Music of Andrew F. Poor

Introduction Here is an overview of some concepts I have found to be helpful when starting beginning brass players. During the first year of study, I start students on all five primary brass instruments--trumpet, horn, trombone, euphonium, and tuba--and we start on these instruments from the beginning of the year. Currently, our classes at South Forsyth Middle School are in homogeneous groups by instrument family; brass in one class, woodwinds in the other and percussion evenly divided between the two classes. NOTE:  I have used these same techniques in heterogeneously grouped classes, but the instructional pace is much slower in this grouping.  Helping the Students Select the Correct Instrument Helping your students select an instrument that matches both their interests and aptitudes is an essential prerequisite to their future success in music. This process may be even more important for students selecting an instrument from the brass family of instrumen...

Victorious Souls was commissioned by the congregation of the Madison United Methodist Church, Madison, Alabama, and their orchestra director, Sandy Weisner. The Madison UMC Church Orchestra premiered Victorious Souls in May of 2014. Victorious Souls was selected as a J.W. Pepper Editor's Choice in 2015. The goal of the commission was to write an uplifting and exciting work for young musicians. The title, and the idea behind the work, was a result of my fascination and inspiration by stories of survival and overcoming extreme difficulties. Personally speaking, the strength of the human spirit is a source of constant inspiration to me as both a person and as a composer. While not a religious theme, nor was there an intent to compose a sacred work, the inspiration for the work did resonate with the commissioning organization. The composition is an overture for young bands that uses a cyclical form: A-B-C-B-A. Beginning with a brief and bold fanfare, the piece quickly moves into t...