Recommended pieces for a wind band contest

A competition that wind band musicians across the country aspire to enter.

You spend an entire year practicing hard for that contest, don’t you?

At that competition, depending on the division, bands typically perform two pieces: a set piece and a free-choice piece.

While the set piece is chosen from several works announced each year, how do you decide on your free-choice piece?

Some bands compete with a piece they’ve performed for years and feel comfortable with, while others take on the challenge of a new work—but either way, it’s a tough decision.

In this article, we carefully select and introduce recommended pieces for your free-choice selection in competitions.

We’ll cover timeless classics and recent popular works, so please use this as a reference!

Playlist

Recommended pieces for a wind band contest
	Title	Playlist	Review
1	Brussels RequiemBert Appermont		A requiem by Appermont mourning the victims of terrorism
2	Overture to AlcobacaJames Barnes		A fast-tempo piece composed by Barnes
3	El Camino RealAlfred Reed		El Camino Real, a signature piece by Alfred Reed
4	Forest of ResonanceFukushima Hirokazu		A symphony that likens the resonance of sounds to a forest
5	Tanabata (Star Festival)Sakai Itaru		An approachable wind ensemble piece born from diverse inspirations
6	Symphonia NobilissimaRobert Jager		A three-part work that Jaeger dedicated to his wife
7	Daphnis and ChloeJoseph-Maurice Ravel		Ballet music from Daphnis and Chloé, composed by Ravel
8	Concerto for Wind EnsembleKō Shōsui		The five movements are intricately related and interconnected.
9	Symphony No. 2 “The Passion of Christ”Ferrer Ferran		A grand composition that depicts everything from Christ’s birth to death and hope
10	Festive OvertureDmitrii Dmitrievich Shostakovich		Shostakovich’s exhilarating masterpiece brimming with a sense of speed
11	The Last Letter from MurdockTarumiya Masanori		The Last Letter of a Titanic Officer
12	From the opera ‘Turandot’Giacomo Puccini		The World of Puccini’s Final Opera, Turandot
13	Magellan’s Challenge to the Unknown ContinentTarumiya Masanori		A song themed on Magellan’s circumnavigation of the world
14	Three JaponismesMajima Toshio		A wind ensemble piece that expresses Japanese themes using Western techniques
15	March ‘Memories Refrain’Itō Shion		A modern march notable for its key changes and instrumental call-and-response
16	RomanesqueJames Swearingen		Romantic Brass Band Masterpiece Moving
17	Ballet music ‘The Miraculous Mandarin’Bartók Béla		A thug stands up to a monster
18	Lucky Dragon: Memories of the Daigo Fukuryu MaruFukushima Hirokazu		A song inspired by the nuclear exposure incident of the Daigo Fukuryu Maru
19	Treasure IslandT-SQUARE		T-SQUARE’s exhilarating jazz fusion
20	From the musical “Miss Saigon”Claude-Michel Schönberg		The captivating shifts in musical style in Miss Saigon
21	Overture ‘Festival’Frank Erickson		A brilliant, quintessential wind band piece as an overture for a concert
22	The Splendid DanceClaude Thomas Smith		The splendid dance is highly difficult yet approachable.
23	Fantasy on Osaka Folk SongsŌguri Yutaka		Fusion of Osaka's folk music and Western music
24	Redline TangoJohn Mackey		A signature work whose appeal lies in Makki’s composition with a sense of speed and tango
25	Liberty Leading the PeopleTarumiya Masanori		A wind ensemble piece on the theme of the French Revolution
26	Scootin’ on Hardrock: Three Improvisatory Jazz-Style Dance PiecesDavid R. Holsinger		A classic jazzy piece for wind ensemble
27	Cerulean WindGōma Mikio		A beautiful and grand piece composed by Mikio Goma
28	GenrokuKushida Chikayuki no Tasuku		Express the vibrancy of people in Genroku-era Edo in a three-part composition.
29	The Wind of ProvenceTasaka Naoki		A wind band piece that paints the landscapes of Spain and Provence in music
30	March “Blue Sky”Takagi Toko		A bright wind ensemble piece like a blue sky
31	Ceremonial MarchSakai Takasuke		Representative wind band works by Takamasa Sakai
32	DynamicaJan Van der Roost		A hidden masterpiece by a Belgian composer