COVID: A Song About Us Concert Band - Digital Sheet Music

An in-the-moment snapshot of the corona virus pandemic, composed in 2020 by American composer Joseph Hasper and updated in 2023. This piece about the the uncertainty, fear, disruption, pain and grief that all of went through during the Covid-19 pandemic. Scored for wind ensemble. 6'20" duration. Includes a full score and set of parts.

No piece of music is a solution. But music MEANS something, and gives meaning to our lives; I hope that this music will help frame these experiences in a way that shows how tenacious we can be, and offer hope for a brighter future. 

 

This piece was commissioned by a consortium of the following generous sponsors:

• Benjamin Barker, Director of Bands at Enumclaw HS, Enumclaw, WA • Adam Campagna, W.F. West HS Band Director, Chehalis, WA • Dave Eater, Levittown, PA • James Robinson, Virginia Beach, VA • Cynthia Grabke, GR Austin Intermediate School, Braintree MA • Janessa Hasper,Cheyenne, WY • Lynda Hasper, Lititz, PA • Rich Kuntzelman, Director of Bands at White River High School, Buckly, WA • Greg Peterson, Artistic Director at Tunesmith Solutions, Melbourne, AU • Lauren Schneider, Ligonier, PA • Mary Jean Tasillo, Pittsburgh, PA • Michael Walker, Conductor, Keansburg NJ

When I began gathering ideas for this piece, in March 2020, I thought (as many did) that as unprecedented and traumatic as the pandemic was that is would soon be over. SURELY, I thought, by fall this would be a Significant Moment that was behind us. As we began the 2020-2021 school year, we were not over the pandemic. If anything, we were still squarely in the middle of it. Though the motions and routines of life go on, things are clearly not back to "business as usual." Masks were mandatory at many schools, while other colleges and high schools opted to go entirely online. The number of new cases of Covid-19 reported in 2020 was going down every day, but the numbers were still staggering.

This piece is meant to be a reminder, an in-the-moment snapshot of what 2020 wais like for us: sstudent and professional musicians, music educators, band directors, parents and audiences.  For band students, playing music-together--is an important part of life. The isolation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic broke the links between students, and many suffered emotionally in ways that we will not perhaps understand for years to come.