Blog

Welcome to the Jon Ross Music Blog. We'll try to provide you with the details of where and when we will be going in our new publishing endeavor. Hopefully we can all contribute to a better delivery system and help each other develop and distribute the type of music you're interested in seeing on the market.

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Author:

Randall Standridge

Date:

Mar 28, 2008 10:05 AM

Open Call for Scores!!!

Jon Ross Music is undergoing a major expansion effort for our catalogue. Any composers interested in submitting, please look over our submission guidelines ; we are currently interested in concert marches and pieces that are a little bit "outside" the band norm; we are looking for fresh, new sounds for the young concert band. If you have any questions or would like to submit this, please send inquiries to Larry Norred at larrynorred@centurytel.net or to Randall Standridge at randallstandridge@yahoo.com . We look forward to reviewing your work; review process will be 2 weeks or less!

Author:

Jon

Date:

Jul 5, 2007 09:11 AM

Buy the Entire Catalog!

We are offering a special "Start the Year Off Right" offering to band directors looking for a lot of good music for their ensembles. If you order the entire concert band catalog, we'll offer you 2 future concert band publications of your choosing free of charge. That's potentially $40 in free music.

To buy our entire catalog, it will cost under $600 and you'll receive over 25 titles for concert band. This is a fantastic investment for any band program and it gives you lots of variety and great educational material for your groups.

To take advantage of this offer and order the entire catalog, simply type "Entire Catalog" in the order form field and we'll do the rest. Email jon@pdfband.com for more information.

Author:

Jon

Date:

Apr 21, 2007 08:42 PM

Jon Ross Music Goes Green!

We are proud to declare ourselves as one of the most environmentally friendly publishers in the world. We are able to accomplish this based solely upon our basic, everyday business practices. Print music publishers run a certain number of copies because it is financially necessary to do so. They hope that they will eventually sell that number of copies. The reality is that there are a lot of pieces published that won’t sell that number. In essence, that’s wasted paper, wasted ink and wasted energy used to run the printing presses.

Jon Ross Music doesn’t use a bit of energy to print any of our music. It’s the customer that prints off only the number of parts that they need for their ensemble. We have no wasted paper, ink or energy to run printing presses. Our company makes financial and environmental sense. We can offer our music to the customer at a lower cost and we expend less energy in the process!

Join our company as we go green. Our commitment to the environment is just another way that we are setting ourselves apart from traditional publishers. Check out our forums area and comment on our environmental practices.

Author:

Jon

Date:

Apr 1, 2007 05:25 PM

Well, we've got some great new music available and on the way. Just a head's up, Jeff Parthun has put together a great new arrangement for your beginners this holiday season. It's quick and it's extremely well scored. Check out An Antique Holiday Wish in our grade 1 list. Look for some great new music from Matt Conaway as well. He's put together a really nice arrangement for young band of the Sussex Mummers Christmas Carol.

We've got new music from new composers coming soon also. Be on the lookout for a large influx of new music into our concert band catalog during the coming months.

Author:

Jon

Date:

Mar 16, 2007 06:52 AM

Jon Ross Music Announces Appointment

Jon Ross Music is proud to announce the appointment of Randall Standridge to our editing department. With so much new music coming our way, we're in need of additional editorial support. Randall has been such a wonderful contributor and advocate for our company, we offered the position and he graciously accepted.

Our company is dedicated to providing only the best and most useful music for directors in a new and exciting way. This appointment just shows how we are moving in a forward direction.

Randall is a true asset to our company and please drop by the pdfband.com forum and offer your congratulations. I know he's excited to be helping us further our committment to music education.

Sincerely,

Jon Fulkerson

Vice President of Marketing

Jon Ross Music, LLC

www.pdfband.com

Author:

Jon

Date:

Mar 16, 2007 06:45 AM

Hey everyone! JRM is really cooking with some new music. Just in time as you are programming your next concert (perhaps the last one of the year,) we've got El Patio de Recreo by newcomer Darrington White. We're proud to welcome Darrington into the JRM family of writers. We've got two more pieces by Darrington scheduled to come out in the coming weeks, so be on the lookout. El Patio de Recreo is a cool latin tune that's perfect for your beginners at their spring concert or even your second year ensembles needing some lighter music in the middle of a concert.

Randall Standridge has come up with a great grade 1.5 that's suitable for beginners on their spring concert. It's a great way to teach the dotted quarter-eighth concept. He cleverly titled it Half Past One.

We're proud to say that Jeff Parthun has really put out a great contribution to our grade 3 catalog. You all know that we pride ourselves on being a publisher of primarily grade 1 and 2 music, but every now and again, a more difficult piece will come to our attention that we can't turn down. For those of you looking for an epic work with some challenges for your advanced middle school, or even high school groups, check out Fast Attack.

