Into the Silent Land

From Wind Repertory Project
Steve Danyew

Steve Danyew


General Info

Year: 2018
Duration: c. 8:45
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Steve Danyew
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $169.99; (digital) - $169.99   |   Score Only (print) - $35.00


Instrumentation

Full Score
Flute I-II (I doubling piccolo)
Oboe
Bassoon I-II
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet (optional)
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-V, including:

  • Bass Drum
  • Chimes
  • Crotales
  • Glockenspiel
  • Marimba
  • Snare Drum
  • Suspended Cymbal
  • Tam-Tam
  • Tenor Drum, low (2)
  • Vibraphone

Narrator


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

On December 14, 2012, twenty children and six educators were killed by a gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Sandy Hook, Connecticut. Having grown up in Sandy Hook just a mile from the school, this is where I attended grades 3-5. For the past several years, I have thought about writing a piece of music that would reflect on this tragedy, but I have struggled to know where to start. Even after beginning to sketch out ideas for this piece, I felt unsure of where the piece should go and what it should communicate. In an effort to find a clearer sense of direction, I searched for poetry that reflected how I was feeling. When I came across Remember, a moving poem by Christina Rossetti, I found the direction I was looking for. Through the simple idea of remembering — not forgetting that this happened, not forgetting these children, not forgetting the grief that their families must feel -- I realized this is what I wanted and needed to communicate through music.

The music incorporates elements of a funeral march, as well as a lament, using a descending tetrachord as a ground bass. The funeral march and the lament are combined early in the piece and after the ground bass repeats and grows to a climax, the funeral march gradually fades and a more ethereal music emerges.

Into the Silent Land was commissioned by a consortium of schools and individuals led by Dr. Jared Chase and Nazareth College.

- Program Note by composer


Awards

  • National Band Association William D. Revelli Composition Contest, 2018, Finalist


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • Kansas State University Wind Ensemble (Frank Tracz, conductor) - 29 November 2023
  • Chicago Wind Symphony (Chicago, Ill.) (Michael McCain, conductor) - 28 October 2023
  • Morningside University (Sioux City, Iowa) Wind Ensemble (Martin I. Gaines, conductor) - 29 April 2023
  • University of Indianapolis (Ind.) Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Jon Noworyta, conductor) - 23 April 2023
  • Christopher Newport University (Newport News, Va.) University Band (Mark P. Johnson, conductor) - 20 March 2023
  • San Jose (Calif.) Wind Symphony (David Vickerman, conductor) - 26 February 2023
  • Youngstown (Ohio) State University Wind Ensemble (Michael Butler, conductor; Stella Mitchell, narrator) – 29 January 2023 (Severance Music Center, Cleveland)
  • San Jose (Calif.) Metropolitan Band (Ken Nakamoto, conductor) - 17 December 2022
  • University of Cincinnati (Ohio) College-Conservatory of Music Wind Symphony (Kevin Michael Holzman, conductor; Claire Ankrum, narrator) - 11 September 2022
  • San Luis Obispo (Calif.) Wind Orchestra (Jennifer Martin, conductor; Ainslea DeCoster, narrator) – 8 May 2022
  • California All-State High School Symphonic Band (Marcellus Brown, conductor) – 20 February 2022 (2022 CASMEC Conference, Fresno)
  • Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory (Berea, Ohio) Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Brendan Caldwell, conductor; Isabel Haskell, narrator) - 11 February 2022
  • Ohio University (Athens) Symphonic Band II (Max Van Dyne, conductor; Ash Pawlak, narrator) - 10 February 2022
  • Angelo State University (San Angelo, Tx.) Wind Ensemble (Jonathan Alvis, conductor) - 28 March 2021
  • University of Central Missouri (Warrensburg) Wind Ensemble (Anthony Purcell, conductor; Anna Coombs, narrator) - 27 February 2021
  • College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University (St. Joseph, Minn.) Wind Ensemble (Justin Zanchuk, conductor; Sophia Bohn-Gettler, narrator) - 12 February 2021
  • University of Arkansas at Little Rock Wind Ensemble (Ken Goff, conductor)– 10 March 2020
  • University of Illinois (Champaign) Wind Orchestra (Beth Peterson, conductor) – 28 February 2020
  • University of South Florida (Tampa) Symphonic Band (Michael Lebrias, conductor; Leighton McCutchen, narrator) – 25 February 2020
  • Nazareth College (Rochester, N.Y.) Wind Symphony (Jared Chase, conductor; Katie Hannigan, narrator) – 8 March 2018 *Premiere Performance*


Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music


All Wind Works


Resources