Concert works by Evan VanDoren
Music for Concert Ensembles
Pieces for band, strings, orchestra and chamber groups, from first-year players to mature wind ensembles. Listen here, look through the score, then order from the publisher.
You MUST program Evan VanDoren's concert band music for your next fall, winter, spring, and/or region band concert! His music is brilliantly written and SO accessible to students. My kids loved playing every piece we have done of his so far. I can't wait for him to write more for every level!Liz Love, Director of Bands, Leander Middle School
The full catalog
Every published piece, grouped by grade or sorted into one list. Each one comes as an instant PDF download, and most are also sold in print. Need something written for your band? Start a commission.
Grade 1
- Ho-Ho-Ho, Cha-Cha-Cha!: Concert Band, Grade 0.5, 1:20. Two holiday tunes in a Latin groove with busy percussion, using only six notes for first-year players.
- Sneak Attack!: Concert Band, Grade 0.5, 1:30. Lively first-year piece built on sudden loud-soft surprises that train control and precision.
- La Noche de los Alebrijes: Concert Band, Grade 1.0, 2:00. A quiet Mexican village night comes alive with playful spirit creatures; fits Halloween or Dia de los Muertos.
- What Lurks in the Shadows: Concert Band, Grade 1.0, 2:21. Creepy, slow-building suspense that breaks into a frantic chase for young bands.
Grade 2
- To Dare Greatly: Concert Band, Grade 1.5, 1:30. Bold beginning-band opener drawn from Teddy Roosevelt's words, with fanfares and full six-note chords.
- Adventure Awaits: Concert Band, Grade 2.0, 2:30. Compact opener giving young bands warm harmonies, lyrical lines and independent entrances.
- Into Battle!: Concert Band, Grade 2.0, 2:00. Fast, fierce clash of armies that borrows the Dies Irae and nods to Verdi's Requiem.
- Jingle Jam: Concert Band, Grade 2.0, 2:37. Percussion-heavy holiday romp on familiar seasonal tunes that sends the concert out on a high.
- Two-ba Two-step: Tuba Duet with Band, Grade 2.0, 2:30.
- With Gratitude: Concert Band, Grade 2.0, 1:50. Heartfelt lyrical piece letting young players explore a wide emotional range around thankfulness.
Grade 3
- Battle Volcano: Concert Band, Grade 2.5, 2:00. Pounding rhythms and gritty chromatic lines paint an all-out fight between erupting volcanoes.
- Fanfare for a New Day: Concert Band, Grade 2.5, 2:00. Short, bright concert opener mixing brassy calls, singing lines and surprise dynamic shifts.
- Jingle Jam: String Orchestra, Grade 2.5, 2:30. Upbeat holiday medley with sleigh bells, built to get the audience clapping along at winter concerts.
- Kraken: String Orchestra, Grade 2.5, 1:38. A menacing E minor sea-monster piece that lets very young string players sound big.
- Light It Up! A Hard Rock Hanukkah: Concert Band, Grade 2.5, 2:30. Hanukkah tunes cranked into a hard-rock groove, with optional guitar, bass and drum kit.
- We Belong: Concert Band, Grade 2.5, 3:30. Upbeat, colorful celebration of the community and acceptance students find in band.
- A Simple Song at Sunrise (Robert W. Smith, setting by Evan VanDoren): Concert Band, Grade 3.0, 2:30. A gentle, unhurried ballad painting daybreak over the Florida coast, from Florida Suite.
- Adventure Awaits: String Orchestra, Grade 3.0, 2:00. A short, bright opener for developing strings about the thrill of starting something new.
- Infernal Galop (flexible band) (Jacques Offenbach, arr. Evan VanDoren): Flexible Concert Band, Grade 3.0, 2:15. Flexible-instrumentation version of the Offenbach can-can, a high-energy finale for any lineup.
- Infernal Galop, from Orpheus in the Underworld (Jacques Offenbach, arr. Evan VanDoren): Concert Band, Grade 3.0, 2:15. A rollicking take on Offenbach's famous can-can, built as a crowd-pleasing closer or encore.
- Maria durch ein Dornwald ging (Traditional, arr. Stefan Claas, setting by Evan VanDoren): Trombone Octet, Grade 3.0, 2:00.
- She Loves the Light: Concert Band, Grade 3.0, 5:30. A tender, singing piece with rich chord colors and flowing lines that show off a young band's tone.
Grade 4
- Fanfare for the Festival of Lights: Concert Band, Grade 3.5, 2:30. Two traditional Hanukkah tunes woven into one bright, spirited fanfare for growing bands.
- Fanfare for the Festival of Lights: String Orchestra, Grade 3.5, 2:22. String version of the band fanfare that weaves two Hanukkah tunes into a vivid, energetic celebration.
- Not So Silent Night: Concert Band, Grade 3.5, 4:30. A playful holiday film-score romp about Santa's chimney visit, from sly tango to cartoon chase.
- Allegretto, from Symphony No. 7 (Ludwig van Beethoven, arr. Evan VanDoren): Brass Ensemble, Grade 4.0, 2:30. Beethoven's famous slow movement for brass, rising from a hushed start to a huge climax.
- Bugler's Duel (Inspired by Bugler's Holiday by Leroy Anderson, arr. Evan VanDoren): Trumpet Duet with Band, Grade 4.0, 4:00.
- Fanfare for the Festival of Lights: Full Orchestra, Grade 4.0, 2:30. Festive full-orchestra Hanukkah setting with optional choir and extra wind parts so more students can join.
- Farandole, from L'Arlésienne Suite No. 2 (Georges Bizet, arr. Evan VanDoren): Brass Choir, Grade 4.0, 3:00. Spirited Bizet dance for brass that passes the tunes around so every section gets a turn.
- Funeral March of a Marionette (Charles Gounod, transc. Evan VanDoren): Concert Band, Grade 4.0, 4:00. Gounod's mock-solemn march made sly and theatrical, with witty turns and a wink throughout.
- Inspirare: Concert Band, Grade 4.0, 6:26. Opens with blazing brass and drums, moves through shifting meters to a warm woodwind core, then ends in triumph.
- Light the Menorah!: Concert Band, Grade 4.0, 5:30. A Hanukkah celebration moving from warm, lush chords into a lively dance that lifts the room.
- Prophetic Dances: Concert Band, Grade 4.0, 6:36. Dance-driven portraits of mysterious ancient seers, by turns fervent, eerie and otherworldly.
- The Barber of Seville (Gioachino Rossini, arr. Evan VanDoren): Woodwind Ensemble, Grade 4.0, 8:35. Three movements from Rossini's The Barber of Seville for high school woodwind ensemble. Play one at solo and ensemble contest or all three as a set.
- The Star-Spangled Banner (John Stafford Smith, arr. Evan VanDoren): Concert Band, Grade 4.0, 2:00.
- You'll Never Walk Alone (Rodgers & Hammerstein, arr. Chris Walden, setting by Evan VanDoren): Solo Trumpet with Band, Grade 4.0, 4:30.
Grade 5
- A Beatles Fantasy (Music of The Beatles, arr. Evan VanDoren): Trumpet Septet, Grade 5.0, 7:30.
- Finale, from Symphony No. 3 (Organ) (Camille Saint-Saëns, transc. Evan VanDoren): Concert Band, Grade 5.0, 8:00. Saint-Saens's blazing organ symphony finale brought to winds, building to one of the great classical climaxes.
- Finlandia (Jean Sibelius, arr. Evan VanDoren): Brass Quintet, Grade 5.0, 4:30.
- Horizons Untold (fanfare for wind band): Concert Band, Grade 5.0, 2:00. A heroic curtain-raiser where gleaming brass and shimmering runs open onto wide, soaring melodies.
- Introduction, from Sleeping Beauty (Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky, transc. Evan VanDoren): Concert Band, Grade 5.0, 3:00.
- Luminosities: Concert Band, Grade 5.0, 2:33. A radiant, energetic overture for advanced winds, full of brass calls, rhythmic interplay and a hopeful glow.
- March to the Scaffold, from Symphonie Fantastique (Hector Berlioz, transc. Evan VanDoren): Concert Band, Grade 5.0, 4:45. Berlioz's March to the Scaffold for band, a grim, colorful procession toward the execution block.
- Scheherazade (Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, arr. Evan VanDoren): Trumpet Octet, Grade 5.0, 7:30.
- Vienna Philharmonic Fanfare (Richard Strauss, arr. Evan VanDoren): Concert Band, Grade 5.0, 2:27. Strauss's ceremonial brass fanfare rescored for modern band, stately and brilliant.
Grade 6
- Finale, from Enigma Variations (Edward Elgar, arr. Evan VanDoren): Brass Ensemble, Grade 6.0, 6:18. The bold, assertive close of Elgar's Enigma Variations, arranged for mature brass choir.
- Nimrod, from Enigma Variations (Edward Elgar, arr. Evan VanDoren): Brass Ensemble, Grade 6.0, 3:54. Elgar's solemn, reflective Nimrod set for advanced brass choir.
Commission a new piece
Evan writes new concert works for schools, honor bands and community groups at every grade level. Each piece starts with a conversation about your players, their strengths, and the sound you want on stage.
"We received the perfect piece for our ensemble, delivered in record time! Prior to writing, Evan took a big interest in truly understanding our needs, the strengths and weaknesses of the ensemble, and the overall aesthetic we desired. If you're in question about whether Evan is the one you should hire for your next commission, the answer is YES!"Taylor Williamson, Director of Bands, Wiley Middle School, on a custom tuba feature for the 2023 TMEA Honor Band concert
Start a commissionAbout Evan
Evan VanDoren writes for marching bands and concert ensembles at every level, with premieres at the TMEA convention and the Midwest Clinic. He is the brass composer and arranger for the Santa Clara Vanguard and spent nine years as a band director at Cedar Park High School.
- Luminosities placed second in the 2025 American Prize in Composition, with Prophetic Dances a national finalist
- Clinician for DCI, NAfME, TBA, TMEA and Music for All
- Published by RWS Music and Alfred Music, with titles on MakeMusic Cloud
Press kit
Photos and bios for concert programs, clinic flyers and press releases.
Use these as written in programs and promotion. Need a different length or a high-resolution file? Get in touch.
Grades follow the publisher's listing.
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