Our fearless leader, Larry Norred had some inspiration and gave us a fantastic grade 2 march. It's a nice contrast to traditional military marches and provides some challenge for young ensembles. Please take a look at Larry Norred's The Pride.

Finally, as we are beginning the solo and ensemble season, Brady Massey has provided us with a second volume to the popular Performing Alone series of unaccompanied solos. Brady has put out Performing Alone Volume 2, that provides great solos for beginners. Check it out in our solo and ensemble catalog.

There's plenty more coming down the road. Keep coming back and checking for new additions to the catalog. We've got our production goals set for when everyone goes back to school in August and we want to be one of your first stops when looking for new music.

Author:

Jon

Date:

Jan 12, 2007 07:42 PM

Be on the lookout for a few new pieces by Jeff Parthun in the coming weeks. We'll also be adding to the catalog some fantastic work by Matt Conaway. Solo and Ensemble season is just around the corner. Check out Performing Alone by Brady Massey as well as our current catalog of material for percussion ensembles. Check back often though in the next few weeks as we add some more music to our S/E library.

We hope your year is going well. Don't forget to check out the forums area to post conversation, questions or general thoughts.

Author:

Jon

Date:

Jan 12, 2007 07:39 PM

Well, it's been a while, but we're back with some new pieces this winter! For those of you looking for festival marches, we've got a couple of new ones. "Freedom Brigade" by Scott Watson is a grade 1.5 march that will challenge your young bands while you teach them about the march style.

"Towercrest March" is a great concert march by Randall Standridge. Randall's work is just outstanding and we are happy to have a great contribution like this in our catalog.

Check both of these marches out as possibilities for festival or your next concert.

Author:

Larry

Date:

Jul 20, 2006 07:32 PM

An Exciting New Composition by Randall Standridge

Take a minute and listen to the new Concert Band from Randall Standridge: Battlesong It is a really nice grade 1.5 that is an outstanding contest pick. I have seen a lot of good band writing in the last 30 years and his work is as good as any I've seen. If you are looking for a new writer who has a fresh take on contemporary concert band sound, look no further. He has a traditional approach to each composition but uses some very interesting treatments and textures to achieve a fresh new sound. The Battlesong Score is also available for your perusal for free. If nothing else, analyze his excellent writing style by studying his score.

Thanks for listening,
Larry Norred

Author:

Jon

Date:

Jul 15, 2006 10:33 AM

New Topics on Pdfband.com Forum

There are now new topics at our Forums area on the website. Included are places for you to discuss charitable giving to your state organization, student leadership ideas and marching band show concepts and teaching philosophies. This is all under the General Music Education Thread.

Anyone can create a thread in our forums area and we invite you to use it as a discussion venue. There are also other great threads for composition and arranging, discussing commissioning of music, Finale tips and tricks and more. Please use these forums to generate great converstion and keep it going!

Author:

Jon

Date:

Jul 15, 2006 10:27 AM

JRM Partners with Arkansas School Band and Orchestra Assn.

Jon Ross Music is very proud to announce that it has teamed up with the Arkansas School Band and Orchestra Association and will contribute a percentage of all Arkansas sales to the J. Raymond Brandon Scholarship Fund. This scholarship is for new directors entering the profession right out of college. It is designed to help cover relocation expenses and initial costs before first year teachers receive their first pay check.

J. Raymond Brandon was a long time band director in the state of Arkansas. A member of the American Bandmasters Association, Mr. Brandon's philosophies on the teaching of music will long be remembered. The Brandon Scholarship provides assistance for those entering his noble profession and the members of ASBOA firmly believe Mr. Brandon would be proud of the aims of the scholarship. Jon Ross Music is proud to help support such a worthy cause.

JRM would also like to contribute to other music education charities in other states. If this is something you would like to discuss with us, please contact Jon Fulkerson by email: jon@pdfband.com

Author:

Jon

Date:

Mar 11, 2006 10:09 PM

Everyone make sure you check out the latest updates to the Solo and Ensemble catalog. We have rearranged the look of the catalog to make it a little easier on the eyes. Plus, Jeff Parthun has written three dynamite percussion ensembles that are absolutely super! Just in time for the solo and ensemble season.

Author:

Kenny Smith

Date:

Mar 8, 2006 10:27 PM

I checked out Mr. Randall Standridge's new peice "A Prayer Before Nightfall", and I must say, I was BLOWN AWAY! I really enjoyed the main "theme" of the piece. The power melody really makes the piece stand out against most of the music in publication today.

To Mr. Randall Standridge, I say "Great job, and keep up the good work."

Kenny

Author:

Jon

Date:

Mar 5, 2006 04:49 PM

JRM is proud to welcome Randall Standridge into our family of writers. Randall comes to us with a tasteful grade 2 work for concert band that he titles "A Prayer Before Nightfall." Also, be on the lookout for a grade 1.5 concert band piece that your students will love titled "Agressivo!" also by Randall Standridge.

