Wildflowers

From Wind Repertory Project
Todd Stalter

Todd Stalter


General Info

Year: 2018
Duration: c. 2:40
Difficulty: I-1/2 (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Alfred Music
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $49.00   |   Score Only (print) - $7.00


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
Timpani
Percussion, including:

  • Bells
  • Suspended Cymbal
  • Triangle


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Imagine the feeling you get when gazing upon a meadow of flowers on a bright summer day. You'll get that same feeling when you hear the flowing lines and glowing harmonies of this expressive work. Everyone will enjoy all the collective beauty, fragility, and wonder of the music as it floats through the air like a warm gentle breeze.

- Program Note from publisher


Oftentimes, when I am at a loss for musical ideas, I pick up a guitar and just let my fingers wander the fretboard where they may... It both relaxes me and allows chords or strands of melodies to flow freely, without any preconceived parameters or boundaries attached to them.

Such was the case with Wildflowers. What began as a pleasant-sounding chord progression in 3/4 (a meter in which I don’t often write) soon turned into a search for a simple rising and falling melody for it, then a countermelody, then finding a pathway to some more remote harmonies to create a different color and aesthetic. Pedagogically, I strove for an approach that would give young players opportunities to be lyrically expressive in both individual and collective situations while exploring some chromatic notes and intonation challenges that might be new to them.

Conceptually, when considering a title it seemed to me that Wildflowers would be perfect in that when one experiences the simple pleasure of gazing upon a field of flowers, one can, and should, take the time to notice and appreciate the beauty, fragility, and unique intricacies of both the individual flowers along with the colors and textures they present as a whole as they sway in the breeze, bathing in the sunlight. When I settled on the title, it struck me on a deeper level that, as a band director, I teach and conduct music with my own little group of ‘wildflowers” every day, and though every band director remembers every band they’ve ever had, all of us know it is the time we spend bonding with our students as individuals, experiencing their unique personalities and musical contributions, and reveling in all the different "colors” they each bring to the band as a whole that makes our time with each band so memorable and meaningful. It is my wish that the performers and listeners of Wildflowers are able to experience the music in this way.

- Program Note from composer


Media


State Ratings

  • Texas: II. Complete


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project


Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music


All Wind Works


Resources