Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature several performances of Symphony No. 10 that came as the result of Matthew Maslanka being in residency with various ensembles and their conductors.
Exciting week at WIU - Matthew is working with the Wind Ensemble to prepare Symphony No. 10. Check it out if you're in the area! http://www.wiu.edu/news/newsrelease.php?release_id=16185
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we take a look at three of the many pupils David worked with over the years as well as one of their compositions: Symphony No. 3, "For David" by Kimberly K. Archer, This is Our Joyful Hour by Kevin Krumenauer, and Heroes from the Sea by Onsby C. Rose.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature a spectacular livestream rehearsal featuring Jerry Junkin working with the Vandegrift High School Wind Ensemble in David's epic Symphony No. 4.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature the Eastman Wind Ensemble in rousing performances of Symphony No. 8, Mvt. I, Tears, and Symphony No. 2.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature captivating performances of Hymn for World Peace, Out of this World, and This is the World.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as we remember him through David's composition, Letter to Martin.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we take a special look at David's philosophies on music, the creative process, and creating peace through musical tones.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. We start the beginning of 2019 by taking time to remember the life and music of David Maslanka.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature five of the most extraordinary performances of Illumination from 2018.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature five of the most extraordinary performances of Recitation Book, Mvt. V, Fanfare/Variations on Durch Adams Fall from 2018.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature five of the most extraordinary performances of Traveler from 2018.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature five of the most extraordinary performances of Symphony No. 4 from 2018.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature five of the most extraordinary performances of Give Us This Day from 2018.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature amazing performances of Angel of Mercy, In Memoriam, and Traveler.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature spectacular performances of Mass, Liberation, and Prelude on a Gregorian Tune.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature fantastic performances of On This Bright Morning, Golden Light, Morning Star, and Illumination.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature phenomenal performances of Symphony No. 9, Hohner, and Tone Studies.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature thrilling performances of Symphony No. 5 and Recitation Book, Mvt. 5, "Fanfare/Variations on Durch Adams Fall."
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, emotional performances of Remember Me: Music for Cello and Nineteen Players, Requiem, A Solemn Music, and Beloved.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, amazing performances of Sonata for Bassoon and Piano, Movement II, Orpheus, and Little Concerto for Six Players.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, exceptional performances of Peace, Tone Studies, Movement V, "Wie Bist Du, Seele?" and David's transcription of Goldberg Variations for Saxophone Quartet.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, captivating performances of Alex and the Phantom Band, Rollo Takes a Walk, and Music for Dr. Who.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, sensational performances of California, Montana Music: Fantasy on a Chorale Tune, and Montana Music: Three Dances for Percussion.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, phenomenal performances of O Earth, O Stars, This is the World, Mvt. IV, and Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble, Mvt. II.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, fantastic performances of Concerto for Clarinet and Wind Ensemble, Little Symphony on the name BArnEy CHilDS, and Desert Roads: Four Songs for Clarinet and Wind Ensemble.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, phenomenal performances of Quintet for Winds No. 3, Movement I, Quintet for Winds No. 1, Movement 1, and the entirety of Quintet for Winds No. 2.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, amazing performances of Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Wind Ensemble, Hell's Gate, and Symphony No. 2, Movement II.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, marvelous performances of Illumination, Heart Songs, and Mother Earth.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, spectacular performances of Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano, Sonata for Oboe and Piano, and Sonata for Bassoon and Piano.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we remember the life of David Maslanka and Alison Matthews with unforgettable performances of Symphony No. 4, "Song for Alison" from Song Book for Alto Saxophone and Marimba, and Symphony No. 10: The River of Time.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, sensational performances of Hohner, Crown of Thorns, and Hurtling Through Space at an Unimaginable Speed.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, we feature the Masato Kumoi Saxophone Quartet with amazing performances of Songs for the Coming Day, Mountain Roads, and Recitation Book.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, a marvelous Concerto for Marimba and Band, Variations on Lost Love, and Song Book for Alto Saxophone and Marimba.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, the Münchner Rundfunkorchester gives a stunning performance of 11:11 - A Dance at the Edge of the World and World Music.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, a spectacular Concerto No. 3 for Piano and Wind Ensemble, Beloved, and "Groucho's Dance" from Concerto No. 2 for Piano and Wind Ensemble.
Maslanka Weekly highlights excellent performances of David Maslanka’s music from around the web. This week, a fantastic Symphony No 8, Hymn for World Peace, and Requiem.
David discusses his composing process and the inspiration for Symphony No. 10. This is excerpt from David's forthcoming memoir, written only months before his death.
What's next for the music of David Maslanka?
What do I find interesting? I am a constant and wide-ranging reader. My undergrad and graduate work was almost all music, with just minimum requirements in other areas. Since that time I have done extensive reading in many topics, including history, psychology, anthropology, religion, mythology and poetry. I read very little about music! History can [...]
David Maslanka shakes the hand of Li Fangfang after a powerful performance of Symphony No. 4 by the Beijing Wind Orchestra at the National Centre for the Performing Arts. Li invited David to participate in the 2016 Asia Pacific Band Directors Association Conference.
