Our Company Mission
Started by two active composers, H and H Publishing is designed to create a platform to help and promote up-and-coming composers. We strive to have all available music be of a professional level in quality while still respecting each individual composer's artistic integrity. In order to achieve this, we have a strong focus on building and maintaining relationships with conductors, teachers, students, and performers across the country to help connect musicians and composers.
Who We Are
RJ Horvat
Composer/Co-Founder
RJ Horvat (he/him) is an active composer, conductor, and music educator in the Boston area. He graduated with his masters in music theory at Boston University with Dr. Jason Yust in 2023. Before Boston University, RJ was the music director for Council Grove Junior-Senior High school in Council Grove, KS from 2018-2021. He taught grades 5-12 band, 7-12 choir, and directed and produced the school's fall musical. In the fall of 2017, Raymond graduated with a degree in music education from Emporia State University in Emporia Kansas.
During his time at Emporia State, he studied with many great professors and composers including the Director of Bands, Dr. Gary Ziek. RJ’s pieces have been performed across the country by many colleges including Kansas State University, Boston University, The University of Louisville, and many more. RJ continues to strive to write exciting and fun music for a variety of ensembles, bringing in influences from across wide genres of music.
For many of his concert band works, he was given the honor of conducting them on the performance. RJ has had the honor to conduct multiple ensembles including the Emporia State Wind Ensemble, Council Grove Concert Band, Council Grove Community Band, and the Boston University Concert Band. He has worked with many conductors including Dr. Tracy Freeze, Dr. Gary Ziek, and Dr. Jennifer Bill.
He has performed as a member of the Boston University Concert Band, Council Grove Community Band, Lenexa Community Orchestra, Emporia State Wind Ensemble, Emporia State Jazz Band, the Emporia Symphony Orchestra and the Emporia Marching Hornets, where he served as drum major.
Jarod Hart
Composer/Co-Founder
Jarod Hart (he/him) is a composer and conductor from central Iowa. Having recently earned his bachelor’s degree at Iowa State University, majoring in music education and composition (’26), he will soon begin his master’s degree at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. While at Iowa State, he studied horn and organ. His works have been commissioned, recorded, and performed by many ensembles including Enigma Classica, Horns of the Heartland, Ames Youth Choir, Iowa State University’s Lyrica choir, and the Iowa State University Wind Ensemble. Most of his works are for band, orchestra, choir, and horn ensembles, but he also enjoys writing for piano, organ, solo instruments, and theatre—including his musicals: The Tragedy of Macbeth and Little Miss Apocalypse. Many of his works draw inspiration from texts or personal life experiences with his music being fluent in many classical and jazz styles.
Jarod has performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall, David Geffen Hall, Tanglewood’s Studio E, and Chicago’s Symphony Hall. He is frequently asked to coach ensembles across the nation and is sought after as music director for musicals in central Iowa. Jarod is often invited to be a conductor with ensembles at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute and a clinician for school ensembles and events. When not making music, he enjoys teaching and spending as much time hiking, running, biking, or paddling as possible.
How we grade our music
Band Works
There are many philosophies about how fast students progress through different elements of music, and instrumental music is particularly challenging as the range growth for each instrument looks very different. Here at H and H Publishing, we understand the American Band College's grading chart is a very standard unit of measurement, but we have refined our grading system based off of our experiences as band educators. All of our band music is rated on a 5 point scale with many steps having a .5 option as well. The difference between grade 4 and grade 5 is mostly personal judgement on the overall complexity or length of the piece, but all other levels have more firm specifications about where they fall.
Since our website host does not allow us to build a custom grading scale, the relevant tags are as follows:
Easy: Grade 0.5, 1
Intermediate: 1.5, 2, 2.5
Advanced: 3, 4
Professional: 5+
Interested in reading our band ensemble grading chart? Find the details of it linked here.
Chamber and Solo Works
Our philosophies on the grading of Chamber and Solo works is derivative of our philosophies on ensemble work, and so our levels are based off of the capabilities of a developing student. Any particularly difficult works may receive a Professional distinction on an individual basis.
Easy: 6th grade-8th grade
Intermediate: 8th grade-12th grade
Advanced: 12th grade+
Interested in reading our chamber music grading chart? Find the details of it linked here.