Category Archives: Instrumental

Oklahoma Bandmasters Association

Oklahoma Bandmasters Summer Convention 2018

The Oklahoma Bandmasters Summer Convention 2018 is just around the corner! Join us July 24 and 25 at the Renaissance Hotel & Convention Center in Tulsa, OK. We’re bringing a wide selection of new music for marching band, concert band, and jazz ensemble, plus a variety of band texts, CD’s, and DVD’s — whatever you need, you’ll find it at the Pender’s booth! And as a special treat this year, Randall Standridge will be our special guest on Wednesday, July 25 from 11:00-11:45 A.M. Come out to say hello and find great new music for your band!

Exhibit Dates & Times:
Tuesday, July 24, 2018 from 1:00-5:00 PM
Wednesday, July 25, 2018 from 9:00am-12:00 PM and 1:00-5:00 PM

Location:
Renaissance Hotel & Convention Center
Tulsa, OK

Meet and Greet with Randall Standridge:
The Pender’s Booth
Wednesday, July 25, 2018 from 11:00-11:45 AM

Southwest Music 2018 Summer Exhibition

July 26–28 in San Antonio, TX

Pender’s will be at the Southwest Music Summer Exhibition in San Antonio again this year with our extensive selection of band, choir, and orchestra materials available for purchase. We’re excited to have Jerry West as a guest in our booth this year as an added bonus!

Teachers and directors: remember your purchase orders if you have them; if you don’t have one at this time, don’t worry! Pender’s will still work to get you the music you need and can send you a bill to pay when you have your PO ready. Our aim is always to provide you with the best possible service and ensure you have everything you need for a great start to a new school year.

The event will be held at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. See you in San Antonio!

Marching Band Season 2018

Are you ready for marching band season 2018? We are! At Pender’s we have all the sheet music you need for marching bands of all levels! Check out our newest marching band music to see the latest for 2018, or browse our bestsellers that never go out of style. You can also find percussion music for your drumline, and we even have marching band folios and marching drill designs to get you completely ready for the season. Pender’s is your one-stop-shop for all your marching band needs!

Are you planning out the rest of your year? Pender’s is always ready to help you get one step ahead. See our patriotic music and Christmas band selections, and if you need something you don’t see in our catalog, let us know! Call 800-772-5918 to speak with our knowledgeable staff. We’re always happy to help!  

Get Ready for 2018 contest season

It’s Time to Prep for Spring 2018 Contests!

The 2018 contest season is just around the corner, and here at Pender’s we have all the band and orchestra music you need! Our prescribed music lists make it easy to find your sheet music, and our friendly staff are experts when it comes to performance requirements for state contests — they can help you find whatever you’re looking for!

Check out these lists on our website to find new music, marching materials, sightreading, and more!

Texas UIL Band PML Additions 2017 – 2018
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 love to help, and best of luck competing in 2018!

Today in Music History – Jazz Music Breaks the Culture Barrier

It was 69 years ago today, on January 18, 1944, that the  New York City Metropolitan Opera House opened its doors to a whole new audience by hosting its first-ever jazz concert.

Among the jazz legends performing that evening, were   Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Coleman Hawkins and Lionel Hampton.

We were able to locate this rare, original recording from the event,  featuring “Sachmo” and trumpet player Roy Eldridge playing “Mop Mop.”  We hope you enjoy it.  If so, please let us know by leaving a comment below.

Search our online catalog for jazz sheet music.

 

Where Sheet Music, Competition & Creativity Collide (in TX)

If you live in the state of Texas, and you’re involved in music and education in the schools, then the two acronyms TX UIL and TX PML likely spill freely and frequently from your lips. And even if you’re not from Texas, but are involved in music education somewhere in this great country of ours, then you probably know what they mean, right? Just in case you don’t, though, here’s the information in a nutshell taken from the UIL home page: “The University Interscholastic League (UIL) exists to provide educational extracurricular academic, athletic, and music contests for schools in Texas.”

As it pertains to UIL music, of course, this includes marching band, concert band, full and string orchestra, both instrumental and vocal solo and ensemble, and choir. Solo and Ensemble music events in band, choir and orchestra are scheduled in 28 TX UIL Music Regions, and portions of the choral and instrumental sheet music to be performed must come from the Prescribed Music List (PML).

Hence, since the performance at least in part must come from the UIL music list that is not of your own making, the sheet music selection itself is a very important part of the process, because no individual soloist or music performance group wants to play sheet music that is either too easy or too difficult. Nor do they want to play from just any sheet music that is on the UIL music list. It needs to be sheet music that is specifically relevant to their group. Picking out what sheet music is to be played at a competition (or in essence, at a mini concert), is perhaps one of the most difficult parts of the TX UIL music process. That PML piece must be representative of the overall performance level of either that one person (in a solo), or the entire group of musicians involved. Because it’s all about the competition, right? Or is it?

