To Be a Wolf...
General Info
Year: 2019
Duration: c. 1:40
Difficulty: I-1/2 (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Murphy Music Press
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $80.00 | Score Only (print) - $25.00
Instrumentation
Full Score
Flute
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
Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
String or Electric Bass
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III, including:
- Bass Drum
- Crash Cymbals
- Snare Drum
- Suspended Cymbal
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
To Be a Wolf… was written to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Altamira Middle School in Sonoma, CA. With the assistance of their band director, Carolyn Niehaus, the Altamira music students presented several concepts to jump-0start the creation of the piece. Some had to do with their school mascot, the wolf, so I listened to field recordings of wolf packs in what is known as the "chorus howl." The motif that first appears in the flutes and saxophones is based on a fragment of what I heard in one of the recordings. I also chose a call-and-response element to the piece as a hallmark of wolf pack howls.
The students also came up with a form, based on a more personal element. In 2017 (one year prior to the beginning of the commission process), the devastating Tubbs Fire in the surrounded area forced widespread evacuations and school closures, including Altamira. Students and their families were among those who lost their homes or were otherwise directly affected by the fire. Ms. Niehaus's class suggested that the piece start out with a "happy mood around school", then a contrasting section related to the fires, and finishing by "returning to happy, because we are a family." The resulting contrast in the middle is more subdued, with open harmonies and less call-and-response so that the music can be filled back in when everyone comes together again for the final repeat of the "happy" main melody statement.
- Program Note by composer
Dedicated to the students, staff and alumni of Altamira Middle School in honor of its 50th anniversary.
- Program Note from score
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Wando High School (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) Band (Bobby Lambert, conductor) - 19 December 2019 (2019 Midwest Clinic)
Works for Winds by This Composer
Adaptable Music
- Tiptoe Forest (Flex instrumentation) (2020)
All Wind Works
- 5000 Austin Creek Road (2013)
- Aileron Lullaby (2016/2019)
- The Codebreakers (2019)
- Flight of the Dragon (2017)
- Information Echo (2018/2020)
- May Rose March (2016)
- Strong to Save (2014)
- Tiptoe Forest (Flex instrumentation) (2020)
- To Be a Wolf... (2019)
Resources
- Mollie Budiansky website Accessed 19 December 2019
- Perusal score