Matt Conaway has also made some new and wonderful contributions to our concert band catalog. "Simple Gifts" takes the well known shaker tune and presents it in a manner suitable for very young band students. Matt also brings us a piece that is great for beginners as early as their first concert titled "Bold Steps."

Be sure to keep an eye out for new music by Jeff Parthun in both our concert band and solo and ensemble catalog. You won't want to miss out!

Author:

Jon

Date:

Feb 13, 2006 09:23 AM

One of our goals at JRM is to provide band directors with a place to discuss not only our music, but anything related to teaching, music composition, performance, etc. This is why we created our Forums area.

Don't be shy. Feel free to start a new topic. While it may be a little bare looking now, believe me, there are several people viewing the forums and ready to answer questions, or just jump in with some conversation.

We hope to provide you with a place to discuss all things musical, so please take advantage of both the forums area and this weblog.

Author:

Jon

Date:

Feb 10, 2006 01:08 PM

JRM will be adding very soon three new percussion ensembles for developing percussionists by Jeff Parthun. In addition, Jeff has written a great piece called "The Southport Stomp" that we will be adding to the grade 2 list in our concert band catalog.

We're also happy to announce the addition of Brady Massey's "Performing Alone" series of unaccompanied solos. It's available for sale as a complete set or individually. Just click on the solo and ensemble button on the left of the screen.

Author:

Duke

Date:

Jan 5, 2006 05:40 PM

Liked Almighty King arrangment. Definately challenging. Fanfare style intro was really a surprise.
Choral arrangements were also good. Melody of Come Thou Fount offers lots of possibilities.
#6 on Repro License is a hoot.

Duke

Author:

Jon

Date:

Nov 12, 2005 06:30 PM

We're happy to let our customers know that purchasing music on pdfband.com is even easier! If you are in need of a Premier Customer Identification Number for the purposes of being billed for music, now buying music is faster and easier. Once you've received your number, you can click the "Premier Customer Order" button under the piece you wish to purchase on the Concert Band section of the site. In your email, you'll receive your invoice with a clickable link to the download of the piece along with the passcode for the piece.

This is all done to make things easier on you, the customer.

Author:

Jon

Date:

Nov 1, 2005 08:04 AM

JRM proudly welcomes Scott Watson to our family of composers and arrangers. Scott has worked with several well known publishing companies and has contributed many outstanding works for educational concert band and other ensembles.

We look forward to releasing "Morning Star" a grade 1 holiday piece for band into our catalog within the next few weeks.

Author:

Jon

Date:

Oct 2, 2005 04:10 PM

JRM is pleased to announce an expansion into solo and ensemble music. We will be adding music for young players individually and in small ensembles soon. These will be a great, cost effective way of getting your students some high quality literature to play for your district, region, state or local solo and ensemble festival.

For band directors, two new marches will be added to the catalog in the next 2-3 weeks. "Flat Rock March" by Roger Vogel and "Mulberry March" by Jeff Parthun are soon to be released. These marches are both on a grade 1 level and are great program pieces for any concert.

Author:

Jon

Date:

Sep 29, 2005 08:33 PM

I'd like to echo the words of Larry. It's great to be able to offer this quality of music literature for young bands reasonably. We're excited if you're excited. Let us know if we can do anything in these early stages of this company to make the process easier for you. You have a stake in where things go, so let us know what you need. On behalf of all of us at Jon Ross Music, please keep coming back and checking out what we have to offer.

Your Partner in Music Education,
Jon Fulkerson

Author:

Larry

Date:

Sep 18, 2005 07:12 PM

I’m so excited about this new publishing medium. For years I've seen high quality imaginative scores pile up in the offices of every publisher I've worked with. Many of these compositions were extraordinary but maybe not commercially viable. That's to say that their market was severely limited by all the competition of established writers who were already well established in the marketplace. I hated to see all that fantastic music just lay there and gather dust because we had contract writers who we had to promote and keep busy. Sometimes the end users were the ones who suffered from the plethora (I always wanted to use that word) of music by a few commercial writers. I don't feel like we can blame all the "cookie cutter" arrangements on the writers. They were put under pressure to write another "Parade of the Tall Ships" or some other tall order. The writers were forced by commercial restraints to continue a huge of amount of material looking for another hit like the original. The publishers did this because they were trying to run a business and at the same time were being pressured to provide just one more hit like the last one. It was a sort of "Catch 22". The more a composer wrote, the more he was expected to write, etc.

I sure hope all you out there in consumerland realize that we're laying it all on the line to get you together with some of the most exciting music we've ever had the opportunity to work on. This stuff will be good teaching literature, now we're depending upon you to speak to us with your wallets and purchase orders.

Let it be true that "if you build it, they will come". Jon and I know what it costs you in time, blood, sweat and tears to get a performance put together and we will make it worth your while to shop with us.

Thanks to all of you!!!
Larry Norred