Colorado Peaks

Dana Wilson

General Info

Year: 2009
Duration: c. 5:05
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Boosey & Hawkes
Cost: Score and Parts - $75.00 | Score Only - $10.00

Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II-III
Oboe
Bassoon
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
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV

Bass Drum
Snare Drum
Suspended Cymbals (3: small, medium and large)
Tambourine
Tam-Tam
Tom-Tom (3)
Tubular Bells
Vibraphone

Errata

In Parts:

B-flat Soprano Clarinet I, m.55, beats 3 and 4: G natural should be G-flat

Program Notes

Written for large concert band, the piece has recurring thematic material throughout but does not adhere to a set formal structure, just as the peaks of the Rocky Mountains are bound by no set pattern. The work, filled with gentle syncopation, simple chromaticism, and timbral variety, is essentially based on two ideas; a crisp quarter-note pulse representative of hiking and the broad reach of the distant mountains first presented in the horns. There is also a tranquil section intended to

be introspective, indicative of all such hiking journeys as metaphors for, and ultimately about, inward growth. Regarding Colorado Peaks, the composer states:

Because this piece was commissioned by an ensemble in Colorado, I wanted the piece to make some reference to the awe-inspiring Colorado Rockies. The work is not, however, a depiction of their majesty. Instead it suggests a person’s relation to them via a rugged and persistent climb.

- Program Note by composer

Media

Audio: Reference recording. North Texas Wind Symphony (Eugene Migliaro Corporon, conductor)
Audio CD: Vandercook College of Music Symphonic Band (Craig Kirchhoff, conductor) - 2009

State Ratings

Georgia: V

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Kansas State University (Manhattan) Concert Band (Preston Thomas, conductor) - 26 April 2023
Luther College (Decorah, Iowa) Symphonic Band (Cory Near, conductor) - 9 November 2022
Ithaca (N.Y.) College Concert Band (Brian Diller, conductor) - 5 October 2022
CBDNA East Intercollegiate Band (Philadelphia, Penn.) (Elizabeth Peterson, conductor) – 22 February 2020 (CBDNA 2020 Eastern Division Conference, Philadelphia, Penn.)
Ohio Wesleyan University (Delaware, O.) 11-12 High School Honor Band (Elizabeth Peterson, conductor) – 15 February 2020
University of Colorado Boulder Concert Band (Melinda Mason, conductor) – 9 December 2019
Hartwick College (Oneonta, N.Y.) Wind Ensemble (Russell Elster, conductor) – 19 November 2019
Friends University (Wichita, Kan.)Concert Band (Shawn M. Knopp, conductor) - 4 November 2019
Appalachian State University (Boone, N.C.) Symphony Band (Jason Gardner, conductor) – 7 October 2019
State University of New York, Fredonia, All College Band (Susan Evans, conductor) – 2 October 2019
Brevard (N.C.) College Wind Ensemble (Eric Peterson, conductor) – 14 March 2019
Texas Tech University (Lubbock) University Band (Skye Brown, conductor) – 3 March 2019
University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) Symphony Band (Evan Feldman, conductor) – 26 February 2019
Massachusetts Youth Wind Ensemble (Boston) (Allison Lacasse, conductor)– 18 December 2018
Ohio University (Athens) Symphonic Band (Rebecca Titus, conductor) – 26 April 2018
Kennesaw (Ga.) State University Wind Symphony (Archie Birkner IV, conductor) – 1 March 2018
University of Florida (Gainesville) Concert Band (Archie G. Birkner IV, conductor) – 26 February 2018
Culver City (Calif.) High School Concert Band (Tony Spano, conductor) – 23 February 2018
University of Minnesota (Minneapolis) University Band (Betsy McCann, conductor) – 30 November 2017
University of Missouri (Columbia) Symphonic Band (Brian Silvey, conductor) – 14 March 2017
Florida International University (Miami) Symphonic Band (Barry Bernhardt, conductor) – 2 March 2017

Works for Winds by This Composer

A complete list of Dana Wilson's compositions may be found here:

Avatar, The (2005)
Awakening... (2011)
The Banquet (2017)
Black Nightshade (2004)
Calling, Ever Calling (1990)
Clarion Call (1988)
Colorado Peaks (2009)
Concerto for Contrabass and Wind Ensemble (2010)
Concerto for Drum Set and Wind Ensemble (2021)
Concerto for Horn and Wind Ensemble (1997)
Concerto for Jazz Piano and Wind Ensemble (2019)
Concerto for Trombone (2015)
Concerto for Tuba (Wilson) (2012)
Conjurer, The (2015)
Dance of the New World (1992)
Day Dreams (2006)
Evolution (1999)
Fanfare for a New Center (2011)
Fanfare for Karel (2017)
Footsteps (2010)
Front Burner (2020)
How Very Close (2012)
Io Rising
Ithaca Forever (as arranger) (1984)
Kah! Out of Darkness (1999)
Last Ride to Solutré (1998)
Leader Lieder (1993)
Liquid Ebony (2006)
Liquid Gold (2005)
May the Road Rise Up to Meet You (2013/2019)
Odysseus and the Sirens (2008)
Of my dream before me... (2021)
Old Number One (2017)
On Fire! (2017)
The One-Lady Band from Owego (2021)
Piece of Mind (1987)
Primal Worlds (2000)
Quintessence (2019)
Sang! (1993)
Searching for Lost Dreams (2013)
Shakata: Singing the World into Existence (1989)
Shortcut Home (2003)
Speak to Me (2010)
...the harder they fall (2004)
the most sacred of times (2022)
Time Cries, Hoping Otherwise (1991)
To Set the Darkness Echoing (2005)
Uprising (1995)
Vortex (1999)
When I Am Gone Away (2006)
Winds on the Steppes (1994)

Resources

Pease, Andy. "Colorado Peaks." Wind Band Literature, 3 October 2019. Web. Accessed 3 October 2019
Wilson, D. (2009). Colorado Peaks [score]. Boosey & Hawkes: New York.