Grand Mesa Music

In 1874, the "Promenade and Great Gate of Kiev" was composed by Modest Mussorgsky as part of a 10 section piano work entitled, "Pictures at an Exhibition". In 1922, French composer Maurice Ravel made...

This upbeat Western themed Grade 2 piece composed by Susan Day features lively melodies for all, with teaching opportunities to reinforce accents, hooked bows, pizzicato, 2 note slurs, lifts, cello di...

This popular holiday tune has had many iterations. In this unique grade 2 version, its three main themes are arranged in a new and somewhat altered way, with the familiar melodic and rhythmic motifs p...

This lovely, solid grade 2 suite of three movements was written to spark the students' imagination about a knight's adventures, while reinforcing specific playing techniques in each movement. "Day in t...

Let Them Not be Forgotten was written as a tribute to honor fallen heroes everywhere, but specifically, the composer had in mind the firefighters of 9/11. Written in the key of G, with no accidentals,...

Originally entitled "The Rhythm Decides", "Sinfonia Rhythmico" is an exciting, edgy work for advancing string orchestra that comes off as a gripping musical ride with a dominating rhythmic element. Rh...

Guaranteed to delight your performers and audience alike, this rousing arrangement of "Joy to the World" is combined with an original American "hoedown" style tune, providing a fresh setting of this p...

Take your young string students way back in time in this lumbering tribute to the massive reptiles that roamed the earth in the cretaceous period. Built melodically and harmonically on a minor third,...

This fun-to-play and listen to pizzicato work will totally engage your students while allowing them to focus on a good left hand position. Includes a non-optional piano part.

This piece is intended to help students at the very beginning levels make 'real' music, using only open strings and pizzicato. The piano part is essential.

This all-pizzicato work for young strings imitates an African instrument called the kalimba (also known as an mbira or thumb piano.) This lovely-sounding instrument consists of a series of metal tines...

This setting of the captivating ballad Last Rose of Summer musically captures the nature of the delicate and graceful rose. In addition to the colorful scoring, there are opportunities to feature opti...

The three enchanting movements in this work 'The Falling Snow', 'Icicles on a Sunny Day', and 'The Ice Skating Rink' provide a nostalgic musical portrait of the coldest season, and make for a perfect...

Farewell to Cavendish, composed by Sarah Siegler, is a slow lyrical piece depicting the beautiful scenery of Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, and the feeling of leaving a place you really love. All se...

Island Rhythms, composed by Erica Donahoe, is meant to embody the easy feel of a day at the beach, happily soaking in the Caribbean sunshine! Caribbean music encompasses a large geographic area of ove...

Dusty Bridge Blues was inspired by the common experience every string player has after "Whoops!" putting too much rosin on the bow. Then, the rosin dust flies fast and furious during rehearsal and pil...

The Missing Hour is an energetic piece from start to finish, depicting the feeling of "chasing after time". Many people experience the challenging time changes of jet lag from a trip, or the "spring f...

Above Kitty Hawk depicts the history-making Wright Brothers' first flight, from the intense opening rhythms through the exhilarating finish! In 1903 the Wright Brothers built the powered "Wright Flyer...

The Christmas Tree Ship was inspired by the fascinating historical account of a ship called the Rouse Simmons, nicknamed "The Christmas Tree Ship". It sailed on Lake Michigan delivering Christmas tree...

Ordinary Courage is a quietly stunning work that celebrates the "ordinary courage" of everyday life. The courage it takes to wake up and go to school when you're not feeling well and take the test any...

Star Gazers Suite was inspired by an orchestra teacher, Julie Nolan, who was searching for multi-movement works to play with her first-year students. We had a great conversation about what that might...

Dark Magic is the perfect piece for a spooky fall concert. With simple rhythms and finger patterns, your beginning players can feel confident and sound great on this piece. Encourage your students to...

Short Ride in a Fast Sled is a fun winter concert piece written as a nod to John Adams' well-known "Short Ride in a Fast Machine". It presents a neat opportunity for directors to show Adams' famous wo...

The myth of the thunderstone has been part of many world cultures for thousands of years. What is a thunderstone? It is believed to be a stone forged by lightning, giving the stone mystical and magica...

Across the Crescent Moon evokes a velvet night and a moonlight sliver. The wisps of clouds float across, only to slip away into darkness. Impressionistic elements paint a picture of the secretive cres...