Michael Gandolfi

Steps Ahead

Steps Ahead is a work by Michael Gandolfi that takes young players on a journey! Along the way, there are musical elements that are intended to educate the performers about basic compositional techniques that are intended toeducate the performers about basic compositional techniques. Steps Ahead is a delightful piece with something interesting for every instrument in the ensemble. Each of its three sections addresses a kind of compositional technique- transposition, tutti (a 2-part homophonic section) and developing tutti (parts of the band enter to build to a 2-part homophonic tutti). Less experienced players might enjoy the challenges of easy syncopation and musical linesconstructed with larger intervals. -Tom Duffy, series editor. 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 aresponse 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.