| JerryNowak.net |
| Copyright © 2005 Jerry Nowak. All rights reserved. |
Welcome to my website. Here you’ll find a list of my published compositions and arrangements and my
current schedule including teaching events and performances. Plus, you'll find details about my two
published text books, CONDUCTING THE MUSIC, NOT THE MUSICIANS, and THE ART OF EXPRESSIVE
PLAYING. Both texts are the culmination of over forty years of performing, teaching, and composing and
arranging.
Conducting the Music, Not the Musicians (Carl Fischer, 2002) was co-written with my brother Henry
and leverages the insights of our teachers, Pablo Casals and Lucien Cailliet. Both were proponents of
using internal imagery to shape the conducting gestures needed to achieve expressive performance.
While covering the basics of conducting technique, this text remains focused on teaching how clearly and
eloquently conducted musical phrases leads to the most expressive playing. As one reviewer remarked,
our focus as conductors is on "expressing musical phrases so clearly that the musicians find themselves
naturally creating the phrases with us." This explains our rationale for the title, “Conducting the Music,
Not the Musicians”
current schedule including teaching events and performances. Plus, you'll find details about my two
published text books, CONDUCTING THE MUSIC, NOT THE MUSICIANS, and THE ART OF EXPRESSIVE
PLAYING. Both texts are the culmination of over forty years of performing, teaching, and composing and
arranging.
Conducting the Music, Not the Musicians (Carl Fischer, 2002) was co-written with my brother Henry
and leverages the insights of our teachers, Pablo Casals and Lucien Cailliet. Both were proponents of
using internal imagery to shape the conducting gestures needed to achieve expressive performance.
While covering the basics of conducting technique, this text remains focused on teaching how clearly and
eloquently conducted musical phrases leads to the most expressive playing. As one reviewer remarked,
our focus as conductors is on "expressing musical phrases so clearly that the musicians find themselves
naturally creating the phrases with us." This explains our rationale for the title, “Conducting the Music,
Not the Musicians”
The Art of Expressive Playing (Carl Fischer, 2004) is believed to be the world's first and only comprehensive text-book on
phrasing and expressive playing. Also co-written with Henry, it was designed to stimulate imagery skills by focusing on the creative
process that comes before the musician plays their first note. Teaching the concepts in this series to students before they begin to
learn repertoire will lead to greater student creativity and will save you valuable rehearsal time by improving your ensemble's
performance.
I retired in 2005 from Bucks County Community College after 36 years, but I'm busier than ever. I am the Musical Director of the
Delaware Valley Wind Symphony and still play regularly with the Philadelphia Saxophone Quartet and The Delaware Valley
Woodwind Quintet. In 2007 I contributed four arrangements and conducted the recording sessions on James Gafgen's new CD, La
Voce Romantica.
In January of 2011 I completed my twenty-sixth season of teaching at the Jerry Nowak Conducting Summer School in Sydney
Australia on behalf of the Australia Band and Orchestra Directors Association.
This past summer I was commissioned to compose RHAPSODY FOR ALTO SAXOPHONE by the Quincy Park Band, Quincy, Illinois,
Pam Potter conductor. It was premièred in July 2011 with Dale Underwood, former Saxophone soloist with the United States Navy
Band, as soloist and I had the pleasure of guest-conducting the piece.
I was also commissioned by the National Catholic Band Association to write an arrangement of two hymns for band which was
released in the fall of 2010.
After I return from Australia in January, 2012, I’ll be guest conducting the Wind Ensemble at The College of New Jersey in
preparation for a March 1st concert.
In the past few years I’ve arranged the following titles for Carl Fischer for concert band: WAY DOWN YONDER IN NEW ORLEANS,
SAINT LOUIS BLUES, CHICAGO AND INDIANA (BACK HOME AGAIN IN). All are grade level four pieces and may be heard on Carl
Fischer’s website, www.carlfischer.com.
My jazz ensemble pieces published over the past few years by Kendor in their Jazz Journey series may be heard on the their website,
www.kendormusic.com : DOWN UNDER SHUFFLE - Grade ¾; ALEGRIA LATINA - Grade ¾; CHRIS’ TUNE - Grade ¾.
My recent concert band pieces published by Northeastern Publications are as follows and may be heard on their website, www.
nemusicpub.com:
FANTASIA ON BLACK IS THE COLOR OF MY TRUE LOVE’S HAIR – Grade 4
THE WHITE ENSIGN (concert march dedicated to the Australian Navy Band) – Grade 4
RHAPSODY FOR ALTO SAXOPHONE – Grade 4
PORTRAIT OF THE AMERICAN WEST – Grade 3
PARAGON – Grade 3
BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM – Grade 3
MARCH OF THE FREEMAN – Grade 2 ½
FANFARE, PRELUDE AND FUGUE – Grade 2
TWO HYMNS FOR BAND – Grade 2
AT THE SUMMIT (concert march) – Grade 1 ½
CALYPSO SONG – Grade 1 ½
CAROL OF THE FRIENDLY BEASTS – Grade 1 ½
DR. JAZZ – Grade 1 ½
Concert Band Pieces Now Back In Print And Available - The price for each is $65.00 (including shipping within the U.S. and
Canada) and includes a bound score and one copy of each part with permission to duplicate. I accept personal checks (payable to
Jerry Nowak, 42 Madison Ave, Flemington, NJ 08822) and PayPal payments sent to jerrynowak2@comcast.net.
