Review

John Philip Sousa
Stars and Stripes Forever:

Arranged by Daniel W. Ogren

Brass quintet: piccolo trumpet, trumpet, horn, trombone, tuba

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2018
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Score and parts

Primary Genre: Brass Ensemble - 5 brass

The Stars and Stripes Forever is one of Sousa’s most well-known and often performed marches. Although many arrangements of this march have been created for brass quintet, Daniel Ogren’s version is unique. This arrangement features the piccolo trumpet extensively with the instrument taking on the role of the piccolo flute throughout the piece. Ogren does a good job not overusing the piccolo sound, instead peppering it in lightly through the first two sections of the march and saving the bulk of the feature for the dogfight section and the famous piccolo solo near the end of the piece. The rest of the parts are not overly challenging, but for a successful performance, a strong piccolo player is suggested.