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47-410: Every year Jazz at Lincoln Center transcribes arrangements of Ellington's music and sends them to participating high school band directors in the U.S. and Canada. During the year, band directors are sent a newsletter and given access to online educational materials to help with the arrangements. Students can email Jazz at Lincoln Center for help and send recordings of their band's finished performances to

94-450: A chamber ensemble . A chamber ensemble made up entirely of strings of the violin family is referred to by its size. A string trio consists of three players, a string quartet four, a string quintet five, and so on. In most circumstances the string section is treated by the arranger as one homogeneous unit and its members are required to play preconceived material rather than improvise . A string section can be utilized on its own (this

141-512: A cash prize, a trip to the competition in order to conduct their piece and a composition lesson. The lesson was originally with Ellington historian David Berger, but shifted to JLCO saxophonist Ted Nash in 2015. Arrangements In music , an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition . Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization , melodic paraphrasing , orchestration , or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestration in that

188-574: A new or pre-existing composition is known as a head arrangement . Arrangement and transcriptions of classical and serious music go back to the early history of classical music . J. S. Bach frequently made arrangements of his own and other composers' pieces. One example is the arrangement that he made of the Prelude from his Partita No. 3 for solo violin , BWV 1006. Bach transformed this solo piece into an orchestral Sinfonia that introduces his Cantata BWV29 . "The initial violin composition

235-539: A new selection process was introduced, under which the top three bands from five national regions compete in New York City. Another major change made that year was the opening up of the main competition to allow conglomerate bands (extra-curricular bands composed of students from more than one school, often sponsored by local performing arts organizations) to compete directly with the bands affiliated with schools, instead of one conglomerate band being chosen to appear outside

282-439: A number of large-ensemble arrangements in the late 1950s and early 1960s intended for recording sessions only. Other arrangers of note include Vic Schoen , Pete Rugolo , Oliver Nelson , Johnny Richards , Billy May , Thad Jones , Maria Schneider , Bob Brookmeyer , Lou Marini , Nelson Riddle , Ralph Burns , Billy Byers , Gordon Jenkins , Ray Conniff , Henry Mancini , Ray Reach , Vince Mendoza , and Claus Ogerman . In

329-437: A part of Fletcher Henderson 's orchestra in the 1920s. Redman's arrangements introduced a more intricate melodic presentation and soli performances for various sections of the big band. Benny Carter became Henderson's primary arranger in the early 1930s, becoming known for his arranging abilities in addition to his previous recognition as a performer. Beginning in 1938, Billy Strayhorn became an arranger of great renown for

376-408: A piano introduction that conveys "unflagging energy" from the start. The arrangement of this song by Hector Berlioz uses strings to convey faithfully the driving urgency and threatening atmosphere of the original. Berlioz adds colour in bars 6–8 through the addition of woodwind , horns , and a timpani . With typical flamboyance, Berlioz adds spice to the harmony in bar 6 with an E flat in

423-507: A rule two stringed instruments together create a slight 'beat' which does not give a smooth sound." Different music directors may use different numbers of string players and different balances between the sections to create different musical effects. While any combination and number of string instruments is possible in a section, a traditional string section sound is achieved with a violin-heavy balance of instruments. Ted Nash (saxophonist, born 1960) Ted Nash (born December 28, 1960)

470-452: A small jolt to the rhythm of the opening bar, reinforcing the bare octaves of the strings by playing on the second main beat. Unlike Berlioz, Liszt does not alter the harmony, but changes the emphasis somewhat in bar 6, with the note A in the oboes and clarinets grating against rather than blending with the G in the strings. "Schubert has come in for his fair share of transcriptions and arrangements. Most, like Liszt's transcriptions of

517-410: A typical ear for clarity and transparency in rewriting for an ensemble. Below is the original piano version of the closing bars of the second song, "Gieng heit' Morgen über's Feld". The orchestration shows Mahler's attention to detail in bringing out differentiated orchestral colours supplied by woodwind, strings and horn. He uses a harp to convey the original arpeggios supplied by the left hand of

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564-408: Is also a stringed instrument, but is not a member of nor homogeneous with the violin family, and is not considered part of the string choir. Samuel Adler classifies the harp as a plucked string instrument in the same category as the guitar ( acoustic or electric ), mandolin , banjo , or zither . Like the harp, these instruments do not belong to the violin family and are not homogeneous with

