Summer Haze is the composers's first concerto for cello and string orchestra (percussion optional). Based on songs composed in his youth, it has an energy that could only have come from those

A heroic concerto for cello and full symphony orchestra. It was composed during Hurricane Sandy, and loosely based on the life of Genghis Khan. A classic concerto in form, it employs the pentatonic scale,

LEGENDS OF CELLANDIA (for cello orchestra, 5-string electric bass and percussion) by Aaron Minsky (commissioned by the London Cello Society) is a tone poem with a Brahmsian sonority utilizing

In this inspired work for cello and chorus (sung in Hebrew) Minsky has included a prayer used in both the Jewish and Christian liturgies, and combined it with the traditional Jewish hymn "Ein Keloheinu".

Bass in Your Face! explores the unique sonorities of multiple basses and bombards the audience with massive sound waves, featuring the abilities of talented bassists. It can be performed by students and

The narrator tells the joke then the orchestra "acts out" the concept. The first, with its steady dotted rhythm, represents jumping rope. The second imitates a helicopter. Dissonance is used throughout but

This piece can't figure out what it is. But this indecision provides the chance to practice from moving from F to F# and back. The occasional excursion into Eb provides practice for the low 1st finger.

Though considered in Medieval times "the devil in music" the tritone is widely used in modern music. Tritone Mischief provides an opportunity to practice this important interval and the finger

The Sky is Falling is based on the traditional children's story of the same name about a character known as Chicken Little (aka Henny Penny) who, when hit by an acorn, thought the sky was

The mood of Full Scale Assault is one of attack. Technically it explores full scales (up to two octaves) and scale fragments in the Dorian mode. It also explores note values of eighth, triplet and sixteenth

Birds in Flight musically imitates the flapping wings of a flocks of birds. As the basses play an ostinato, reminiscent of though easier than the Pachelbel Cannon, the other

This music is meant to sound like the flying meanderings of a bee. As the piece progresses the bee becomes more and more annoying. Finally, the slap on the music stands represents a swat, and the unison

The Restful March is aptly named because it is a march full of rests! It is a fun and educational piece for beginners who can play the notes of the D major scale. It combines patterns that follow

Porcui the Porcupine is an unusual yet fulfilling piece that creates modernistic soundscapes. The strangeness of the rhythmical sounds creates the somewhat unnerving impression of a porcupine

The High Low Waltz addresses the fundamental issue of moving between F and F#, which entails using the high and low 1st finger on violin and the high and low 2nd finger on violin and viola,

Child's Play contains children's games and is relatively easy (as in the expression "child's play"), yet it explores various rhythms, as well as playing on offbeats and coming in mid measure

A Walk in the Park is ..."a walk in the park" (easy)! But it is also a virtual walk in the park! With all instruments in 1st position, we hear a strolling theme built on the pentatonic scale,

Inspired by Beethoven's 5th, in which he uses a short phrase in a myriad of ways, Give Me Five finds a mini-myriad of ways to incorporate 5, including the time signature. Technically - all

The unifying principle of Open Sesame is the fact that the whole piece was composed using only open strings! This makes it easy in that it doesn't use the left hand, but there are challenges

The use of the pick by the whole orchestra (optional for bass) is a prominent feature of Let's Jam!. All instruments should be held celtar (guitar) style (optional for bass). Most of the writing is

Anybody Home? is a theatrical orchestral piece that adds a speaker to the mix. It acts out a scenario of that childhood experience of knocking on the door of a strange house and feeling

There have been many violin concertos, and there have been many pieces for school orchestra, but there has never been a concerto for school orchestra featuring the orchestra teacher! However, the most

Eine Kleine Fun Musik is based on the first movement of the beloved Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, but goes into far-flung territories that would probably have surprised and delighted

As the locals tell it... one day the serenity of Cambridge's scenic River Cam was shattered by a most unruly swan. His terrorizing aerial assaults on boaters continued day after day prompting the nickname: