In October 2021, The First Steps in Music Instrumental Committee presented FAME Members with the inaugural commission by Quincy Hilliard.
The FSIM Instrumental Committee, chaired by Carol Swinchoski, is thrilled to announce the October 2021 premier First Steps Instrumental Commission! Focusing on first and second-year band instrumentalists, the committee chose three familiar First Steps and Conversational Solfege melodies: Shaheen Sho, Bells in the Steeple, and Sailor, Sailor.
These familiar melodies have been arranged by Dr. Quincy Hilliard and focus on Unit 1, 2, and 3 rhythms. A few additional concepts and rhythms will need to be introduced as well. The three pieces can be performed as a suite or individually. Each piece also includes a study guide to assist both teachers and students.
The best part is that the entire suite is free to all FAME members. Download and print from the links below.
Meet the Composer
Dr. Quincy C. Hilliard
Quincy C. Hilliard’s compositions for wind band are published by various well-known publishers. In 2014, Hilliard received the prestigious Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Award in the Classical Music Division. Most recently, he was recognized with a second Global Music Award for his work as a composer. In 2012, one of his pieces, Coty (clarinet and piano) was recorded on a CD that was nominated for a Grammy Award. In 2008, he was commissioned
by the Library of Congress to compose a work in celebration of the bicentennial of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. He is frequently commissioned to compose works, including one for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and a score for a documentary film, The Texas Rangers. For many years, the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) has recognized him with annual awards for the unusually frequent performance of his compositions. Hilliard is regularly invited to conduct, demonstrate effective techniques, and adjudicate festivals worldwide. Because Hilliard, the composer, conductor, and educator, is also a scholar of Aaron Copland’s music and life, Copland estate administrators authorized Hilliard to publish the educational performance edition, Copland for Solo Instruments (Boosey and Hawkes, 1999). To train school band students, he wrote Scales and Tuning Exercises for Superior Bands (FJH Music Company, 2009), Superior Bands in Sixteen Weeks (FJH Music Company, 2003), Chorales and Rhythmic Etudes for Superior Bands (FJH Music, 2004), Theory Concepts, Books One and Two and is the co-author of the Skill Builders, Books One and Two (Sounds Spectacular Series, Carl Fischer, 1996). He is also the co-author of Percussion Time (C.L. Barnhouse Company), a collection of music written specifically for the beginning percussion ensemble. Hilliard is a Composer in Residence and the Heymann Endowed Professor of Music at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette.
Download the Arrangements
Quincy Hilliard Instrumental FSIM Commission for Beginning Band
Movement 1: SHOHEEN SHO (download)
Movement 2: SAILOR, SAILOR (download)
Movement 3: BELLS IN THE STEEPLE (download)