Resonate Magazine | Australian Music Centre

I first fell in love with band music from outside the U.S. when I adjudicated a music festival in Canada where the bands had been encouraged to perform a work by a Canadian composer. Until that time I thought I was well versed in band literature, but was embarrassed to find that I didn't know any of the fine music being played. Resolving to correct this deficiency, I spent a sabbatical in Canada and had a marvellous time studying scores and talking with composers.

Although I enjoyed my time in Canada, Australia is the country that has always held a great fascination for me. My grade school fascination with the 'three Ks' (koalas, kangaroos, and kookaburras) matured over time into an interest in Australian history, an enjoyment of the friendliness of Australian people, an appreciation for a well-played didjeridu, and, yes, an enduring fascination for the three Ks and other Australian plant and animal life.

When I became eligible for another sabbatical leave, my wife Jane (the source of many good ideas) said, 'Why don't you go to Australia to research Australian band music?' My sabbatical was approved with only the occasional facetious comment about lying on beaches instead of doing research.

Although I did actually do research, the fine work the Australian Music Centre (AMC) in Sydney is doing to collect and make available the works of Australian composers made my research almost as easy as lying on the beach. I contacted them before I travelled to Australia and they couldn't possibly have been more helpful.

When I showed up at the AMC, Judith Foster and John Davis were very welcoming and accommodating. They allowed me to peruse every band score in their holdings, and every time I encountered a work that I wanted to conduct myself, it was like stumbling across buried treasure. Several interviews and hundreds of emails later, I discovered I had enough material for a book, and (again, at Jane's suggestion and encouragement) self-published The Band Down Under - Australian Composers and Their Works for Band on Amazon. It's available both in electronic form and in hard copy.

The book features current biographies of almost 40 Australian composers, and showcases 106 of their band compositions. Each compositional entry includes a program note, the duration and difficulty level of the piece (from grade 1 to grade 6), the year it was composed, and information on how to obtain the music. An appendix listing works by grade level makes it easy to match band skill level to music, and another appendix lists works with themes related to history, art, and geography. Of course, the book doesn't include every band composition (and includes none by Percy Grainger), but the works inside are extraordinarily well written and represent some of the best of Australian band music.

It is my great hope that the book will spur increased interest in this wonderful music, both in Australia and abroad, and that Australian composers will continue to add to the repertoire!

Further links

Michael Burch-Pesses: The Band Down Under - Australian composers and their music for band - Amazon.com