Southwestern Sketches
General Info
Year: 1961
Duration: 13:00
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Cost: Unknown
Instrumentation
Full Score
Piccolo I-II
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
English Horn
Bassoon I-II
Contrabassoon
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Cornet
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II
Bass Trombone I-II
Euphonium I-II
Tuba
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion I-II, including:
- Bongos
- Celesta
- Glockenspiel
- Gong (or Tam-Tam)
- Snare Drum
- Suspended Cymbal
- Timpani
- Triangle
- Xylophone
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
Southwestern Sketches was commissioned by New Mexico State University for that state's 50th anniversary and was first played by the NMSU Wind Ensemble, conducted by Ray Tross, in 1961. Fragments of the work had been composed in the late '50s for the play Joshua Beene and God, starring Burl Ives. The music is characteristic of the Southwest but is all original except for a borrowed quotation near the end of the hymn Fairest Lord Jesus. The mood is one of exuberance and truthfulness with a great deal of energy; the musical contrasts reflect the sudden changes in both nature and people.
- Program Note from Program Notes for Band
Media
- Audio CD: Keystone Wind Ensemble (Jack Stamp, conductor)
- Audio CD: United States Coast Guard Band (Lewis J. Buckley, conductor) – 2002
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Bowling Green (Ohio) State University Concert Band (Bruce Moss, conductor) – 3 October 2019
- United States Coast Guard Band (New London, Conn.) (Lewis J. Buckley, conductor) – 21 December 2002 (2002 Midwest Clinic)
Works for Winds by This Composer
- American Airs and Dances (1998)
- American Duo, An (1981)
- Dawn to Glory (1998)
- Double Visions (1987)
- Family Portraits (1995)
- Festive Prelude (1965)
- Force of Credulity, The (1977)
- Little Night and Day Music, A (1976)
- Merrymakers (1982)
- Pygmalion (2005)
- River That Mines the Silences of Stones, The (2016)
- Rogues and Lovers (1995)
- Serenata Concertante (1997)
- Southwestern Sketches (1961)
- Snow Tracks (1981)
- Symphony No. 3, "Diptych" (1961)
- To Celebrate a Miracle (1999)
- To Greet a New Day (2019)
- Ultralight (1990)
Resources
- Miles, Richard B., and Larry Blocher. 2002. Teaching Music Through Performance in Band. Volume 4. Chicago: GIA Publications. pp. 694-703.
- Samuel Adler website
- Smith, Norman E. (2002). Program Notes for Band. Chicago: GIA Publications, pp. 2.