Carter Pann’s Richard and Renée was written as a gift for two musician friends of his, Renée Kershaw and Dick Floyd. The first movement, “Renée’s Reply,” is a musical portrait of the time the composer spent with his friend in Italy. According to Pann, “the music strives for a poignancy inspired by this new event in their relationship accompanied by a backdrop so beautiful it defies words. A writer/composer (anyone, for that matter) cannot live on the Amalfi Coast and remain unchanged, unmarked.” The second movement, “Floyd’s Fantastic Five-Alarm Foxy Frolic,” is in a playful ragtime style, with an ending that the composer describes as “over the top.”

"Hold This Boy and Listen (2008) is an unusually soft and subdued song for band, written for my third nephew, David Paulus, Jr. I sat down at the piano and wrote a lyrical work where the melodies and harmonies return, creating a structure not unlike standard song structure. The sentiment is at times innocent or wistful and at other times haunted and serene. The players should really be allowed to sing through their instruments in this piece."

Recently added to the Texas UIL required music list.

"Serenade for Winds (2008) is dedicated to Allan McMurray as a tribute to both his uncompromising artistry and nurturing friendship with me from the moment I arrived at the University of Colorado. The piece is an exploration into the kind of melodic writing usually equated with Schumann or Brahms. Nearly every gesture in this work was placed with the hope that the performers who play them would attain their highest echelon of musical expression. I had very recently written a soft, subdued work called Hold this Boy and Listen (2008) for winds. That work represented a departure from the fast and brilliantly technical works I had written for bands in the past, and wanted to be under the spell of the molto espressivo for more than one wind piece. Hence this work is a grand expression of harmony and melody (equally so) for wind symphony."