Boy's Dream, A

Jay Bocook

General Info

Year: 2007
Duration: c. 6:45
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Hal Leonard
Cost: Score and Parts - $95.00 | Score Only - $15.00

Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I
Oboe II (English Horn)
Bassoon I-II
Contrabassoon
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Piano
Harp
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV, including:

Bass Drum
Bells
Chimes
Concert Toms
Crash Cymbals
Crotales
Egg Shaker
Marimba
Mark Tree
Pulli Stick
Rain Stick
Shaker
Sleigh Bells
Snare Drum
Suspended Cymbal
Tam-Tam
Temple Blocks
Toy Piano
Triangle
Xylophone
Zil-Bell

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

When I was approached in early 2004 by the wonderful directors of the Palmetto Consortium about writing a new work for band, I was very excited. They had no specifics in mind, only that the piece was not to be restricted by graded boundaries. Dr. Les Hicken, Director of Bands at Furman University and chairman of the Palmetto Consortium, was insistent that I compose as freely as possible. I thank him and all of the other directors for their trust and encouragement.

A Boy's Dream is not a work depicting a child's nighttime dreams, but rather the delight, wonderment and fantasy of a boy's daytime dreams. He dreams, while playing with small cars, of daring racing feats and being first to the checkered flag. Or, he will be listening to music with headphones, and dreaming of being the next great superstar. His possibilities are unlimited because, in a child's mind, there is no reality to get in the way. A boy's dreams are fantastical and mysterious, show great curiosity and yet most importantly, they are innocent and credulous.

The introduction of A Boy's Dream exists as an Awakening. As a boy grows, so does his curiosity about the world and its possibilities. New discoveries happen every day, every hour. The next section is a quick, playful Scherzando that shows our boy dreaming about high-speed fun. Everything happens quickly; whether playing with toys or running with friends, these dreams are full of fancy and excitement. The next section is slow and is marked Dolce. This section represents the summer days we spent early in our lives, laying in the grass and looking up at the clouds. We would imagine shapes, faces, animals, and more. The wind would slowly shift the clouds so they could become something else. These were calm moments of unbelievable wonder.

In the final section, Giocoso, the dreams turn to those of a boy at Christmas or holiday time. What magic days those are for children. I remember looking at Christmas catalogs and dreaming of what would be under the tree. We wished for everything. We knew we could not have everything, but we dreamed anyway. The festive atmosphere made it the most wondrous time of the year. The work ends with a final celebration of this spirit of my daydream, your dream ...A Boy's Dream.

- Program Note by composer

For Andrew

- Program Note from score

Media

Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown
Audio CD: Florida All-State Concert Band (Scott C Tobias, conductor) - 2012
Audio CD: Wando High School Symphonic Band (Scott Rush, conductor) - 2007

State Ratings

Georgia: VI
Kansas: V
South Carolina: VI

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Grande Prairie (Alb., Can.) Symphonic Wind Ensemble - 18 December 2021
Austin (Tx.) Civic Wind Ensemble(Robert Laguna, conductor) – 27 October 2019
University High School (Fresno Calif.) Wind Ensemble (Randall Cornelison, conductor) - 15 March 2013 (2013 Sutherland Wind Festival (Fresno, Calif.))
Florida All-State Concert Band (Scott C Tobias, conductor) - 2012
Wando High School (Mount Pleasant, S.C.) Symphonic Band (Scott Rush, conductor) – 21 December 2007 (2007 Midwest Clinic)

Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

Aztec Fire (Flex instrumentation) (2003)
Gap Creek (Flex instrumentation) (2000)
The Liberty Bell (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1893/2011)
Nimrod (Flex Instrumentation) (as arranger) (1899/2011)
The North Face (Flex instrumentation) (1999/2021)
Shackelford Banks (Flex instrumentation) (2003)
The Thunderer (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1889/2010)