611-597: Is an American jazz saxophonist, flutist and composer. Born into a musical family, his uncle was saxophonist Ted Nash and his father is trombonist Dick Nash , both prominent jazz soloists and first call Hollywood studio musicians. Nash is a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra directed by Wynton Marsalis . He is one of the founders of the Jazz Composers Collective. Nash grew up in Los Angeles. His father

658-594: Is less common due to the expense involved. Popular music arrangements may also be considered to include new releases of existing songs with a new musical treatment. These changes can include alterations to tempo , meter , key , instrumentation , and other musical elements. Well known examples include Joe Cocker 's version of the Beatles ' " With a Little Help from My Friends ", Cream 's " Crossroads ", and Ike and Tina Turner 's version of Creedence Clearwater Revival 's " Proud Mary ". The American group Vanilla Fudge and

705-474: Is referred to as a string orchestra) or in conjunction with any of the other instrumental sections. More than one string orchestra can be utilized. A standard string section (vln., vln 2., vla., vcl, cb.) with each section playing unison allows the arranger to create a five-part texture. Often an arranger will divide each violin section in half or thirds to achieve a denser texture. It is possible to carry this division to its logical extreme in which each member of

752-473: Is trombonist Dick Nash and his uncle was saxophonist Ted Nash. Both were big band veterans, jazz soloists and session musicians who worked regularly with Henry Mancini and Les Brown . The younger Nash began his career on piano when he was seven, clarinet when he was 12, and alto saxophone at 13. When he was 16, he played for one week with Lionel Hampton and the following year was playing saxophone with Quincy Jones , Louis Bellson , and Don Ellis . When he

799-509: The Duke Ellington orchestra. Jelly Roll Morton is sometimes considered the earliest jazz arranger. While he toured around the years 1912 to 1915, he wrote down parts to enable " pickup bands " to perform his compositions. Big-band arrangements are informally called charts . In the swing era they were usually either arrangements of popular songs or they were entirely new compositions. Duke Ellington's and Billy Strayhorn 's arrangements for

846-456: The Lieder or Berlioz's orchestration for Erlkönig , tell us more about the arranger that about the original composer, but they can be diverting so long as they are in no way a replacement for the original". Gustav Mahler 's Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen ("Songs of a Wayfarer") were originally written for voice with piano accompaniment. The composer's later arrangement of the piano part shows

893-664: The piano has frequently undergone this treatment, as it has been arranged for orchestra, chamber ensemble, or concert band . Beethoven made an arrangement of his Piano Sonata No. 9 for string quartet . Conversely, he also arranged his Grosse Fuge (one of his late string quartets ) for piano duet . The American composer George Gershwin , due to his own lack of expertise in orchestration, had his Rhapsody in Blue arranged and orchestrated by Ferde Grofé . Erik Satie wrote his three Gymnopédies for solo piano in 1888. Eight years later, Debussy arranged two of them, exploiting

940-448: The 21st century, the big-band arrangement has made a modest comeback. Gordon Goodwin , Roy Hargrove , and Christian McBride have all rolled out new big bands with both original compositions and new arrangements of standard tunes. The string section is a body of instruments composed of various bowed stringed instruments. By the 19th century orchestral music in Europe had standardized

987-499: The British group Yes based their early careers on radical rearrangements of contemporary hits . Bonnie Pointer performed disco and Motown -styled versions of " Heaven Must Have Sent You ". Remixes , such as in dance music , can also be considered arrangements. Arrangements for small jazz combos are usually informal, minimal, and uncredited. Larger ensembles have generally had greater requirements for notated arrangements, though

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1034-646: The Center for evaluation. These recordings can also count as applications to the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival in New York City. Fifteen top bands are invited to the festival, which occurs every May at Frederick Rose Hall in Jazz at Lincoln Center. The festivals ends with an awards ceremony for the top three bands, then a concert by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra led by Wynton Marsalis . In 2013

1081-564: The Duke Ellington big band were usually new compositions, and some of Eddie Sauter 's arrangements for the Benny Goodman band and Artie Shaw 's arrangements for his own band were new compositions as well. It became more common to arrange sketchy jazz combo compositions for big band after the bop era. After 1950, the big bands declined in number. However, several bands continued and arrangers provided renowned arrangements. Gil Evans wrote

1128-582: The Gerhard W. Vosshall Student Composition/Arranging Contest was added to the festival following a donation from the Vosshall family made in Gerhard's honor. The contest was renamed the "Dr. J. Douglas White Student Composition and Arranging Contest" in 2016. Each year, a winning composition is chosen from submissions sent from the US and Canada and is performed by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. The winning composer receives

