First Festival is an appealing work for players with limited experience, yet satisfying to more accomplished musicians. It is loaded with good teaching opportunities including slurs, staccato, dotted quarter and eighth note rhythms, a key change, dynamic changes, a fermata and cesura and a Da Capo.
The work was selected for performance twice at the Albuquerque All-City Fifth Grade Band Festival and the directors had high praise for the work as playable, engaging, worthwhile and fun to rehearse.
The instruments all have a soli section which is repeated with a variation which challenges students and adds excitement. A piano score is included which allows a piano to be used for rehearsing smaller groups, if desired. Four percussion parts (optional) give larger percussion sections more interest.
First and second players can perform the piece since it is technically not difficult and more advanced players can also be included since the work is musically satisfying making it an ideal festival or concert selection.