FESTIVALS OF AMERICAN SPIRITUALS - Grade level 4 and contains the following well known spirituals: Little David, Play on Your
Harp, Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child, Ezekiel Saw the Wheel, Were You There?, Joshua, Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve
Seen, and Every Time I Feel the Spirit. Length: 6:45.
SUITE FOR WOODWIND QUINTET AND BAND -- Grade level 3. In four movements: Andante, Allegretto, Andante and Alle Marcia.
Length: 6:15.
GREAT LAKES OVERTURE -- Grade level 3. Commissioned by the Clarence New York Central School District and dedicated to
Revel Mauis. Length: 4:30.
All my published pieces with William Allen Music are now available through Barnhouse Publications. There are 37 pieces all
together, including concert bands on the elementary, middle school, and junior high level. Also, there are some marching band and
jazz ensemble pieces. They are all listed on their web site, www.barnhouse.com, and can easily be found there by searching my
name.
phrasing and expressive playing. Also co-written with Henry, it was designed to stimulate imagery skills by focusing on the creative
process that comes before the musician plays their first note. Teaching the concepts in this series to students before they begin to
learn repertoire will lead to greater student creativity and will save you valuable rehearsal time by improving your ensemble's
performance.
I retired in 2005 from Bucks County Community College after 36 years, but I'm busier than ever. I am the Musical Director of the
Delaware Valley Wind Symphony and still play regularly with the Philadelphia Saxophone Quartet and The Delaware Valley
Woodwind Quintet. In 2007 I contributed four arrangements and conducted the recording sessions on James Gafgen's new CD, La
Voce Romantica.
In January of 2011 I completed my twenty-sixth season of teaching at the Jerry Nowak Conducting Summer School in Sydney
Australia on behalf of the Australia Band and Orchestra Directors Association.
This past summer I was commissioned to compose RHAPSODY FOR ALTO SAXOPHONE by the Quincy Park Band, Quincy, Illinois,
Pam Potter conductor. It was premièred in July 2011 with Dale Underwood, former Saxophone soloist with the United States Navy
Band, as soloist and I had the pleasure of guest-conducting the piece.
I was also commissioned by the National Catholic Band Association to write an arrangement of two hymns for band which was
released in the fall of 2010.
After I return from Australia in January, 2012, I’ll be guest conducting the Wind Ensemble at The College of New Jersey in
preparation for a March 1st concert.
In the past few years I’ve arranged the following titles for Carl Fischer for concert band: WAY DOWN YONDER IN NEW ORLEANS,
SAINT LOUIS BLUES, CHICAGO AND INDIANA (BACK HOME AGAIN IN). All are grade level four pieces and may be heard on Carl
Fischer’s website, www.carlfischer.com.
My jazz ensemble pieces published over the past few years by Kendor in their Jazz Journey series may be heard on the their website,
www.kendormusic.com : DOWN UNDER SHUFFLE - Grade ¾; ALEGRIA LATINA - Grade ¾; CHRIS’ TUNE - Grade ¾.
My recent concert band pieces published by Northeastern Publications are as follows and may be heard on their website, www.
nemusicpub.com:
FANTASIA ON BLACK IS THE COLOR OF MY TRUE LOVE’S HAIR – Grade 4
THE WHITE ENSIGN (concert march dedicated to the Australian Navy Band) – Grade 4
RHAPSODY FOR ALTO SAXOPHONE – Grade 4
PORTRAIT OF THE AMERICAN WEST – Grade 3
PARAGON – Grade 3
BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM – Grade 3
MARCH OF THE FREEMAN – Grade 2 ½
FANFARE, PRELUDE AND FUGUE – Grade 2
TWO HYMNS FOR BAND – Grade 2
AT THE SUMMIT (concert march) – Grade 1 ½
CALYPSO SONG – Grade 1 ½
CAROL OF THE FRIENDLY BEASTS – Grade 1 ½
DR. JAZZ – Grade 1 ½
Concert Band Pieces Now Back In Print And Available - The price for each is $65.00 (including shipping within the U.S. and
Canada) and includes a bound score and one copy of each part with permission to duplicate. I accept personal checks (payable to
Jerry Nowak, 42 Madison Ave, Flemington, NJ 08822) and PayPal payments sent to jerrynowak2@comcast.net.
FESTIVALS OF AMERICAN SPIRITUALS - Grade level 4 and contains the following well known spirituals: Little David, Play on Your
Harp, Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child, Ezekiel Saw the Wheel, Were You There?, Joshua, Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve
Seen, and Every Time I Feel the Spirit. Length: 6:45.
SUITE FOR WOODWIND QUINTET AND BAND -- Grade level 3. In four movements: Andante, Allegretto, Andante and Alle Marcia.
Length: 6:15.
GREAT LAKES OVERTURE -- Grade level 3. Commissioned by the Clarence New York Central School District and dedicated to
Revel Mauis. Length: 4:30.
All my published pieces with William Allen Music are now available through Barnhouse Publications. There are 37 pieces all
together, including concert bands on the elementary, middle school, and junior high level. Also, there are some marching band and
jazz ensemble pieces. They are all listed on their web site, www.barnhouse.com, and can easily be found there by searching my
name.
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