Students want to earn that Division One Rating at the region competitions, so that they are eligible to advance to the TX UIL State Solo and Ensemble Contest that is traditionally hosted in Austin every year on Memorial Day Weekend. The annual trek is to Austin, because it was the University of Texas at Austin that created the TX UIL in first place in 1910. So consider that. What has grown into the largest inter-school organization of its kind in the world, has a more than one hundred year history, and the model from which it was created here in Texas is now emulated all over the country.

But is it really all for just the competition? Most certainly not. Yet in almost any music circle, you’ll find there is usually a constant debate about competition, its merits, and how it relates to music and the arts. There is a school of thought that since music and the arts are creative pursuits, why must competition or the participation in music contests be an integral part of it, particularly in the school classroom? It almost seems contradictory doesn’t it? Music | Creativity | Expression. What is competitive in that? How can you measure creativity? Expression?

Yet (again from the internet pages of the TX UIL), “the Music Program [specifically]…is designed to support and enrich the teaching of music as an integral component of the public school curriculum in the state of Texas.” Support…enrich…compete, too…and don’t forget to play or sing that choral octavo or instrumental sheet music as creatively and expressively as you can. Because luckily for us, UIL music and competition have and will continue to coexist beautifully together, because as anyone knows, the heart and soul of a school’s music organization is its concert ensemble, whether it be the top-level choral group, or the elite wind ensemble in the concert band program. It is by no coincidence at all that the best marching band programs are a direct reflection of the best concert bands; that the best a cappella choral groups are an extension of the premiere choir in the school; that the wind trios, brass quartets, and percussion ensembles that compete in the TX UIL music contests are usually formed from the top players of their respective programs.

So play on and compete. Seek and find the best band sheet music, choir sheet music, and instrumental sheet music which speak not only to you, but to your students as well. The time to do it is now. Christmas is right around the corner and the TX UIL music competitions will be here before you know it. Therefore, let the sheet music, competition and creativity collide, and trust Pender’s Music Co. to help you. The result will be worth it.

Helpful links:

Band PML | New Selections for 2011 | Texas UIL (slideshow)
New Texas UIL | PML Concert Band Additions for 2011-2012 (pdf)
Choral PML | New Selections for 2011 | Texas UIL (slideshow)
New Texas UIL | PML Choral Additions for 2011-2012 (pdf)
Orchestra PML | New Selections for 2011 | Texas UIL (slideshow)
New Texas UIL | PML Full & String Orchestra Additions for 2011-2012 (pdf)
Texas UIL | PML Vocal
Texas UIL | PML Instrumental
Texas UIL | PML String

 

 

Back to Bach

The Denton Bach Society (DBS) hosts a competition each year for young musicians, where the prizes in each division include $150 cash, a Pender’s Music Co. gift certificate, and the opportunity to perform at a Denton Bach Society event.

Any high school or home-schooled student of voice, piano or an orchestral instrument may enter. Students from Denton County and its adjacent counties are eligible (Competitors must have turned 14 by September 1, 2010).

Do you want to enter, or know someone who might be interested? Here’s what you need to know:

The Music: To enter, eligible musicians must prepare two challenging pieces, each in a contrasting style. The pieces must be approved by the student’s instructor, as well as the DBS audition committee. The audition itself lasts only 10 minutes, so participants may not be required to perform each piece in their entirety.

The Money: An entry fee of $15 is required, and needs to be made to The Denton Bach Society. It should be sent with the completed application form.

 

The Method: Applications may be obtained at Pender’s Music Company [Denton].

The Mail: The Application and fee must be mailed to Heidi Klein, Denton, TX 76201. Postmark may be no later than Friday, April 15, 2011. Entrants will be notified of the exact time and place of their audition.

The Denton Bach Society: The Denton Bach Society (DBS) exists to provide Denton and the greater North Texas Community with the highest quality choral and instrumental music, particularly of the baroque period, at a reasonable cost and in a format which encourages attendance by the widest possible audience. Established in 1976 as a not-for-profit organization, the Society and its performance groups, the Denton Bach Choir and the Denton Bach Orchestra continue to offer the community a unique and accessible opportunity to experience fine choral and instrumental music. For more information about the DBS or the Competition, you may contact Heidi Klein – heidiklein@verizon.net.

Tuesday’s Tidbits for Strings, the series, will post to www.pendersbuzz.com about once 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!