From Detroit to LA
General Info
Year: 2011
Duration: c. 5:33
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Michael Mikulka
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $200.00; (digital) - $70.00
Instrumentation
Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
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
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion I-V, including::
- Bass Drum
- Crash Cymbals
- Egg Shaker
- Marimba
- Suspended Cymbal
- Tam-tam
- Temple Block
- Xylophone
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
From Detroit to LA is based on a flight I took in November 2009. This was the first time I had flown on a clear day at a low altitude, and I was struck by the patterns that emerged from the air: not only the man-made patterns of towns and plowed farmland, but also the natural patterns from mountains, rivers, and canyons. Though we were actually moving at several hundred miles per hour, everything below seemed expansive, and shifted from view at a slow pace, which is the reason for the quasi-minimalist style often found in this piece.
All of the melodies for the piece were composed on the actual flight, and the order in which they appear in the composition is the order in which they appeared during the flight. The purpose of the trip was to visit the University of Southern California, so a few of the motifs and melodic fragments (as well as other aspects of the composition) are imitative of and/or inspired by the music of Frank Ticheli. This piece was edited in September of 2011 for a reading session by the University of Texas Wind Ensemble and subsequent premiere by the UT Symphony Band.
- Program Note by composer
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Central Michigan University (Mount Pleasant) Dietz Alumni Band (Shannon Shaker, conductor) - 9 October 2022
- University of Texas (Austin) Symphony Band (Scott Hanna, conductor) - 30 November 2011
Works for Winds by This Composer
- Concerto for Trumpet and Wind Ensemble (2013)
- Etudes for Wind Ensemble (2019)
- First Suite for Wind Band (2016)
- The Florentainer (2013)
- From Detroit to LA (2011)
- Godzilla Devours Reno (2013)
- The Inaudible Do (2013)
- Music to Drift Away With (2019)
- Panic! (2010)
- Prelude and Fugue (2011)
- Six Short Scenes (2018)
- Symphony No. 3 for Wind Ensemble (2015/2020)
- Through the Icy Dawn (2010)
- Unfurl (2019)
Resources
- Michael Mikulka website Accessed 12 October 2020
- New Band Music
- Perusal score