David Maslanka was honored with an honorary doctorate by St. Olaf College. Here's the entire ceremony: The following is the full text of Dr. Timothy Mahr's and David Maslanka's remarks. Dr. Timothy Mahr's remarks [starts at 11:50] On the nomination of the faculty, and with the approval of the St. Olaf Board of [...]
On Feb. 4 2016, I traveled from New York City to meet Tim Mahr and the St. Olaf Band at Pascack Hills High School in Montvale, New Jersey. We were hosted by director of bands Chris Wilhjelm. Rehearsing Angel of Mercy with the St. Olaf Band and Dr. Tim Mahr in Montvale, NJ [...]
Midwest 2015 Maslanka Press exhibited at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago this past December for the first time. We were excited to welcome so many enthusiastic friends to the back corner of the McCormick Center. We expect this to be the first of many appearances at festivals and conventions across the United States and around [...]
The following is from an email exchange with Natasha Rotondaro, a grade 12 student from Emily Carr Secondary School in Vaughn, Ontario Natasha Rotondaro: What is your musical background? David Maslanka: I began clarinet studies at age nine. As a high school student I took lessons at the New England Conservatory in Boston, MA, and [...]
Playing Symphony No. 9 with a high school band was supposed to be impossible. Sam Ormson writes about his musical development through David's music.
Works for Younger Wind Ensembles We've just posted a two-part series going over David's more accessible works for wind ensemble. Read part 1, talking about how directors might think about selecting new music and part 2, a listing (in order of difficulty) of works with commentary by David himself. New Works Saint Francis (2015) 18' Grade 5-6 for [...]
These are David's thoughts on choosing music. You can find the annotated repertoire list here. I have never been in charge of a school band program, but over the past 40-plus years I have seen hundreds of programs close-up as guest composer. While I do understand the need to teach specific aspects of music, I [...]
Here are more than twenty works for wind ensemble, arranged in approximate ascending order of difficulty, with commentary by David Maslanka
We'd love to encourage you to write to David with questions or comments that you have about his music. He loves hearing your thoughts and feelings. Get in touch on the Contact page. June 6, 2015: Mark Weidenaar wrote David with the following question: How does your knowledge of consciousness impact the music you write, [...]
Mark Morette of Mark Custom Recording shares his extensive experience in recording wind ensembles.
In the second movement of David Maslanka's Concerto for Trombone and Wind Ensemble, there is an extended and demanding technical section from m. 108 to m. 256, about four minutes of nearly continuous playing. It rests in the upper tessitura of the trombone range, mostly between D3 and C4, and alternates between very loud staccato [...]
The Maslanka Collected Chorales are an extraordinary tool to help develop blend, balance, intonation, and ensemble cohesion in groups ranging from large symphonic bands and orchestras to small chamber groups or sectionals. With a daily 5-10 minutes per rehearsal you will hear a significant improvement in melodic and harmonic pitch awareness in your players. Dr. [...]
Dr. Kip Franklin's doctoral dissertation on David's Eternal Garden: Four Songs for Clarinet and Piano begins with an overview of David's life, his compositional style, and the commissioning process for this work. Part two presents a thorough analysis of each of the four songs, followed by transcripts of interviews with the composer and a list of David's compositions [...]
Kate Sutton's Master's thesis is a study on David's Third, Fourth, and Ninth Symphonies with special emphasis on their themes on nature. She explores the influence that moving to Missoula, Montana had on David for Symphony No. 3, his connection to the "powerful voice of the Earth" in Symphony No. 4, and the themes of nature [...]
The division between "wind ensemble" and "band" is not clearly defined. A wind ensemble can be anywhere from one player on a part up to a total of 60 or even a few more in the ensemble, meaning multiples of flutes, clarinets, trumpets, trombones, and others. For my wind ensemble scores I have consistently indicated [...]
Most of my wind music has been written beyond the grade system. For the pieces that I have written for younger bands (now a fair number), I have composed them paying careful attention to the specific band for which I was writing, rather than the generalization of a grade number. The grading system can offer [...]
Elisa Moles' thesis on David's third Quintet for Winds focuses specifically on his use of Bach chorales. Her thorough analysis of the quintet displays David's use of chorales as an integral part of the composition. Through her research, she explains David's incorporation of thematic, harmonic, and formal chorale elements as a catalyst for his original composition, using the [...]
This is an email message sent 13 April 2013 to Roger Briggs, composition chair, and Chris Bianco, director of bands, at Western Washington University. David had just returned from working with the wind ensemble and student composers. Hi Roger, I am very glad that we had some time together, and thanks again for sharing your [...]
Dr. Kimberly Wester's doctoral dissertation on David's Eternal Garden focuses on the expressive interpretation of the work, providing performance considerations and an overview of research on music and emotion. Biographical information on David is also included with information on his creative process, as well as discussions with the commissioner of the work, Dr. Peggy Dees-Moseley. Expressive Interpretation in David Maslanka’s [...]