1175-686: The Herbie Nichols Project , a band which played the music of pianist Nichols. Nash has been a composer, arranger , producer, conductor , and writer of liner notes . As a performer, he is a multireedist who has recorded on soprano saxophone , alto saxophone , tenor saxophone , clarinet, bass clarinet , flute, and piccolo . Portrait in Seven Shades is a seven-movement suite dedicated to seven modern painters: Claude Monet , Salvador Dalí , Henri Matisse , Pablo Picasso , Vincent van Gogh , Marc Chagall , and Jackson Pollock . The album

1222-502: The Seattle area have participated including repeat finalists: Roosevelt; Garfield; Shorewood; Mount Si; Edmonds-Woodway; Mountlake Terrace; Newport and Ballard high schools. In 2008, five of the fifteen bands to compete were from the greater Seattle area. Acknowledging the region's dominance at the competition, Marsalis, tongue only half in cheek, challenged the remaining schools/regions, "to do something about Seattle and Washington." In 2013,

1269-573: The actual festival to early June. The 2021 festival also introduced new rules regarding the submissions of conglomerate bands (extra-curricular bands composed of students from more than one school), a previously largely unregulated field. The festival provided and official definition of conglomerate bands, stating that they need to follow a specific course of study, as well as a scope and sequence, all in addition to weekly rehearsals and scheduled public performances. All-Star, All-State, and All-Region bands are barred from competition, as are bands created for

1316-462: The competition as a special guest in an exhibition performance, as was the case previously. The 25th annual edition of the competition and festival was scheduled to feature classic Ellington charts re-released once again. It was also announced on “Acceptd”, the official application site, that, due to the 25th anniversary the region system has been eliminated, and a total of eighteen bands will be selected, three more than in years past. The disbanding of

1363-449: The early Count Basie big band is known for its many head arrangements, so called because they were worked out by the players themselves, memorized ("in the player's head "), and never written down. Most arrangements for big bands, however, were written down and credited to a specific arranger, as with arrangements by Sammy Nestico and Neal Hefti for Count Basie's later big bands. Don Redman made innovations in jazz arranging as

1410-425: The finalists are announced, clinicians are sent to each of the finalist schools to provide a jazz workshop and prepare the bands for competition. The clinicians are usually members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Notable alumni of the competition includes Grammy-nominated trombonist Nick Finzer who serves on the jazz faculty at UNT and founded The Outside The Music record label. Several high school bands from

1457-490: The horn part, creating a half-diminished seventh chord which is not in Schubert's original piano part. There are subtle differences between this and the arrangement of the song by Franz Liszt . The upper string sound is thicker, with violins and violas playing the fierce repeated octaves in unison and bassoons compensating for this by doubling the cellos and basses . There are no timpani, but trumpets and horns add

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1504-426: The latter process is limited to the assignment of notes to instruments for performance by an orchestra , concert band , or other musical ensemble . Arranging "involves adding compositional techniques, such as new thematic material for introductions , transitions , or modulations , and endings . Arranging is the art of giving an existing melody musical variety". In jazz , a memorized (unwritten) arrangement of

1551-508: The opportunity to play Ellington's music while also receiving professional feedback. Starting in 2008, music by big band composers other than Ellington was used for the first time, three Count Basie selections. In succeeding years they have also released songs by: Benny Carter , Dizzy Gillespie , Mary Lou Williams , Gerald Wilson , Fletcher Henderson , and Benny Golson . For the 2013 and 2015 competitions, Essentially Ellington returned to its original format of six Ellington charts. After

1598-411: The piano part. He also extracts a descending chromatic melodic line, implied by the left hand in bars 2–4 (above), and gives it to the horn. Popular music recordings often include parts for brass horn sections , bowed strings , and other instruments that were added by arrangers and not composed by the original songwriters . Some pop arrangers even add sections using full orchestra , though this

1645-484: The range of instrumental timbres available in a late 19th-century orchestra. "It was Debussy whose 1896 orchestrations of the Gymnopédies put their composer on the map." Pictures at an Exhibition , a suite of ten piano pieces by Modest Mussorgsky , has been arranged over twenty times, notably by Maurice Ravel . Ravel's arrangement demonstrates an "ability to create unexpected, memorable orchestral sonorities". In

