island)—the limit of the Heer's jurisdiction— mariners would doff their hats out of courtesy, ensuring safe passage. The hymn which appears towards the end of the composition brings to mind the legend that skipper Ouselsticker, of Fishkill, experienced. He had a parson on board and sudden squall beset his craft. As the story goes, “the goblin came out of the mist and sat astraddle of his bowsprit, seeming to guide his schooner straight toward the rocks. The dominie chanted the song of Saint Nicolaus, and the goblin, unable to endure either its spiritual potency or the worthy parson's singing, shot upward like a ball and rode off on the gale, carrying with him the nightcap of the parson's wife, which he hung on the weathercock of Esopus steeple, forty miles away.”

The Heer of Donder Berg was performed by the ACB 2012 Convention Band in Poughkeepsie, New York.

Piccolodia by Jerry Brubaker: Although this work was not commissioned by ACB, it was commissioned for Nada Montgomery in honor of her 27 years serving ACB. The commission was funded by individual contributions from current and former ACB Board members who worked closely with her as she served 15 Presidents of ACB. Former ACB President Jerry Brubaker (and former Chief Arranger for the United States Navy Band) accepted this commission, which was written as three movements without interruption.

 The dedication reads:

Piccolodia was premiered at the Orlando 2023 ACB Convention, with the piccolo solo performed by Nada with the City of Fairfax Band. It is published by C. L. Barnhouse.