Category Archives: Contests

Glasses and pen sitting on top of sheet music

Sight Reading Central

Make sight reading simple! Pender’s has tons of resources for practicing sight reading skills. These products will help your students grow their sight reading abilities and feel confident prior to competition!

Previous UIL Sight Reading Pieces

Texas UIL Band Sight Reading
Texas UIL Choral Sight Reading
Texas UIL / PML Orchestra Sight Reading

Other Great Sight Reading Resources

Band

Something to Read by Jerry West
Something to Read – Level 1 by Jerry West
Something Else to Read by Jerry West
Progressive Sight Reading Tunes by Roger Winslow

Choir

SMART (Sight Singing Made Accessible, Readable, Teachable) Series by Denise Eaton
SMART (Sight Singing Made Accessible, Readable, Teachable) Modulations by Denise Eaton

Orchestra

Progressive Sight Reading Tunes (Unison Edition) by Roger Winslow
Progressive Sight Reading Tunes (Harmonized Edition) by Roger Winslow
Sight Reading Book for String Orchestra by Jerry West

2017 Spring Contests

Prepare for 2017 Competitions with Music for Band & Orchestra

Are your music students ready to take on their competitions in 2017? Find all the band and orchestra contest music you’ll need right here at Pender’s. Our knowledgeable staff is well-versed in the performance requirements for state contests and can help you find the composition you’re looking for. You can also click the following links and browse the lists on our website for new music, marching materials, sightreading, and more:

Texas UIL Band PML Additions 2016 – 2017
Texas UIL Band PML
Texas Concert Band Marches
Texas UIL Band Sightreading
Texas UIL String Orchestra PML
Texas UIL Orchestra Sightreading


Oklahoma OSSAA Band
Oklahoma OSSAA Orchestra

Mississippi Band
Mississippi Band Sightreading

Don’t forget to order competition scores for the judging panel! For assistance locating materials, give us a call at 800-772-5918. We’d be delighted to help you find exactly what you need!

Mississippi Contest Music

Mississippi Bandmasters Clinic

Pender’s Music Company will be exhibiting at the 78th Annual Mississippi State Band Clinic. Visit our booth to find music from the Mississippi Sight-Reading Contest list for band, as well as sheet music for instrumental solos and ensembles, jazz band, pop band, warm-ups, gifts, and more.

Plan ahead for the competition season! Our website will guide you to the appropriate music selections for your band. Click here to begin: Mississippi Concert & Sight-reading Contest

Looking for something specific? Let us know before the clinic and we’ll bring it for you! Give us a call at (800) 772-5918 or email band@penders.com. Our knowledgeable staff are well-versed in the performance requirements for state contests and can guide you in selecting the right composition. If you aren’t sure what you’re looking for, we’d be delighted to help you find exactly what you need.

Come See Us at the Mississippi State Band Clinic
Natchez Convention Center
211 Main St. • Natchez, MS

Exhibit Times
Thursday, December 10, from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Friday, December 11, from 9:00 am – 2:00 pm

TX UIL Solo and Ensemble

Get Ready for TX UIL Solo & Ensemble

Equip your student musicians with solo and ensemble music from the complete Texas UIL PML (Prescribed Music List). Begin by choosing your student’s instrument section and arrangement. From there, our website will guide you to the appropriate music selections for your class.

CHOOSE SECTION AND ARRANGEMENT:
Woodwind Solo
Woodwind Ensemble
Brass Solo
Brass Ensemble
Percussion Solo
Percussion Ensemble
String
Vocal

Our knowledgeable staff are well-versed in the performance requirements for TX UIL solo & ensemble, and can guide you in selecting the right composition. If you aren’t sure what you’re looking for, find us in-store or give us a call at 800-772-5918. We’d be delighted to help you find exactly what you need.

The Literary Essay & Its Similarity to Sheet Music

What is an essay? When you look up the word ‘essay’ in a dictionary or online, it’s actually somewhat fascinating how the definition and description about it is so similar to what you would assume you’d find when looking up the definition and description of ‘sheet music.’ It’s quite uncanny, really. With a simple word change here or there, or a twist of phrase, what can be said about an essay can be said about a piece of sheet music, or a music composition. Wait. What was that? A music ‘composition?’ Isn’t ‘composition’ a synonym for ‘essay?’ Well, there you go.