All Wind Works

76 Trombones (arr. Anderson; as adapter) (1997)
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough (as arranger) (1967/2004)
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Avatar Soundtrack Highlights (as arranger) (2009/2010)
Aztec Fire (Flex instrumentation) (2003)
Battle Cry of Freedom, The (as arranger) (1862/2001)
The Beatles: Love (as arranger) (2008)
Beauty and the Beast (as arranger) (1992/2017)
The Blues Brothers Revue (as arranger) (2004)
Bolero (as arranger) (1928/2003)
Boy's Dream, A (2007)
The British Are Coming! (as arranger) (2006)
Carnival of the Animals, The (as arranger) (1886/2006)
Catch Me If You Can (as arranger) (2011)
Chariots of Fire (as arranger) (1983)
Concert Suite from "Dances with Wolves" (as arranger) (1991)
The Cowboys (as arranger) (Grade III) (1972)
The Cowboys (as arranger) (Grade V) (1972/2007)
Crown Imperial (as arranger) (1937/1998)
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Danzón (as arranger) (1944/1990)
Dartmoor, 1912 (as arranger) (2011)
Defying Gravity (as arranger) (2003/2010)
Dies Irae (as arranger) (1874/1998)
Down in the River (2017)
Dream On (as arranger) (1973/2011)
Fanfare and Hymn of Brotherhood (1982/2004)
Fanfare and Hymn: A Mighty Fortress (as arranger) (1529/1991)
Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis (as arranger) (1910/2006)
Film Score Classics (as arranger) (1990)
Firebird Excerpts (as arranger) (1910/1995)
Freedom (as arranger) (2000/2002)
Game of Thrones (as arranger) (2018)
Gap Creek (Flex instrumentation) (2000)
Glee Showstoppers (as arranger) (2010)
Gloriana (2015)
Go the Distance (as arranger) (1997)
Granada (as arranger) (1932/1998)
Head Rush (2015)
Hey Jude (as arranger) (1968/1992)
Hunger Games (as arranger) (2012)
Into the Light (1996)
The Invincible Eagle (as arranger) (1901/2004)
Jekyll & Hyde (as arranger) (c. 1990/1998)
Jingle Bells - Jolly Old St Nick (as arranger) (1857/2002)
John Williams Swings (as arranger) (2011)
Juba Dance (as arranger) (1932/2022)
Kirkpatrick's Muse (2017)
Legacy of Honor (2013)
The Liberty Bell (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1893/2011)
Liberty Fanfare (as arranger) (1986/2010)
Lincoln (as arranger) (2013)
Liquid (2019)
Little Mermaid, The (as arranger) (1990)
Lost Mountain (2008)
Mars (as arranger) (1916/1998)
Maverick (2020)
Miss Saigon Selections (as arranger)
Music from "Mission: Impossible" (as arranger) (1996)
Music from "The Incredibles" (as arranger) (2004/2006)
Nessun Dorma (as arranger) (1926/2003)
Nimrod (Flex Instrumentation) (as arranger) (1899/2011)
The North Face (Flex instrumentation) (1999/2021)
O Waly, Waly (2011)
Olympic Spirit, The (as transcriber) (1988/1996)
Out of Sea and the Shark Cage Fugue (as arranger) (1975/2011)
Out of This World (as arranger) (1999)
Pearl Harbor Soundtrack Highlights (as arranger) (2006)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (as arranger) (2006)
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (as arranger) (2007)
Prince of Egypt, The (as arranger, with Zimmer) (1998/1999)
Procession of the Nobles (arr Bocook) (as arranger)
Queen in Concert
The Rebellion Is Reborn (as arranger) (2017)
Ritual Fire Dance (as arranger) (2001)
Robin Hood (as arranger) (1991)
Roll Tide (as arranger)
Russian Easter Overture (as arranger) (1888/2000)
Sacred Harp (2013)
Scheherazade (as transcriber) (1888/2006)
Scherzo from "Symphony No. 9" (as arranger) (1824/2004)
Selections from "Moana" (as arranger) (2016/2017)
Selections from "Wicked" (as arranger) (2004)
Shackelford Banks (2003)
Shackelford Banks (Flex instrumentation) (2003)
Skyfall (as arranger) (2012/2013)
Somewhere from "West Side Story" (as arranger)
Soundtrack Highlights from Les Misérables (as arranger) (1980/2013)
Star Trek: The Inner Light (as arranger) (1995)
Sweet Georgia Brown (arr. Bocook) (1925)
Symphonic Suite from "Jurassic World" (as arranger) (2015/2017)
Symphonic Suite from "On the Waterfront" (as arranger) (1954/2011)
Symphonic Suite from "Star Trek" (as arranger) (2009)
Symphonic Suite from "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" (arr Bocook) (as arranger) (2016)
Symphony No. 5, Mvmt IV (as transcriber) (1937/2005)
Theme from "Blazing Saddles" (as arranger) (1983)
Thriller (as arranger) (1982/2009)
The Thunderer (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1889/2010)
Titan Spirit (as arranger) (2000/2009)
Trooper Salute (as arranger with Reese) (2015)
Uptown Funk! (as arranger) (2014)
Vallum Hadriani (2022)
Vaquero (as arranger) (1967)
Viper (2010)
The Washington Post (as arranger) (1889/2010)
West Side Story: Medley (as arranger) (1957/1991)
Who's That Masked Man? (as arranger) (2007)
Young Person's Guide to John Williams (as arranger) (1991)

Resources

Bocook, J. (2007). A Boy's Dream [score]. Music Works: Milwaukee, Wisc.