Beginners No More

PERFORMANCE NOTES*****Beginners No More is an easy march which can be performed by a 1st-year band at its 1st Spring Concert, or a 2nd-year band performing its 1st Winter Concert. The idea of the title is that the students are no longer beginners. The rhythms are all simple quarter-note patterns. Clarinets are below the break. The range is B-flat up to G with no accidentals. Flutes and Alto Saxes have one B-flat above the staff in the last measure. For trumpets B-flat above the staff is optional. Oboe, Tenor Saxophone and Horn parts will contain the pitch A natural which is suitably easy for beginning players of these instruments. Students will require instruction in crescendo and decrescendo hairpins. Bass line parts will include cue notes at m. 21 where brass and woodwinds alternate playing the melody. Generally speaking, the skill level is for students who are near the end of a beginning band method book. A suitable tempo will be determined by the director. Thank you for selecting this composition. I trust you and your students will find it instructive and enjoyable.***** Sincerely, Joseph Compello ***** About the Composer*****Joseph Compello was an instrumental music teacher in Maryland Public Schools for 31 years. After earning his undergraduate degree at the Peabody Conservatory of Music and a Master's Degree from Towson University, Compello entered the teaching profession. From the very beginning of his 31 year career, he composed and arranged music to meet the specific skills of his students. In 1994, Andrew Balent, then editor of Carl Fischer's educational music division, began publishing many of Compello's classroom-tested compositions. His debut publication was a march for beginning band titled Cadets on Parade. In 1996 his best-seller Rock to the Max, Mr. Sax earned him a regular spot on the Carl Fischer writing staff. In 1999, Larry Clark continued to publish Compello's music while encouraging him to expand his writing style. Now retired from teaching with over 200 published works to his credit, Compello continues to draw on his extensive background in music education to compose new music for school bands and orchestras. His music for young players is now a model for college curricular study by music education students. A master's thesis by Abel Borg entitled "The resourceful and engaging compositions for beginning band by Joseph Compello" is available at York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Compello's journey from school teacher to internationally published composer was chronicled in the Baltimore Sun. His ASCAP award winning music is now performed worldwide in venues ranging from school concerts to Carnegie Hall. 2025 will mark Compello's 30th year as a contributor to Carl Fischer's catalogue of music for young bands.