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Gumsuckers March

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Percy Aldridge Grainger

Percy Aldridge Grainger (ed. R Mark Rogers)


Subtitle: From In a Nutshell

There appears to be no universal agreement on whether the word should be written as Gum-Suckers or Gumsuckers.


General Info

Year: 1914 / 1996
Duration: c. 3:50
Difficulty: IV-1/2 (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Southern Music Company
Cost: Score and Parts - $85.00   |   Score - $20.00

Instrumentation

Full Score
Piccolo
Flute I-II-III (III substitute for Eb Soprano Clarinet)
Oboe I-II
English Horn
Bassoon I-II
Contrabassoon
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III-IV
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Contra-Alto Clarinet (substitute for Contrabassoon)
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet (substitute for Contrabassoon)
B-flat Soprano Saxophone
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II (I substitute for Soprano Saxophone)
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Cornet I-II-III-IV
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Piano
Celesta
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV-V-VI-VII, including:

  • Bass Drum
  • Cymbals (crash and suspended)
  • Glockenspiel
  • Marimba
  • Nabimba
  • Snare Drum
  • Staff Bells
  • Vibraphone
  • Xylophone

Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

A "Gum-Sucker" is an Australian nickname for Australians born in Victoria, the home state of the composer. The eucalyptus trees that abound in Victoria are called "gums", and the young shoots at the bottom of the trunk are called "suckers"; so "gum-sucker" came to mean a young native son of Victoria, just as Ohioans are nicknamed "Buck-eyes". In the march, Grainger used his own Australian Up-Country Tune melody, written by him to typify Australia, which melody he also employed in his Colonial Song for two voices and orchestra, or military band.

- Program Note by Percy Aldridge Grainger


The Gumsuckers March was sketched for wind band in the late 1930s but not finished until the summer of 1942. The first theme was composed by Grainger at Hill Hall, Epping, England, around 1911, and the second theme dates from 1905. The complete march was worked out in the summer of 1914 at Evergood Cottage, Goudhurst, Kent, England, and scored for orchestra late that year in New York. Grainger used what he called "tone-clashfulness" (writing of independent harmonies for various families of instruments, creating moments of dissonance). The lyric theme from this march can also be found in his Colonial Song and Australian Up-Country Tune. The second theme contains motives from The Widow's Party March.

- Program Note by California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Wind Ensemble concert program, 6 December 2015


For the time of its composition, the piece is notable in its integral use of piano and a wide variety of mallet percussion instruments.

- Program Note from University of North Texas Concert Band concert program, 5 October 2016


“Gum-Suckers” is a somewhat humorous nickname for Australians from the state of Victoria. During the very warm summers, these people would refresh themselves by sucking on the blades from the Eucalyptus trees native to that region. Pianist and writer Joseph Robert Smith wrote the following concerning Grainger and such titles: "The general public is not aware of the sophisticated musicianship of his music, while the celebrated tastemakers are not generally attracted to pieces with such titles as The Gum-Suckers."

This march is the fourth movement from Grainger’s In a Nutshell Suite, a work originally for orchestra that was arranged for band in 1942.

- Program Note from State University of New York, Fredonia, Concert Band concert program, 27 September 2018


‘Gum-Suckers’ is a nickname for Australians from the state of Victoria, sucking refreshing blades from the typical Eucalyptus trees of the region during the warm summers. The pianist and writer Joseph Robert Smith had the following to say about Grainger and such titles: "The general public is not aware of the sophisticated musicianship of his music, while the celebrated tastemakers are not generally attracted to pieces with such titles as “The Gum-Suckers”."

This march is the fourth movement from In a Nutshell Suite, orchestrated for band in 1942 and dedicated to ‘Henry and Abbie Finck, with love’. In our performance, we used the complex and colorful percussion parts from the orchestral version, including, for example, staff bells and some of Grainger’s special Deagan instruments like the steel marimba-phone. We even built our own version of the nabimba. Grainger sometimes played the piano part himself with bands in this march. Even though the piano is not really treated as a virtuoso solo instrument here, it still is a somewhat outstanding item in the scoring.

- Program Note by Bjarte Engeset for the University of Texas Symphony Band concert program, 7 December 2018


Commercial Discography


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • Baylor University (Waco, Tx.) Symphonic Band (Hannah Morrison, conductor) - 1 December 2020
  • University of Kentucky (Lexington) Wind Symphony (John Cody Birdwell, conductor) - 23 October 2020
  • South Carolina Governor’s School of the Arts (Greenville) Wind Ensemble (David Hamilton, conductor) - 10 March 2020
  • Ouachita Baptist University (Arkadelphia, Ark.) Wind Ensemble (Craig V. Hamilton, conductor) – 9 March 2020
  • University of North Texas (Denton) University Band (Luslaida Barbosa, conductor) - 24 February 2020
  • Eastern Kentucky University (Richmond) Symphonic Band (Andrew J. Putnam, conductor) – 22 February 2020 (CBDNA 2020 Southern Division Conference, Natchitoches, La.)
  • James Madison University (Harrisonburg, Va.) Wind Symphony (Isaac McMahon, conductor) – 4 December 2019
  • Boston University (Mass.) Wind Ensemble (David Martins, conductor) – 21 November 2019
  • Hartwick College (Oneonta, N.Y.) Chamber Winds (Andrew Pease, conductor) – 19 November 2019
  • Texas Tech University (Lubbock) Symphonic Band (Daniel Lee, conductor) – 27 October 2019
  • Atlanta (Ga.) Youth Wind Symphony (Scott A. Stewart, conductor) - 7 October 2019
  • University of Tasmania (Australia) Wind Ensemble (Sean Priest, conductor) – 10 May 2019
  • University of North Dakota (Bismarck) Wind Ensemble (James Popejoy, conductor) – 25 April 2019
  • University of Prince Edward Island (Charlottetown, PEI) Wind Symphony (Karem J. Simon, conductor) - 31 March 2019
  • San Luis Obispo (Calif.) Wind Orchestra (Jennifer Martin, conductor) – March 23, 2019
  • Bixby High School (Okla.) Wind Ensemble (Jeremy W. Parker, conductor) - 24 February 2019
  • Tarleton State University (Stephenville, Tx.) Wind Ensemble (David Robinson, conductor; Leslie Spotz, piano) – 5 March 2019
  • Eastman School of Music (Rochester, N.Y.) Wind Orchestra (Mark Scatterday, conductor) – 20 February 2019
  • University of Oregon (Eugene) Wind Ensemble (David M. Jacobs, conductor) – 6 February 2019

Works for Winds by this Composer

Adaptable Music


All Wind Works


Resources

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