Cherry Blossoms Parade

PERFORMANCE NOTES *** Cherry Blossoms Parade is a very easy march for a band preparing for its first Spring Concert. It is an excellent choice for an opening selection. Educationally, directors will find it very useful for introducing contrasting dynamics between the brass and woodwind sections. These contrasting sections, beginning at measure 29, will also give students an opportunity to learn how to count multiple measures rest. Rhythmically, only the Snare Drum part contains eighth-notes. No articulations are written. Students, therefore, will need to learn how to interpret quarter-notes in march style. The term marcato may not mean much to youngsters, so the director might want to interpret it for them as making the quarter-notes bounce, or some other such phrase which will help the students articulate for the right effect. This will be a good opportunity for students to learn that unmarked notes of any kind should never be played pedantically, but rather in the spirit of the style of the music. The tempo should be as brisk as possible within the confines of good taste and the ability of the band. Performance time is approximately two minutes. Thank you for choosing this composition. I hope you and your students will find enjoyable and instructive. Joseph Compello *** ABOUT THE COMPOSER ***Joseph Compello was an instrumental music teacher in Maryland Public Schools for over 30 years. During that time he wrote numerous original compositions to meet the needs of his students. In 1992 these classroom-tested compositions came to the attention of Andrew Balent who was Editorial Supervisor of Carl Fischer's Educational Music division. The immediate success of Compello's music soon found him making yearly contributions to the Carl Fischer Performance Series. Now retired from teaching with 200 published works to his credit, Compello, with degrees in music education from the Peabody Conservatory and Towson University, continues to draw on his extensive background to compose new music exclusively for Carl Fischer. 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. Compellos journey from school teacher to internationally published composer was recently chronicled in the Baltimore Sun. His ASCAP award winning music is now performed worldwide in venues ranging from school concerts to Carnegie Hall. 2023 will mark Compello's 29th year as a contributor to Carl Fischer's catalog of music for young bands.