CONCERT BAND

Duration: ca. 5:45 minutes

Grade:3-4

Instrumentation:
Piccolo, 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 3 Clarinets, Bass Clarinet, 2 Bassoons, 2 Alto Saxes, Tenor Sax, Bari Sax, 2 Horns, 3 Trumpets, 3 Trombones, Euphonium, Tuba, Timpani, Percussion (Glockenspiel, Snare Drum, Piatti, Triangle, Finger Cymbals, Bass Drum)

Notes: First Dance is inspired by memories of my first thrilling experiences playing in bands. Among them, I remember playing the Pines of Romes with the California All-State Band in 1975. In the performance, when the conductor turned around to cue the offstage brass at the back of the hall, I was so excited, it might as well have been the Chicago Symphony. That feeling, and others like it, have stayed with me all my life.

With those feelings present, I composed this music. My hope is that another young musician will have a similar experience while performing First Dance.

Duration: ca. 15 minutes

Grade:5

Instrumentation:
3 Flutes (3. Piccolo), 2 Oboes, English Horn (doubling Oboe), 3 Clarinets (4 on a part), Bass Clarinet, 3 Bassoons (3rd doubling Contrabassoon), 2 Alto Saxes, Tenor Sax, Bari Sax, 4 Horns, 3 Trumpets (2 on a part, all doubling Cornet), 2 Trombones, Bass Trombone, 2 Euphoniums, 2 Tubas, String Bass, Harp, Timpani, Percussion (Glöckenspiel, Crotales, Bell Tree, Large Snare Drum, Bass Drum, Tubular Bells)

Notes: Water Makes The Rim Grow Distant is inspired by my experiences backpacking from the north rim of the Grand Canyon. The title is from a wonderful book about the geology of the canyon, Hiking The Grand Canyon's Geology, by Lon Abbott and Terri Cook. That poetic phrase descibes the process of scarp retreat, whereby erosion, pebble by pebble, caused by underground springs emerging through the side of the canyon, eventually causes large slabs of rock to collapse. Over time, the canyon is widened and the rim of the canyon grows more distant.

As a guide, leading backpacking trips for REI, I have seen the many moods of the canyon. The overpowering beauty of the environment, the fragility of the ecosystems, the remants of the peoples who once lived there and the always nagging sense of danger that underlies it all.

This piece is a representation of the emotions that flow from all of that and that linger with me always.

Title used by permission of The Mountaineers Books.

Duration: ca. 5 minutes

Grade:5

Instrumentation:
2 Flutes, Piccolo, 2 Oboes, English Horn, E flat Clarinet, 3 Clarinets (4 players on each part), Bass Clarinet, Contra Alto Clarinet, 2 Bassoons, Contrabasson, 2 Alto Saxes, Tenor Sax, Baritone Sax, 3 Trumpets (2 players on each part), 4 Horns, 2 Trombones, Bass Trombone, 2 Euphoniums, 2 Tubas, Timpani
Percussion:
Wind Gong, Snare Drums (4), Triangle, Tubular Bells, Bass Drum, Tom-toms (3), Tambourine, Piatti, Glöckenspiel, Brake Drum, Tam-tam, Opera Gong, Agogo Bells

Duration:ca. 4:30

Grade:3

Instrumentation:
2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, English Horn, 3 Clarinets, Bass Clarinet, 2 Bassoons, 2 Alto Saxes, Tenor Sax, Bari Sax, 4 Horns, 3 Trumpets, 2 Trombones, Bass Trombone, 2 Euphoniums, 2 Tubas, Timpani