Good Calcium

Concert Band

Good Calcium was my first copyrighted work and the first to receive a public premiere. I wrote it originally for brass quintet over the course of Grade 11, and then augmented and arranged it for concert band in Grade 12. It was premiered by the Langley Fine Arts School Concert Band at the Canadian Rocky Mountain Festival in Banff, Alberta, and has since been performed by groups including as the New Westminster and District Concert Band, the Meridiem Wind Orchestra, and the Fraser Valley Wind Ensemble.
I gave the piece its quirky and whimsical title as an encouragement for people to look after their bone health by drinking milk or its alternatives. The piece is just as silly and playful as its title suggests, with nonstop fun for everybody. It features three distinct themes in an ABCBAC pattern, distributed amongst the members of the band in an egalitarian manner. There is a beautiful extended horn solo that opens the trio (performed by my sister, Hannah, at the piece's premiere), and although the piece includes an extra trumpet and alto sax part that cover the solo, they are only to be used in emergencies.
I hope you enjoy playing Good Calcium as much as I enjoyed writing it! You can order a copy by emailing me at nathanzemp@gmail.com or by using the contact link on this website.