River, The
General Info
Year: 2018
Duration: c. 5:00
Difficulty: III (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: SARAHTIM Music Publishing
Cost: Score and Parts - Contact Publisher
Instrumentation
Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe
Bassoon
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II
Horn in F I-II
Trombone I-II
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion, including:
- Bass Drum
- Crash Cymbals
- Glockenspiel
- Gong
- Marimba
- Sleigh Bells
- Snare Drum
- Tambourine
- Triangle
- Vibraphone
- Wind Chimes
- Xylophone
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
Fly fishing is a great joy for me. I don’t get to do it much, but when I do get away, I find it both relaxing and challenging. Standing, or wading in a river or stream, navigating through the many twists and turns of the current, searching for what looks like the perfect spot to cast a fly, hoping a trout may be there waiting for what the flow of the current may be bringing its way. It’s a special time, standing and listening to the sounds of the water running over the rocks and through and around my legs.
Like the river, life has many twists and turns, and if you never venture out into the current, you will never know the value of learning to deal with success and failure. I don’t always catch fish, but the patient wading through both swift and gently flowing water allow for moments of thoughtful reflection on life and its challenges.
The music is meant to be reflective of the powerful and calm, swift and gentle, deep and shallow, twists and turns of a River. The musical material is drawn from only five pitches – B-flat, C, D, E-flat, F -- and hopefully affords every section of the band a meaningful musical challenge.
The River was written in the summer of 2018 as a gift to my nephew, Tim Avery. A talented young musician, Tim is a Texas native and graduate from Henderson State University, Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Tim is currently in the early years of his band directing career. I wish him all the best as he navigates the twists and turns of the river of teaching with successes and challenges that will come along the way. May God richly bless his steps as he pours his life into his students.
- Program Note by composer
Media
State Ratings
- California: SCSBOA III
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Wildwood Music Summer Music Camp (Angelus Oaks, Calif.) Concert Band (Leonard Narumi, conductor)
- Brethren Christian Schools (Cypress, Calif.) Concert Band (Len Montegomery, conductor)
- California High School (Whittier, Calif.) Concert Band (Doug Nordquist, conductor)
Works for Winds by This Composer
- ...and streams on the dry land... (2021)
- Before the Mountains Were Born... (2020)
- Chorale: In Memoriam (1980/2018)
- Chorale Prelude on Veni, Veni Emmanuel (2005)
- "come and see the wonders..." (2019)
- Divergents (1982)
- Ezekiel's Vision (1979)
- ...from the rising of the sun... (2020)
- Harmelodic Configurations (2007/2019)
- "...in your splendor ride triumphantly." (2019)
- Lacrimosa (2020)
- McBeth (2014)
- On the Morning of the Third Day (1994)
- The Prairie (2007)
- Remembering "Hammersmith" (2020)
- The River (2018)
- "Run in such a way..." (2019)
- Saddle Up! (2016)
- Yozawa (2020)
Resources
- Perusal score
- Stephen Hill website Accessed 27 August 2020