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Nocturne

Nocturne

Instrumentation8 Flugelhorns
Grade4 / 5
Duration6 minutes
PublisherJanssen Music
Demo Score→ Download

Nocturne is an atmospheric dialogue between the 8 flugelhorn soloists.

After a quiet start, some commotion arises, but soon calm returns.

This composition was commissioned by “Orkest Koninklijke Marechaussee” (NL)

For E-flat Flugelhorn, 6 Flugelhorns & Bass Flugelhorn (or Bb Baritone as alternative)



Impresiones de Estepona

Impresiones de Estepona

InstrumentationWind Band
Grade3
Duration15 minutes
PublisherJanssen Music
Demo Scorenot available yet

Awarded composition of the 3rd International Composition Competition for Symphonic Band “Estepona, Jardín de la Costa del Sol”

“Impressions de Estepona” is a continuous suite for symphonic band based on the cultural and musical heritage of Estepona.

In the first part, after a short majestic opening, the center of the city is musically expressed in the form of a colorful rondo with some free references to the Andalusian Cadenza. My inspiration was the colorful streets of Estepona, linked to the rich history of the city, where the Moorish influences can be seen, felt and heard.

The second part tells us about the beautiful monuments in the old city, starting from the church of “los Remedios”, walking along the various interesting sights, ending with the great panorama at “Punta Doncella”.

The last part of this suite is all about “Ferias y Fiestas”. Also here I used the traditional ceremonies as inspiration combined with some free references to flamenco, taking us from “San Isidro Labrador” to the “Ferias y Fiestas mayores” along all the cheerful, exciting and ecstatic celebrations. The work ends euphorically with the opening motif.

The work has numerous educational elements for wind orchestras, such as counterpoint, rhythmic variation and timbre variations. The work is therefore more than just a beautiful story about a beautiful city in Spain and hopefully inspire many musicians and orchestra to get the best out of themselves.


Score and parts are available from May 2024!


Winner International Composers Contest

Winner International Composers Contest

The Estepona City Council informs that the Dutch conductor, composer, arranger and organist Christiaan Janssen (Netherlands – 1974), has been the winner of the III Composition Competition for Symphonic Band ‘Estepona, Jardín de la Costa del Sol’, endowed with a single and indivisible prize of 10,000 euros.

In this edition, open to musicians of legal age of any nationality, a total of 11 composers of recognized prestige have participated. The objective of this competition is to motivate outstanding symphonic music professionals to compose pieces inspired by Estepona.

The jury of this edition has been chaired by the band and orchestra director, composer and pianist Fernando Ferrer Martínez ‘Ferrer Ferran’, together with Óscar Navarro González, director, clarinetist, composer and musical pedagogue, Goya Award for Best Original Music ( La Mula, 2013), and José María Moreno Valiente, director of the Málaga Philharmonic Orchestra.

These professionals of recognized prestige have been in charge of choosing the composer with the best resume and catalogue, in whose compositional project the values of the contest are outstanding, promoting the city of Estepona, its people and its customs through their musical composition. To do this, they have taken into account criteria such as the composer’s career, his musical catalogue, his experience and his dedication to symphonic bands or wind and percussion orchestras.

As established in the rules, the winning composer of the competition must compose the work inspired by Estepona before January 15, 2024.

Once the composition has been reviewed by the specialized commission, the Estepona City Council, in agreement with the author Christiaan Janssen, will set a date for the premiere of the work and the public presentation of the award. The winner will not be able to participate in the next five editions of the contest.

The City Council called the first edition of this competition to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Municipal Music Band (1940-2020). After the success achieved in terms of number of participants and quality of the compositions, the City Council has opted to maintain this contest to continue expanding the city’s cultural offering.

The winning works of the two previous contests, ‘Estepona, Jardín del Mediterráneo (Astabuna)’, by the Jaén composer Álvaro López Cámara, and “Estepona, el Jardín del Mundo”, by the Valencian composer Fernando Ferrer Martínez, known artistically as Ferrer Ferran, They are already part of the repertoire of the Estepona Municipal Music Band.

This cultural project joins other artistic competitions launched by the City Council to recognize creators from different disciplines. Among them, the ‘Ciudad de Estepona’ International Novel Prize stands out, which is organized jointly with the Manuel Alcántara Foundation, the ‘Ciudad de Estepona’ International Poetry Prize, which has the collaboration of the Pre-Textos publishing house, the successive editions of ‘Estepona CREA’ or ‘Young Andalusian Designers’, among others.

More info and official announcement: → Website Estepona


Turandot for Fanfare – Giacomo Puccini

Turandot for Fanfare – Giacomo Puccini

InstrumentationFanfare Band
Grade6
Duration12 minutes
PublisherJanssen Music
Demo Score→ Download

When Puccini’s opera ‘Turandot’ was heard for the first time in April 1926, its composer had been dead for almost a year and a half. Turandot is considered as his best work: Puccini’s mastery of orchestral sound reaches its pinnacle: this is a ripe, opulent, fin de siècle, score, in which deep washes of colour are applied to a profusion of melodic ideas. 

In this arrangement I did use the orchestral material from the opera to make a suite for Fanfare Band.