I’m super excited to be writing a grade 4 concert band version of my newest saxophone quartet piece, ‘Level Up!’!

I originally wrote this three movement suite for saxophone quartet a movement at a time from Fall 2022-Spring 2024 starting with the closer, ‘Final Boss’. If it’s not immediately apparent, this whole suite is inspired by my love of video games and their iconic soundtracks, ranging from The Legend of Zelda to Final Fantasy to Ori and the Blind Forest to Stardew Valley and so many more!!

This was just a blast of a project to work on. I mean, I originally intended on Final Boss being a standalone piece, but kept feeling inspiration to write more in this style. I later added a companion movement entitled ‘Moonlit Village’, acting as a peaceful haven before that vigorous boss fight . But then after some further reflection, it felt silly to essentially have a middle and end to this gaming narrative with no clear beginning, so I wrote the intro movement ‘Adventure Awaits’ to kick off the saga through an energetic and inspiring tribute to game’s main title themes.

Well now I think it’s time to orchestrate the full suite for concert band! There are so many little brass fanfares, woodwind flourishes, or percussion textures that I hear in the music and would love to express with a few more colors (no offense, sax quartets! I definitely think the original version still holds up just great). This grade 4 band piece will be in its original three movement structure and should be around 11’00” total with each movement around 3’30”. 

Entry Form

Cost: $250
(Save $50 if you join by January 31 or were a part of the original sax quartet consortia!)
Deadline to Join: April 31, 2025
Anticipated Completion: September 15, 2025
Duration: 11 minutes
Difficulty: Grade 4
Benefits to Consortium Members:

• Names of consortium members included on the title page of the score
• Exclusive performance and recording rights for all of 2026
  • Jason Boyden and the Mona Shores HS Wind Ensemble will be the Consortium Director and premiere the piece in Fall 2025
• Input on musical material
• Opportunity to work with composer in person or via Zoom/Google Meet

Feel free to email me at cehass11@gmail.com if you have any questions about the project! Here are recordings of the original sax quartet version of the piece: