Enhance Your Concert Band’s Sound
Great concert band music should be expressive, dynamic, and rewarding to perform. John’s compositions blend rich textures, emotional depth, and engaging melodies—creating a powerful and memorable experience for musicians and audiences alike.
John Meehan has been composing for concert band for over two decades, and has had his work performed in the United States and Canada. Always written with the performer, conductor, audience member, and adjudicator in mind, John strives to create original works that cover all the bases.
Concert Band Music Sample
The Mad Hatter
The Mad Hatter was written to portray a “day in the life” of being a Dad of three amazing daughters, a husband to an incredibly supporting wife, and as a self employed composer, arranger, and clinician. Days are filled with anything and everything and always in no particular order or reason. But somehow, it all makes sense and by the end of the day, you’re ready to do it again. Performed by the BD Winds 2022, the AIBF Honor Band in 2024, and selected by Julie Giroux as one of her clinic use pieces in 2023, The Mad Hatter works great at the beginning or end of any concert.
Nouveau Départ
On May 6, 2023, my wife Jackie and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary. During the writing of this piece in the fall and winter of 2022, it felt more and more like a journey through a beautiful land, seeing and hearing all of the interesting and unusual sights and sounds we don’t typically experience in our everyday lives. The tone began to take on a slightly jazzy feel, sitting at an outdoor café enjoying an espresso and croissant, reading a John le Carré book and people watching for hours. As usually happens with me, I had been struggling for a title, and the time was nearing to begin working the piece for the first performance. The title “Nouveau Départ" came as I was searching French phrases and typed in “a new beginning”. So after an amazing 30 years of marriage, raising 3 beautiful human beings, and accomplishing things we never dreamed of, this piece represents the next 30 years of our marriage.