Slalom

From Wind Repertory Project
Carter Pann

Carter Pann (arranged by composer)


General Info

Year: 1999 / 2002 / 2008
Duration: c. 9:40
Difficulty: VII (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Orchestra
Publisher: Theodore Presser Company
Cost: Score and Parts - Rental   |   Score Only - $45.00


Instrumentation

Full Score
Flute I-II-III-IV
Oboe I-II-III
Bassoon I-II
Contrabassoon
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III-IV-V-VI
B-flat Bass Clarinets I-II
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Saxophone I-II
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III-IV-V-VI
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
Piano/Celesta
Harp
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III, including:

  • Bass Drums (3)
  • Claves (4)
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Glockenspiel
  • Hi-Hat
  • Marimba
  • Rute
  • Sandpaper Blocks
  • Siren Whistle (silly and high pitched)
  • Slapstick
  • Suspended Cymbal (medium)
  • Tambourine
  • Tam-Tam (medium)
  • Temple Blocks (4)
  • Thundersheet
  • Tom-Toms (4)
  • Triangle (small)
  • Wood Block
  • Xylophone


Errata

  • The title appears as both Slalom and SLALOM.


Program Notes

Slalom was originally written for orchestra in 1998-99 as a scherzo perpetuo. It was to be a chance to flex my orchestration muscle to a degree I had not yet reached. In 2001 conductor John Lynch was seeking to commission a new work for wind symphony, and we agreed that Slalom could make an attractive addition to the repertoire. Arranging the piece for wind symphony has proven my most astute compositional act to date.

Slalom is a taste of the thrill of downhill skiing. The work is performed at a severe tempo throughout, showcasing the orchestra’s volatility and endurance. The idea for a piece like this came directly out of a wonderful discovery I made several years ago at Steamboat Springs, Colorado, when I embarked on the mountain-base gondola with a cassette player and headphones. At the time I was treating myself to large doses of Shostakovich’s Tenth Symphony and Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances. The exhilaration of barreling down the Rockies with such music pumping into my ears was overwhelming. After a few years of skiing with some of the greatest repertoire, it occurred to me that I could customize the experience.

The work is presented as a collection of scenes and events one might come by on the slopes. The score is peppered with phrase-headings for the different sections such as “First Run”, “Open Meadow," Champagne Powder”, “Straight Down," "TUCK” and “On One Ski, Gyrating ” among others. In this way SLALOM shares its programmatic feature with that of Richard StraussAlpine Symphony. The similarities end there, however, for SLALOM lasts ten minutes ... precisely the amount of time I need to get from Storm Peak (the peak of Mt. Werner, Steamboat Springs) to the mountain base, skiing full throttle.

- Program Note by composer


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • Missouri State University (Springfield) Wind Ensemble (John Zastoupil, conductor) - 3 October 2021
  • Lakota West High School (West Chester, Ohio) Symphonic Winds (Kevin Michael Holzman, conductor) – 23 January 2020
  • Rutgers University New (Brunswick, N.J.) Wind Ensemble (William Berz, conductor) – 6 December 2019
  • University of Missouri, Kansas City, Wind Symphony (Steven D. Davis, conductor) – 6 December 2018
  • Ball State University (Muncie, Ind.) Wind Ensemble (Caroline Hand, conductor) – 30 November 2018
  • University of Oklahoma (Norman) Wind Symphony (Donald Linn, conductor) – 19 November 2018
  • Concordia College (Moorhead, Minn.) Band (Peter Haberman, conductor) - 5 May 2018
  • Indiana University (Bloomington) Wind Ensemble (Stephen W. Pratt, conductor) – 13 February 2018
  • Ithaca (N.Y.) College Wind Ensemble (Benjamin Rochford, conductor) – 15 October 2017
  • San Francisco Wind Ensemble (Anthony Mazzaferro, conductor) – 6 May 2017
  • University of Colorado Boulder Wind Symphony (Donald J. McKinney, conductor) – 20 April 2017
  • University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) Symphony Band (Michael Haithcock, conductor) – 30 September 2016
  • West Texas A&M University (Canyon) Symphonic Band (Donald Lefevre, conductor) - 11 February 2016 (2016 TMEA Conference, San Antonio)
  • Merit School of Music (Chicago) Wind Symphony (Bryan Polacek, conductor) - 17 December 2011
  • Columbus State University Wind Ensemble (Robert Rumbelow, conductor) - Fall 2009
  • Duquesne University (Pittsburgh, Penn.) Wind Symphony (Robert C. Cameron, conductor) – 29 February 2008 (CBDNA 2008 Eastern Division Conference, Washington, D.C.)
  • Michigan State University (East Lansing) Wind Symphony (Kevin L. Sedatole, conductor) – 22 December 2007 (2007 Midwest Clinic)


Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources

  • Carter Pann website
  • Pann, C. (2008). Slalom: for wind symphony [SCORE]. Theodore Presser Co.: [King of Prussian, Penn.]
  • Rudgers, Gregory B. Slalom. MBM Times, Issue 6 (2012), 74.
  • Schroeder, Angela. "SLALOM." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 6, edit. & comp. by Richard Miles, 882-896. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2007.