Grandmother Song [HL:4002005]

“Grandmother Song” is an introduction to the Mohican tradition of “sung syllables,” or what Native Americans call “vocables.” Combining them with traditional wood flute songs, composer Brent Michael Davids offers a fresh look at the “sound” of Native American songs. Band instruments are performed less as musical instruments and more as talking sticks, singing reeds, rustling winds and shooting thunder. Through this beautiful ballad, students are given the materials to understand how Native Americans celebrate the world around them through the blending of words and song. (Includes score and parts.)

BandQuest®, an exciting series of new music and accompanying curricula for band, is a program published by the American Composers Forum. The series was started as a response to feedback from music educators that there is a pressing need for new, fresh band music. The heart of this program is new works written by a diverse group of leading American composers who have created challenging pieces that are a true departure from standard middle school repertoire. Every BandQuest project includes a residency component in which the composer works collaboratively with a middle school as they create their new piece. Many BandQuest pieces are accompanied by an interdisciplinary curriculum designed to assist students as they learn the music and to integrate each piece with non-music studies.

Learn more on YouTube.

Visit www.bandquest.org to learn more about this innovative series, and email bandquest@composersforum.org to request a free downloadable audio catalog.