Steps Ahead
General Info
Year: 2017
Duration: c. 4:00
Difficulty: II -1/2 (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: American Composers Forum
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $60.00; (digital) - $60.00 | Score Only (print) - $10.00
Instrumentation
Full Score
Flute I-VI
Oboe
Bassoon
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III-IV
Horn in F
Trombone I-II
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion, including:
- Bass Drum
- Crash Cymbals
- Glockenspiel
- Snare Drum
- Suspended Cymbal
- Triangle
- Vibraphone
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
Steps Ahead is a BandQuest work by Michael Gandolfi that takes young players on a journey! Along the way, there are musical techniques that are intended to educate the performers about basic compositional tools.
Steps Ahead is a delightful piece with something interesting for every instrument in the ensemble. Each of its three sections addresses a kind of compositional technique – transposition, tutti (a 2-part homophonic section) and developing tutti (parts of the band enter to build to a 2-part homophonic tutti). Less experienced players might enjoy the challenges of easy syncopation and musical lines constructed with larger intervals.
- Program Note by Tom Duffy
Commissioned by the American Composers Forum. To Laura Bouix and the Roland Hayes School of Music Band.
- Program Note from score
When composing the work, which was originally title Walking Music, Gandolfi imagined someone taking a walk and stumbling upon admirable landscapes. To achieve this effect, the piece is through-composed and contains subtitles that narrate the journey: Promenade/Turn the Corner (transposition); First Destination (tutti); Onward… (Promenade); Second Destination (developing tutti), and Arrival.
The composition alternates between connected and flowing versus shorter and separated thematic sections, while also balancing chamber and tutti orchestration.
- Program Note from Teaching Music through Performance in Band
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
Works for Winds by This Composer
- Anthems, Fanfares, and a Lullaby (2018)
- Cantares de Galicia (2015)
- Cosmic Garden Diptych (2010)
- Flourishes and Meditations on a Renaissance Theme (2010)
- Nuevos Vientos y Tangos (2020)
- Steps Ahead (2017)
- Vientos y Tangos (2004)
- Vientos y Tangos (for trumpet sextet) (2004/2018)
- Winding Up, Winding Down (2014)
Resources
- Michael Gandolfi website Accessed 1 June 2021
- Perusal score
- Smith, J. Nick. "Steps Ahead." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 12, Compiled and edited by Andrew Trachsel, 289-294. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2021.