Pacific Celebration Suite

General Info

Year: 1976 / 1979
Duration: c. 14:00
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Neil A. Kjos Music Company
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $150.00 | Score Only (print) - $15.00

Movements

1. Parade – 4:05
2. Prayer – 3:55
3. Pageant – 7:10

Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Contra Alto Clarinet
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Cornet I-II-III
B-flat Trumpet I-II
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Celesta (printed in Percussion II part)
Percussion I-V, including:

Bass Drum
Castanets
Chimes
Claves
Crash Cymbals
Glockenspiel
Ratchet (2 players)
Snare Drums (3; high, medium, and low)
Suspended Cymbals (2; small and large)
Tam-Tam
Tambourine
Temple Blocks (5)
Timpani
Triangles (3; small, medium, and large)
Vibraphone
Wood Blocks (2; high and low)
Xylophone

Errata

Parts Only:

Percussion I, Timpani, Movement 1/m. 118: Add a tenuto on the quarter note
Percussion I, Timpani, Movement 3/m. 1: Add a tenuto on the eighth note
Percussion I, Timpani, Movement 3/m. 3: Add a tenuto on the eighth note
Percussion I, Movement 3/m. 114-116: This is supposed to be a cue for the Ratchet part in the percussion II part, not something the player is supposed to play
Percussion I, Timpani, Movement 3/m. 316: Add a tenuto on the quarter note
Percussion I, Timpani, Movement 3/m. 340: Add a tenuto on the quarter note
Percussion I, Timpani, Movement 3/m. 389: Replace half rest with a quarter rest

Program Notes

Pacific Celebration Suite was composed in commemoration of the bicentennial of the community of San Francisco, California. The San Francisco Presidio and the Mission San Francisco de Asis (Mission Dolores) were established while California was Spanish territory. Subsequently, beside a shallow cove inside the Golden Gate, colonists settled the pueblo of Yerba Buena, forerunner of the city of San Francisco. Pacific Celebration Suite embodies a good deal of imagery related to these events and, in a sense, the work might be considered a tonal fresco.

The first movement, Parade, is a fanfare-march which embodies some of the imagery and spirit of the San Francisco Presidio, with soldiers, horses, and weapons on parade during the Old Spanish Days of California.

The mood of the second movement, Prayer, is that of prayerful meditation, within the sanctuary of Mission Dolores.

Images associated with the musical ideas of the third movement, Pageant, include Spanish conquistadors, soldiers riding and marching, children playing in the pueblo of Yerba Buena, lovely señoritas and señoras, horsemen, etc. Extensive thematic metamorphosis and variation techniques are employed within a formal outline of a variant of the rondo, so that the thematic ideas (and motives delivered from them) are found in a considerable number of musical contexts involving differing relationships and juxtapositions. The imagery is thus enriched and may vary widely with listeners: 'desires and capacities for making associations. The movement culminates in a cumulative gesture of energetic triumph.

The support of this work by the National Endowment for the Arts Composer/Librettist Program is gratefully acknowledged.

- Program Note from score

Commercial Discography

Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown
Audio CD: Rutgers Wind Ensemble (William Berz, conductor) – 2002

State Ratings

Georgia: VI
Iowa: VI
Louisiana: V
Michigan: Senior High AA
Minnesota: III
New York: Concert Band 6
Oklahoma: V-A
Tennessee: VI. Complete
Texas: V. Complete
Virginia: VI

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

California All-State High School Wind Symphony (Kevin Sedatole, conductor) – 22 February 2020 (2020 CASMEC Conference, Fresno)
State University of New York, Potsdam, Concert Band (Michael P. Schaff, conductor) – 28 February 2018
Penn State University (University Park) Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Dennis Glocke, conductor) – 27 April 2017
Westlake High School (Austin, Tx.) Wind Ensemble (Kerry Taylor, conductor) – 21 December 2013 (2013 Midwest Clinic)
University of Hawaii Bands (Keith Higaki, conductor) – 28 February 2011

Works for Winds by This Composer

Resources

Berz, William. "Pacific Celebration Suite." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 9, edit. & comp. by Richard Miles, 976-988. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2013.
Nixon, R. (1976). Pacific Celebration Suite [score]. Kjos West: San Diego, Calif.
Perusal score