Composer: Ryan Linham (1991-)
Duration: 8.5-9 minutes
Price: £35
Grade: 5-7
Instrumentation: Medium Brass Ensemble (7 parts)
Part 1-3 Trumpet in Bb
Part 4 Trumpet in Bb, Horn in F OR Horn in Eb
Part 5-6 Trombone OR Euphonium
Part 7 Tuba OR Eb Bass
Written for the 2017 Advanced Ensemble on the Brass Academy, A Day at the Fair is another fun educational piece for strong young players. Noticing a distinct gap in the market for music of this difficulty, this original composition is aimed exactly at those advanced students who don’t quite have the range or stamina of Grade 8 players.
The first movement is a classic Carousel waltz, for the players to work on staccato playing and playing in one in a bar. The second movement Haunted House proved very effective on the courses, allowing the students to explore extended techniques such as blowing and whistling through the instruments to make creepy sounds! Movement 3 is a Pirate ship style piece in 6/8 time, to work on rhythm, counting and articulation. The final 4th movement is a disco track designed to simulate a rocketing rollercoaster, complete with slow ascent followed by a big drop!
The piece is written as semi-flexible 7 parts so it should be suitable for most medium sized ensembles. If you have a different line-up, get in touch!
2017 Performance:
Sample Scores:
