| Agnus Dei | ATB and classical guitar (September 28, 1975; performed at the United Church of Pullman, Washington with guitarist Glen Newton, tenor Jim Gresham, bass John Ehrstine, and counter-tenor Paul Olsen; seven-part trombone choir version December 28, 2003, for two choirs of trombones, Choir A (A/T, T, T/B) corresponding exactly to the original vocal trio and Choir B (A/T, T, T/B, B) realizing the guitar accompaniment with a few changes such as replacing the guitar harmonics with notes in the usable trombone range. The original is in the key of D; the trombone choir version is in C. First performance of the trombone choir version February 29, 2004, by the combined Minneapolis Trombone Choir and University of Wisconsin-River Falls Trombone Choir, with six euphoniums (including the composer) and two tubas playing the Choir B parts. Also arranged for brass septet, ten-piece brass ensemble and brass band. |
| Orally | SSAA and TTBB a capella; lyrics and arrangement only, sung to the tune of "Aura Lee" (women's quartet July 12, 1967; men's quartet 1971) |
| I Never Want to Be an Entry Clerk | Vocal solo; lyrics only, sung to the tune of "There Will Never Be Another You" (September 23, 2003; first performed by Glen, with a prerecorded accompaniment he created, at the ACFA Northcentral Region Awards Banquet, October 4, 2003) |
| Monster Cat Mash | Vocal solo; lyrics only, sung to the tune of "Monster Mash" (October, 2004; first performed by Glen, with a prerecorded accompaniment performed by the Roseville Big Band, at the ACFA Northcentral Region Awards Banquet, October 30, 2004) |
| Agnus Dei | brass band without percussion (July 11, 2008); a short (about one minute, 40 seconds) calm, meditative composition, scored simply - essentially a seven-part arrangement reflecting the brass septet; brass band version is in the key of B-flat; see the description of the vocal version (above) for more information. | ||
| Bur Oak Suite | brass band; Roots (January 15, 2007), Trunk (January 15, 2007), Canopy (November 24, 2006; later renamed Acorn and made the first movement); premiere performance of the brass band version by the Sheldon Theatre Brass Band April 28, 2007, with Glen Newton playing E-flat tenor horn; premiere performance of the new fourth movement, Treetop, by the Sheldon Theatre Brass Band June 27, 2008, with Glen Newton playing B-flat baritone horn; see the description of the trombone choir version (below) for more information. Glen supplied these program notes: | ||
| The
Bur Oak (botanical name Quercus macrocarpus) is native to the Eastern
half of North America. This very large shade tree was honoured in 2001 by
being selected ‘Urban Tree of the Year’ by the Society of Municipal
Arborists. ‘Bur Oak Suite’ is a Four Movement Suite in tribute
to this majestic tree. Each movement suggests a part of the tree.
The first movement, Acorn, is inspired by the Bur Oak’s large shaggy acorn, which is a compact precursor to the entire tree. The second movement, Roots, is sombre and solid, as are the roots of the tree; it includes further development of one of the themes introduced in Acorn. The third movement, Trunk, is characterised by upward movement, suggestive of the nutrients that flow from the roots of the treetop. The final
movement, Treetop, is a lively representation of the activity
in the upper branches of the Bur Oak - the sunlight, leaves blowing in
the wind, squirrels jumping about, birds singing and even a woodpecker.
Its own soaring theme is complemented by quotes from the themes of the
earlier movements. |
|||
| Marble | brass band (September 10, 2006; revised July 7, 2008); originally for horn sextet; see the description of the trombone choir version (below) for more information |
||
| The Express | brass band (February 2010, arranged by Robert Collinson; not yet published); performed by the Sheldon Theatre Brass Band July 4, 2010, in the Red Wing, Minnesota, band shell; originally for concert band; described below. | ||
| Other Brass Band Music by Glen Newton: | John Henry |
| A Brief Fantasy on 'Sheep May Safely Graze' |
two trombone choir versions: four parts (TTTB) and two four-part choirs (each TTTB); originally written for tuba/euphonium quartet; rescored for 2 clarinets, horn, and bassoon; also scored for large saxophone ensemble: up to 2 sopranos, 4 altos, 2 tenors, 2 baritones, and bass sax (August 30, 1980; performed by the House Brand Woodwind Ensemble at Sperry-Univac Shepard Road facilities April 21, 1981; performed in the early 1980's by the Minneapolis Trombone Choir; performed by the Minneapolis Trombone Choir and Student Trombone Choir, February 27, 2000; saxophone version performed by a saxophone septet, the Glen Newton Saxophone Ensemble, as the postlude for the July 16, 1989, Sunday morning worship service of St. Anthony Park United Methodist Church). Click here to hear a recording (633KB MP3) of the February 27, 2000 performance. | ||
| Brown Wore Black | six parts (A/T, T, T, T/B, T/B, B) plus rhythm section; (January 16, 2003; premiered by the Minneapolis Trombone Choir, February 23, 2003, at Judson Memorial Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota). Dedicated to the volunteers of CTV15 public access television. Also performed April 17, 2003, by the University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire trombone choir, under the direction of Rodney B. Hudson. Although they were guests on the Minneapolis Trombone Choir concert, they didn't play on this selection on that program. Also arranged for Big Band. | ||
| Bur Oak Suite | Roots, Trunk, and Canopy; six parts (A/T,T,T,T/B,T/B,B; February 3, 2000; premiered by the Minneapolis Trombone Choir, February 27, 2000, at Judson Memorial Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota; also performed by the University of Minnesota Trombone Choir, April 24, 2002, Nick Castonguay, conductor). Click the title of the movement to hear the April 24, 2002, performance of Roots (2.5MB MP3) and Trunk (964K MP3) and the February 27, 2000, performance of Canopy (1.3MB MP3). Also arranged for brass band. | ||
| Marble | six parts (A/T,T,T,T,T/B,B) plus two offstage solo trombones; also arranged for brass band; originally for horn sextet (trombone choir version 1997, performed by the Minneapolis Trombone Choir, February 23, 1997, and again February 27, 2005; part 6 updated for the 2005 performance to add a contrabass trombone, sometimes doubling in unison, other times doubling at the octave or resting; Glen wrote this description for the program of the trombone choir's 2005 concert: |
||
| Marble – by Glen Newton. You are standing in a huge marble hall when a four-note motif bursts forth, followed by an echo. You turn, trying to find the source of the sounds, as the motif expands into a 32-bar theme that appears in several guises as the notes cascade around the hall. Low trombones introduce a waltz that fills the hall until the dramatic return of the first theme in surround sound. Marble was Glen Newton’s 1979 entry in the International Horn Society Composition Contest. The Minneapolis Trombone Choir premiered this trombone choir version in 1997. | |||
| Road Trip | eight parts (T,T, T, T, T, T/B, B, B); January 22, 2011; premiered by the Minneapolis Trombone Choir, March 20, 2011, at Judson Memorial Church. Glen wrote this whimsical description for the program: | ||
Road Trip by Glen Edward Newton (b. 1947) depicts a typical drive to a cat show – something Glen and his wife, Jo, have done many times. As the trip begins, you can imagine the early morning sun breaking through the fog. When the car reaches the interstate, the tempo picks up and we’re on the way! As the day progresses, the cats in their carriers meow their greetings and sing four-part harmony with their humans. Calm sections of the piece depict rest stops providing a respite from the pulsing 6/8 rhythm of the open road. Finally, the familiar logo of the show motel comes into view, and humans and felines check in and rest up for the weekend’s competition. |
|||
| Slide on a Stick: A Day at the Fair | eight parts (T,T,T,T,T,T/B,B,B); January 22, 2012; premiered by the Minneapolis Trombone Choir, March 18, 2012, at Judson Memorial Church. Glen supplied this description for the program: | ||
| Slide on a Stick: A Day at the Fair depicts a day at the Minnesota State Fair, where just about every food imaginable - and even some beverages - is offered "on a stick". Our musical journey follows a little girl, thrilled with the sights, sounds and tates of the fair as she walks around with her parents. After a while, she takes a nap in her stroller and dreams of flying. When she wakes up, they're in the International Bazaar, where a mariachi band is playing! Finally, her dream comes true as the family takes the sky ride and flies over the hectic activity below. | |||
| Because the version of this composition performed by the MTC moves through the keys of Bb, D, Gb, A, and back to Bb and includes relatively difficult bass trombone parts, Glen created an alternate version, suitable for a high school trombone choir (T,T,T,T,T,T,T,T/B) that sticks to more familiar keys (Bb, C, F, Ab, Bb), limits the 8th part range to Bb below the staff, and avoids a low B, thus making it playable on a single-rotor instrument. | |||
| Sorta Samba | five parts (T,T,T/B,T/B, B) plus rhythm section: piano; guitar and bass; or any combination of these with drums; (January 24, 2002; premiered by the Minneapolis Trombone Choir, February 24, 2002). The melody and chords are the same as the vocal quartet and Big Band instrumental, It's Too Late (for Us to Start Again). | ||
| Trombone Graffiti | five parts (T,T,T,T/B,B; January 26, 1999; premiered by the Minneapolis Trombone Choir, March 7, 1999, at Judson Memorial Church; also performed by a Hopkins High School trombone quintet Friday, June 4, 1999, at the Hopkins High School Theater) | ||
| Other Trombone Choir Music by Glen Newton: | John Henry's Hammer | Agnus Dei | Barely Bossa Nova |
| Agnus Dei | Brass septet version for E-flat cornet, two B-flat cornets, E-flat tenor horn, B-flat baritone horn, euphonium, and tuba (June 9, 2007); also two variations of the ten-piece brass ensemble (November 28, 2008): the brass band ten-piece ensemble - three B-flat cornets, E-flat horn, two treble clef trombones, treble clef euphonium, E-flat bass in treble clef, and one percussionist, or the orchestral ten-piece ensemble - three B-flat trumpets, French horn in F, two trombones in bass clef, euphonium in bass clef, tuba in bass clef, and one percussionist; all in the key of B-flat; see the description of the vocal version (above) for more information. |
| Barely Bossa Nova | concert band; later rescored for orchestra; still later rescored for big band (band 1977; premiere performance by the Roseville Comunity Band in Roseville's Central Park, July 1977; orchestra version 1978 performed by the St. Anthony Civic Orchestra 7/16/78 at Columbia Heights Amphitheater, 7/28/78 at Apache Plaza in St. Anthony, 8/3/78 at Pioneer Park in Stillwater, 7/7/81 at Coon Rapids Dam, 7/16/81 at Pioneer Park, 7/23/81 at Apache Plaza, and 8/6/81 at Lake Harriet Band Shell, as well as concerts in May and September 7, 1996, and three summer concerts in 2007: Chandler Place Ice Cream Social June 21, Salo Park June 28, and Como Park Lakeside Pavilion July 1; big band version performed by the Roseville Big Band at the Central Park band shell August 6, 1991, with Glen Newton playing the piccolo solo, and July 4, 1994, with Kris Rusterholz playing the piccolo solo; trombone choir version 1/24/2004 for two choirs, each TTTB, plus maracas, claves, and vibra-slap, first performed by the Minneapolis Trombone Choir February 29, 2004.) |
| Cat Show Calypso | steel drums, xylophone, marimba, hand claps/hi-hat cymbal, shakuhachi, vocal "doos", and string bass (2000; based on the second part of Trombone Graffiti; used in the sound track of the video "Etoile du Nord Cat Show, February, 2000"; also played at the August 2000 ACFA International Awards Banquet in Sioux Falls, South Dakota). Click here for a 20KB MIDI file; its balance, timbres, and overall sound will depend on the MIDI implementation on your system. Click here to play a 1.5MB MP3 recording created on Glen's MIDI hardware. |
| Chanson sans Raison d'Etre |
piano solo (November 1967) |
| Chaser | originally for flugelhorn, euphonium, and tuba; later rescored for other trios: three French horns, three saxophones (alto, tenor, and baritone), and trumpet, horn and euphonium (or treble clef baritone) (1979; performed on the St. Anthony Civic Orchestra Brass Quintet concert at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, August 26, 1979, by Wally Warhol, flugelhorn, Carol Jensen, euphonium, and Glen Newton, tuba) |
| The Elements | Water, Air, Earth, and Fire; composed for the 1983 West Bank School of Music composers' workshop; Water was written for trumpet, three tenor saxes, piano, and percussion; Air was written for synthesizer, two flutes, bassoon, piano, and mark tree; Earth was originally for tuba, euphonium , bassoon, clarinet, piano, and field drum, later rescored for saxophone ensemble (SAA(A)T(A)BBass) and also for double brass quintet (3 trumpets, flugelhorn, 2 French horns, 2 trombones, and 2 tubas); Fire was written for alto shawm/rackett/bassoon, E-flat trumpet/piccolo trumpet/soprano trombone/alto horn, bass clarinet, synthesizer, piano, and percussion (original 1983, premiered at Macalester College May 22, 1983, and performed again at the Walker Art Center May 29, 1983; Earth scored for brass dectet October 3, 1987; Earth scored for saxophone ensemble and performed by the Glen Newton Saxophone Ensemble, June 16, 1989, during the offertory at St. Anthony Park United Methodist Church.); the chorale tune of Earth formed the basis for movement one (Roots) of Bur Oak Suite for trombone choir |
| The Express (originally called Glory Forever) |
concert band (started in 1958, finished February 1, 1977); performed by the Roseville Community Band May, 1977, at Alexander Ramsey High School (which is now Roseville Area High School), and both July 4, 1994, and July 29, 1986, at the Roseville Central Park band shell; performed by the Pullman, Washington, Community Band in 1977; performed in 1979 by the Grand Rapids, Michigan, Shrine "Million Dollar" Band; performed by the Bloomington Medalist Band under the direction of Earl Benson, May 4, 1980, in the Landmark Center in St. Paul, on a concert sponsored by the Minnesota Composers Forum, and rebroadcast on Minnesota Public Radio on July 4, 1981; performed by the Champlin Park High School Symphonic Band under the direction of Steven G. Lyons March 22, 2009, at the Benson Great Hall on the campus of Bethel University, Arden Hills, Minnesota, as part of a joint concert with St. Cloud State Wind Ensemble and Mankato West High School Concert Band; also performed by the 451st Army Band); performed by the Shoreview Northern Lights Variety Band, with Glen as guest conductor, at a Como Park Pavilion concert June 4, 2010. Also rescored for large saxophone ensemble: E-flat sopranino, C soprano, 5 B-flat sopranos, 6 altos, C melody, 4 tenors, 2 baritones, bass, and drums -- with a number of these parts being optional. |
| Hippo-Go-Lucky | bass clarinet quartet or French horn quartet (May 29, 1982); this tune later formed the the basis for the theme of movement three (Canopy) of Bur Oak Suite for trombone choir. |
| Lament for Maxie | tuba-euphonium duet (September, 1981) |
| Little Cathy | Big Band (1966, based on the 1965 vocal version, but never performed; score only; see the list of high school compositions for the details) |
| Marble | French horn sextet (1979); horn sextet version 1979, recorded by Carol Jensen (1), Tom Samsel (2), Chuck Powell (3), Steve Ecklund (4), Alisa Nelson (5), and Alice Thompson-Williams (6) on October 6, 1979, in the St. Anthony Civic Orchestra rehearsal room and submitted to the 1979 International Horn Society Composition Contest; the results were reported in The Horn Call, April 1980: Marble was one of 17 works submitted for multiple horns but did not win the prize, which went to Horn Players' Retreat and Pumping Song by David Stanhope). Also arranged for brass band; see the description of the trombone choir version (above) for more information. |
| March Monday | violin solo with piano, although I only wrote out the violin part (and played the piano part from memory when I accompanied); dedication: "for Steffie" (March 28, 1983) |
| Minnesota - State of the Art |
originally written for piccolo, three clarinets, bass clarinet, French horn, and guitar; later rescored for large saxophone ensemble: S(S)AA(AA)TTB(B)(Bass); incorporates motifs from the Blue Danube Waltz, St. Paul Waltz, and Minnesota Rouser (composed November 1981 using the pseudonym Mannheim Lars "Manny" Others, and performed by the House Brand Woodwind Ensemble at Sperry-Univac Roseville plant 11/25/81 and in the Sperry-Univac Shepard Road plant cafeteria 12/14/81; sax ensemble adaptation 1983, performed at St. Anthony Park United Methodist Church by the Glen Newton Saxophone Ensemble.) |
| Minnesotaise | jazz waltz for flute and rhythm section (December 23, 1981) |
| Passacaglia | symphony orchestra (November, 1977; premiered by the St. Anthony Civic Orchestra March 4, 1979, at St. Anthony High School and performed by them August 24, 1991, at Uskela Church in Salo, Finland, as part of their 1991 tour; also performed on the St. Anthony Civic Orchestra's "Home Grown Music" concert Sunday, November 22, 1998, at the St. Anthony Community Center) |
| Roses | piano solo (1981) |
| Sandy on Sunday | piano solo (March, 1983) |
| Sandy's Shuffle | trumpet, trumpet/trombone, and rhythm section (December 3, 1968) |
| Series 600 Cassette |
organ, guitar, bass guitar, drum set, tuba, euphonium, trombone, bass trombone, trumpet, horn, vibraphone, and miscellaneous hand percussion; sound track for a Sperry-Univac training film (May 27, 1979; recorded by Glen Newton, who also did the voiceovers for the film; used as part of standard training program 1979-1982) |
| Sonatina | woodwind quintet: flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, and bassoon (August 26, 1978; performed by a woodwind quintet from the St. Paul Civic Orchestra at the St. Paul Civic Orchestra New year's Eve Ball 12/31/81; also played at workshops sponsored by the New Friends of Chamber Music in the Twin Cities, Minnesota) |
| Suite in C Minor | brass sextet: 2 trumpets, horn, trombone, euphonium, tuba; also transcribed for piano and organ duo (original August 29, 1962; played by a brass sextet from Northwestern College at Landmark Center, St. Paul, on a Minnesota Composer's Forum concert November 14, 1978, with Lynn Erickson on trumpet, Doug Reader on trombone, and others; piano/organ duo created August 30, 1963, and performed by Glen Newton (piano) and Dorothy Newton (organ) at the United Church of Big Rapids, September 17, 1967.) |
| Theme/Song | original instrumentation was clarinet, oboe/English horn, French horn, cello, and vibes; composed for a West Bank School of Music composers' workshop; later rescored for a combination of woodwind octet (2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 horns, and 2 bassoons) and brass ensemble (piccolo trumpet, 2 B-flat trumpets, flugelhorn, 3 horns, 2 trombones, bass trombone, euphonium, and tuba) (original 1978, performed by Barb Stucki (clarinet), Eric Brewster (oboe/EH), Carol Jensen (horn), John Wells (cello), and Joe Holmquist (vibraphone) on concerts September 23, 1978, at the Guthrie 2 Theater and September 24, 1978 at the Walker Community Church, both in Minneapolis; large ensemble version April, 1983, performed at the St. Paul Landmark Center and the Minneapolis Art Institute by the Northern Chamber Winds (Thomas Florey, conductor) and the Canon Choir of Brass (Glen Newton, conductor)) |
To learn about other compositions and arrangements by Glen Newton, click one of the buttons below:
| Big Band Music | Other Adult Works (1966 and Later) | High School and Earlier (Up to 1965) |
|
|
|