You see, according to Wikipedia, an essay is “a piece of writing which is often written from an author’s personal point of view.” That’s pretty much what a piece of sheet music is supposed to be, too. The best music is sheet music that is written from the composer’s point of view.

According to About.com, “Essays are brief, non-fiction compositions that describe, clarify, argue, or analyze a subject.” Wow. [Sheet] music is much the same.  A music composition should come from the heart and be honest and true. And certainly there’s no one out there that would argue that music is not a descriptive medium. Additionally, what serious, upper-level music student hasn’t been required at times to analyze a piece of sheet music? And let’s not forget the element of clarity that music can bring to just about any situation. Hence, the existence of love songs, silly songs, sad songs, children’s songs, love gone wrong songs, and more. Music makes going through everyday life better.

The primary definition of essay at Dictionary.com states that it is “a short [literary] composition on a particular theme or subject, usually in prose and generally analytic, speculative, or interpretive. Again, wow. Sheet music primarily begins with a theme, and certainly music can be very regimented and analytical, yet its speculative elements and how it is interpreted are big components, too. It’s all relative to the composer and the listener, of course, and it’s different for everyone. But that’s exactly why music has such value. Sheet music is limitless.

Essays are an important educational tool as well, and can be written in various forms and styles, like compare and contrast, cause and effect, descriptive, narrative — the list goes on. To wit, sheet music takes on many forms and styles, too. Some we understand, and some we don’t. And therein lies part of the mystery of it all. Whether sheet music is written in an analytical style, or whether it is written in a myriad of contrasts, it really doesn’t matter. What matters is that the creative endeavor was entered into at all. The process of writing a piece of sheet music includes forming an introduction, developing a body, and a conclusion. Wait. What was that? Introduction…body…conclusion. Sounds like the three primary elements of a good essay.

Enter the Morty Manus “What Music Means to Me” Essay Competition. Deadline is March 25th.

Choral Students: Submit Text for an Upcoming Choral Arrangement!

Heritage Music Press continues to celebrate the value of music education and quality music for ensembles everywhere, and they’re inviting students to become part of the compositional process.

Through June 30, 2011, Heritage Music Press will accept submissions from students enrolled in any choral ensemble to be considered as a text for a future choral publication. The winning submission will be used by one of their composers to create a new composition for their Fall 2012 release. The student who submits this text will receive a $100 prize, and his or her choral ensemble may be given the opportunity to premiere the piece. Good Luck!!!

March is Music in Our Schools Month

Did you know that March is Music in Our Schools Month (MIOSM)? That’s right, in just a few days there will be a prime chance to highlight the music program in your own school, or perhaps the school(s) of your past, or maybe the school(s) of someone you know and/or are related to.

MIOSM is when music education becomes the focus of schools across the nation, and the celebration has grown since its inception in 1973. MIOSM began as a single statewide event. Its purpose is to raise awareness of the importance of music education for all children – and to remind citizens that school is where all children should have access to music. MIOSM is a perfect venue for music teachers to bring their music programs to the attention of the school and the community and to display the benefits school music brings to students of all ages. The theme for 2011 is Music Lasts a Lifetime.

It’s also a prime time to heighten the awareness of all school music programs, since it’s budget time for many school boards. In this era where all cuts are discussed in earnest, there’s no better opportunity than now to chime in and make your case for the preservation of your program.

Things that can help:

Music in Our Schools Month Website: The destination for resources and guidance in celebrating the month in your school, including logos, activity ideas, contests, advocacy and more.

SupportMusic.com: SupportMusic.com is a public service initiative that impacts resolve and support for music education in local communities around the United States and abroad. Tens of thousands of concerned citizens visit the website every month and use its resources to keep music education strong in their schools and communities.

The Make Your Case database, powered by SupportMusic.com, and presented through MENC: This destination will help you build a case for your music program, particularly if it’s threatened. Music education advocates can use the facts, statistics, research, and anecdotes on specific topics for presentations, speeches, and other communications with school board members, administrators, and legislators.

Music indeed lasts a lifetime…..celebrate Music in Our Schools Month!

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Elementary Music Mondays, the series, posts to www.pendersbuzz.com a couple of times a month, with information from our staff, our publisher partners, guest bloggers and more. Come back to this site, or access it from our main Home Page, to find out the latest buzz!