Altissimo! Recordings

Concert band refers to the symphonic wind ensemble tradition that performs concert music for woodwinds, brass, and percussion, sometimes augmented by double bass, harp, piano, and other color instruments. Unlike marching bands, concert bands are designed for seated indoor performance with nuanced dynamics, refined balance, and a wide stylistic range—from ceremonial marches and overtures to suites, tone poems, and contemporary works. Over the 20th century the repertoire expanded beyond transcriptions of orchestral music to a large body of original works by major composers, establishing the concert band as a distinct and sophisticated medium with its own idioms, colors, and performance practices.

A march is a musical genre and form designed to accompany orderly movement, most commonly military processions, parades, and ceremonial events. It is typically in duple meter (2/4 or 4/4) or compound duple (6/8), with a steady tempo that supports synchronized stepping. Classical and concert marches evolved a characteristic multi-strain structure: an introduction, two strains, a key-changing trio, a break strain ("dogfight"), and a final strain, often with a strong cadential "stinger." Instrumentation centers on winds and percussion—brass, woodwinds, snare and bass drums, and cymbals—producing a bright, projecting sonority suitable for outdoor performance. While the style is pan-European in origin, the late-19th- and early-20th-century "golden age" of the American march, led by John Philip Sousa, codified the concert march’s form, orchestration, and performance practice, influencing wind band music worldwide.