1692-477: The regional system was a one-year-only event, while the increase in the numbers of bands selected remains ambiguous with regards to its permanence. However, due to concerns regarding the COVID-19 virus, Jazz At Lincoln Center announced that the “in person” aspects of the event were cancelled, with Wynton Marsalis presenting a Q&A session on the day of the festival, jam sessions, clinics, sectionals, concerts, and even

1739-534: The second movement, "Gnomus", Mussorgsky's original piano piece simply repeats the following passage: Ravel initially orchestrates it as follows: Repeating the passage, Ravel provides a fresh orchestration "this time with the celesta (replacing the woodwinds ) accompanied by string glissandos on the fingerboard ". A number of Franz Schubert 's songs, originally for voice with piano accompaniment, were arranged by other composers. For example, his "highly charged" and "graphic" song " Erlkönig " ("The Erl King") has

1786-414: The show's instrumentation; a benefit was the creation of more space in the pit for an expanded percussion section. George Martin , producer and arranger for the Beatles , warns arrangers about the intonation problems when only two like instruments play in unison: "After a string quartet, I do not think there is a satisfactory sound for strings until one has at least three players on each line . . . as

1833-527: The sole purpose of competing in Essentially Ellington. When the program began in 1995, it was offered only to school bands in New York City. During the next few years, the program grew to include schools in all U.S. states and Canada. Over 4000 schools have received materials. Beginning in early 2006, JALC announced the debut of the festival's first regional. The regional festivals are non-competitive and offer high school jazz bands of different levels

1880-404: The string choir. In modern arranging these instruments are considered part of the rhythm section. The electric bass and upright string bass—depending on the circumstance—can be treated by the arranger as either string section or rhythm section instruments. A group of instruments in which each member plays a unique part—rather than playing in unison with other like instruments—is referred to as

1927-413: The string section into the following homogeneous instrumental groups: first violins , second violins (the same instrument as the first violins, but typically playing an accompaniment or harmony part to the first violins, and often at a lower pitch range), violas , cellos , and double basses . The string section in a multi-sectioned orchestra is sometimes referred to as the "string choir". The harp

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1974-506: The string section plays his or her own unique part. Artistic, budgetary and logistical concerns, including the size of the orchestra pit or hall will determine the size and instrumentation of a string section. The Broadway musical West Side Story , in 1957, was booked into the Winter Garden theater; composer Leonard Bernstein disliked the playing of "house" viola players he would have to use there, and so he chose to leave them out of

2021-430: The traditional Duke Ellington musical releases. However, the course of the COVID-19 pandemic meant that this arrangement simply wasn't feasible. The festival pushed back the release of new music until the 2021-2022 school year, and encouraged participating schools to submit one song from the entire Essentially Ellington library in either a synchronous or asynchronous fashion. Submission due dates were pushed back to March and

2068-453: The traditional cheer tunnel all being held virtually. No winners were announced, although honors to individual soloists and sections were given. Also present for the first time in 2020 were five international youth jazz orchestras, from Japan, Scotland, Australia, Spain, and Cuba. While the 2021 festival was originally scheduled to be an in-person event featuring music of pivotal arranger and pioneering electric guitarist Eddie Durham alongside

2115-653: Was 18, he moved to New York City and became a member of the Gerry Mulligan Big Band. During the same year, he released his debut album, Conception ( Concord Jazz , 1978). In the 1980s, he worked with vibraphonist Charlie Shoemake , who had been one of his teachers. He was a member of the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra , for whom he played saxophone and wrote arrangements . In 1990s, he performed and recorded as sideman with Wynton Marsalis , Joe Lovano , and Ben Allison . After Allison's invitation, he joined

2162-411: Was in E major but both arranged versions are transposed down to D, the better to accommodate the wind instruments". "The transformation of material conceived for a single string instrument into a fully orchestrated concerto -type movement is so successful that it is unlikely that anyone hearing the latter for the first time would suspect the existence of the former". In particular, music written for

2209-491: Was nominated for a Grammy Award. Nash's album Presidential Suite: Eight Variations on Freedom ( Motéma , 2016) consists of Nash's compositions interwoven with historic political speeches by Winston Churchill , Ronald Reagan , Franklin D. Roosevelt , Lyndon Johnson , John F. Kennedy , Nelson Mandela , Jawaharlal Nehru , and Aung San Suu Kyi . The speeches are read by Sam Waterston , Wynton Marsalis , Joe Lieberman , and Glenn Close . In 2017, Presidential Suite won

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