Michael AllenNov 24, 2020Inspiration and InnovationI just received a request from the New York Philharmonic to perform/record for digital distribution my double quintet arrangement of the...
Michael AllenNov 24, 2020PJBE PicturesClassics for Brass (1972) comprises several great, iconic brass masterpieces (Schuller, Jolivet, Bozza, Strauss, Grieg, Dukas, and...
Michael AllenNov 26, 2019K.I.S.S.It's snowing to beat hell here (thanks for the euphemism, dad) and I'm on a week away from my day gig, chipping away at some BIG...
Michael AllenAug 29, 2019CompromisesI'm about to publish a (yet another) version of Debussy's Girl with the Flaxen Hair. I've arranged this piece for tuba quartet, brass...
Michael AllenAug 10, 2019Wheat or chaff?A great brass ensemble can make any arrangement sound good to great. A great arrangement can make any brass ensemble sound good to great....
Michael AllenAug 10, 2019PaletteI'll admit that I'm a movie music nerd and a fan of the usual suspects (Williams, Horner, Howard, Zimmer, etc.). Some others on the less...
Michael AllenApr 3, 2019AtmosphereIn early 1914, Holst heard a performance of Schoenberg’s Five Pieces for Orchestra. This seminal experience along with a suggestion from...
Michael AllenMar 14, 2019Good writers write...alwaysI retired from a 30+ year professional playing career 10 months ago to the day. Retire is a funny word because I hardly feel retired....
Michael AllenMar 14, 2019One on a part follow upI'm working on a large brass ensemble transcription (gasp) of highlights from a Puccini opera. I always immensely enjoyed playing...
Michael AllenSep 23, 2018Another possible approachI might have tried to transcribe something as awesome as the first movement of Mahler's 5th Symphony decades ago - I might have even...