Iditarod
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Subtitle: Dog Sled Race
This work is the third movement of Buckley's Symphony No. 1, Portraits of the North.
General Info
Year: 2013
Duration: c. 5:25
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Hal Leonard
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $75.00; (digital) - $75.00 | Score Only (print) - $10.00
Instrumentation
Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV, including:
- Bass Drum
- Bells
- Chimes
- Crash Cymbals
- Gong
- Marimba
- Native Drum (or medium Tam-Tam)
- Snare Drum
- Suspended Cymbal
- Tambourine
- Triangle
- Vibraphone
- Xylophone
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
Commissioned by the West Vancouver Youth Band, this energetic programmatic movement (the third movement of Portraits of the North) captures the adventurous excitement of the Alaskan Iditarod (a 1,000-mile dog sled race) through the icy Alaskan tundra. The work possesses a very positive, infectious energy akin to background music from a superb action movie.
- Program Note from The Instrumentalist
The annual Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Race between the Alaskan cities of Anchorage and Nome covers over 1000 challenging miles of jagged mountain ranges, dense forests and windswept coastlines. In cinematic fashion, the musical point of view cuts back and forth between the dogs' view and an eagle's, constantly moving forward with a relentless pulse. With a brief respite, a majestic, sweeping theme is introduced and develops, and then, back to the race! With renewed energy, the dogs run the final stretch; the music building and intensifying to the very end.
- Program Note from publisher
The Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Race is an annual race across 1,049 miles of icy tundra and arctic wasteland. Between the Alaskan cities of Anchorage and Nome, jagged mountain ranges, dense alpine forests and windswept coastlines make the route some of the most challenging terrain in the world. This amazing feat of endurance was the inspiration for Iditarod.
The piece opens with a loud, short burst from the brass being sustained by a very quiet chord from the woodwinds, creating the idea of sound disappearing into an immense frozen landscape. One by one the musher teams are introduced and the race is under way. Quietly at first, the rhythmic feel builds and builds over a relentless 9/8 pulse. In cinematic fashion, the point of view cuts from long-shots to close-ups -- from the dog’s point of view to the eagle's point of view -- constantly moving forward. The terrain is challenging, the dogs are getting tired --and then, over the next hill -- a beautiful, icy landscape appears -- a moment of reflection and rest. The music slows. A lyrical, reverent theme is introduced and develops -- and then -- back to the race! With renewed energy, the dogs race the final stretch, the music building and intensifying, until … the finish line!
Iditarod was commissioned by the West Vancouver (B.C.) Youth Band, Douglas Macaulay, director, to commemorate the band's 80th anniversary.
- Program Note from score
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Mid America Freedom Band (Kansas City, Mo.) (Lee Hartman, conductor) – 16 December 2023
- University of Nebraska (Lincoln) Symphonic Band (Anthony Falcone, conductor) - 29 November 2022
- Parkland College (Champaign, Ill.) Wind Ensemble (Jonathan Beckett, conductor)– 28 April 2018
- North Toronto Collegiate Institute Symphonic Band 1 May 2014
Works for Winds by This Composer
Adaptable Music
- Final Countdown (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1986/2014)
- Highlights from "Doctor Who" (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2006/2019)
- My Favorite Things (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1959/2014)
All Wind Works
- Above and Beyond (2020)
- Ancient Stone Circles (2015)
- Arctic Fire. See: Symphony No. 1
- Attack of the Cyborgs (2017)
- Autumn's Garland. See: Symphony No. 3
- Bigfoot Stomp (2020)
- Cathedral Grove (2012)
- Codebreaker (2013)
- Continuum (2011)
- December (2013)
- Doctor Who (as arranger) (2016)
- Dreamcatcher (2016)
- Eagle Song (as arranger) (2018)
- Echo Lake (2014)
- Echoes of the Silent (2018)
- Excerpts from "The Rite of Spring" (as arranger) (2015)
- Fantasy on the Huron Carol (2014)
- Final Countdown (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1986/2014)
- Finn McCool (2020)
- Free Running (2012)
- From the Highest Peak (2017)
- The Gathering of Eagles (as arranger) (2018)
- Highlights from "Doctor Who" (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2006/2019)
- Highway of Heroes (2019)
- Hymn to Freedom (as arranger) (1962/2017)
- I Am the Doctor (as arranger) (2015)
- Iditarod. See: Symphony No. 1
- Jitterbug! (2018)
- Kingdom of the Sun and Moon (2015)
- The Knights' Creed (2018)
- Land of the Midnight Sun. See: Symphony No. 1
- LOL (2016)
- The Legend of Billy Miner (2018)
- Let the Bells Ring! (2015)
- Lightspeed (2017)
- The Lions March (2020)
- The Magic Mirror (2020)
- My Favorite Things (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1959/2014)
- Ogopogo (2015)
- An Olympic Celebration (2007/2010)
- Pacifica (Buckley) (2013)
- The Pathway to the Stars (2023)
- Portraits of the North. See: Symphony No. 1
- Postcard from Amsterdam (2015)
- Postcard from England (2014)
- Postcard from Pittsburgh (2013)
- Prestidigitation (2016)
- Procession of the Sorcerers (2009/2012)
- Propulsion (2014)
- Raven (as arranger) (2020)
- ReBoot (2013)
- Red Sky (2015)
- Rock It Science (2013)
- The Seas of the Moon
- Sea of Tranquility (2018)
- Foaming Sea (2018)
- Sea of Clouds (2019)
- Serpent Sea (2019)
- Shadowplay (2012)
- Smoke and Mirrors (2012)
- Smugglers' Cove (2019)
- Snow (2017)
- Spirit of the Wolf (as arranger) (2019)
- Spring Awakening. See: Symphony No. 3
- Squonk Blues (2016)
- Starburst (2015)
- Summer Festivals. See: Symphony No. 3
- Sunlight Dancing (2023)
- Symphony No. 1 (2012–14)
- Arctic Fire (2014)
- Land of the Midnight Sun (2013)
- Iditarod (2012)
- Symphony No. 3 (2021)
- Synergy (2019)
- Themes from "The Crown" (as arranger) (2020)
- Thunderbird
- A Tribute to Arthur Delamont
- Front and Center (2015)
- Memento (2015)
- Flying Colors (2015)
- Under the Prairie Sky
- Undercurrents (2016)
- Walking to the Sky (2016)
- Where Mountains Touch the Sky (2014)
- Wild Rose Jamboree (2016)
- Windjammer (2011)
- Winter Light. See: Symphony No. 3
- Wolf Song (as arranger) (2019)
Resources
- Buckley, B. (2012). Iditarod: Dog Sled Race : 3rd Movement of "Portraits of the North" [score]. MusicWorks: Milwaukee, Wisc.
- Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music. "Robert Buckley." Accessed 15 January 2016
- "New Music Reviews." The Instrumentalist 70.5 (2015): 50. Print
- "Symphony no. 1: Portraits of the North." Wind Band Symphony Archive. Web. Accessed 23 June 2022