Give Us This Day

From Wind Repertory Project
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David Maslanka

David Maslanka


Subtitle: Short Symphony for Wind Ensemble


General Info

Year: 2005
Duration: c. 15:00
Difficulty: VI (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Carl Fischer
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $180.00; (digital) - $180.00   |   Score Only (print) - $40.00; (digital) - $40.00


Movements

1. Moderately Slow – 7:45
2. Very Fast – 7:10


Instrumentation

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

  • Bass Drum
  • Bell (small; brass cup)
  • Bells
  • Cabasa
  • Castanets
  • Claves
  • Hand Bell
  • Marimba
  • Snare Drum
  • Suspended Cymbal (large)
  • Tam-tam
  • Tambourine
  • Temple Blocks (4)
  • Tom-toms (3: low, medium and high)
  • Vibraphone
  • Wind Chimes (metal)
  • Xylophone (3.5 octaves)


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Give us This Day was commissioned by Eric Weirather, Director of Bands at Rancho Buena Vista High School in Oceanside, Calif., which is in the greater San Diego area. Eric put together a consortium to support the commission. The score was finished in October of 2005, and the premiere performance was done at Eric's school in the spring of 2006. Since then, with publication of the piece, and a lot of word of mouth, Give Us This Day has literally taken off. It continues to be performed all over the U.S., and many places around the world.

The words "give us this day" are, of course, from the Lord's Prayer, but the inspiration for this music is Buddhist. I have recently read a book by the Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh (pronounced "Tick Not Hahn") entitled For a Future to be Possible. His premise is that a future for the planet is only possible if individuals become deeply mindful of themselves, deeply connected to who they really are. While this is not a new idea, and something that is an ongoing struggle for everyone, in my estimation it is the issue for world peace. For me, writing music, and working with people to perform music, are two of those points of deep mindfulness.

Music makes the connection to reality, and by reality I mean a true awakeness and awareness. "Give Us This Day" gives us this very moment of awakeness and aware aliveness so that we can build a future in the face of a most dangerous and difficult time.

I chose the subtitle "Short Symphony for Wind Ensemble" because the music really isn't programmatic in nature. It has a full-blown symphonic character, even though there are only two movements. The music of the slower first movement is deeply searching, while that of the highly energized second movement is at times both joyful and sternly sober. The piece ends with a modal setting of the chorale melody Vater Unser in Himmelreich ("Our Father in Heaven"), #110 from the 371 Four-Part Chorales by J.S. Bach.

- Program Note by composer

Media


State Ratings

  • Florida: VI
  • Georgia: VI
  • Louisiana: V
  • Maryland: I
  • Michigan: Senior High AA
  • Minnesota: I
  • Mississippi: VI-A
  • North Carolina: Masterworks
  • Tennessee: VI
  • Texas: V. Complete
  • Wisconsin: Event 3000 Concert Band Class A
  • MusicFest Canada: B600


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • Chicago Wind Symphony (Chicago, Ill.) (Michael McCain, conductor) - 6 January 2024
  • Manhattan Wind Ensemble (New York City) (Sarah Fernandez, conductor) - 2 December 2023
  • Kansas State University Wind Ensemble (Frank Tracz, conductor) - 29 November 2023
  • Southern Methodist University (Dallas, Tx.) Meadows Wind Ensemble (Jack Delaney, conductor) - 6 October 2023
  • Eastern Kentucky University (Richmond) Wind Ensemble (Rebekah Daniel, conductor) - 26 September 2023
  • Central Washington University (Ellensburg) Wind Ensemble (T. André Feagin, conductor) - 1 June 2023
  • The Colony (Tx.) High School Wind Symphony (Michael Larkin, conductor) - 27 April 2023 (2023 Dallas Winds Festival)
  • University of New Mexico (Albuquerque) Symphonic Band (Brett Penshorn, conductor) - 26 April 2023
  • University of Arkansas (Fayetteville) Symphonic Band (Chase Jones, conductor) — 26 April 2023
  • Buchanan High School (Clovis, Calif.) Symphonic Band (Joey Neuenschwander, conductor) - 24 March 2023 (2023 Sutherland Wind Festival (Fresno, Calif.)
  • University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Wind Symphony (John R. Stewart, conductor) - 17 February 2023 (MMEA Conference, Minneapolis, Minn.)
  • Indiana University (Bloomington) Concert Band (Tiffany Galus, conductor) – 7 February 2023
  • University of Toronto (Ont., Can.) Wind Ensemble (Jeffrey Reynolds, conductor) - 2 December 2022
  • Queen's University (Kingston, Ont., Can.) Wind Ensemble (Dan Tremblay, conductor) - 26 November 2022
  • University of Connecticut (Storrs) Wind Ensemble (Janet Song Kim, conductor) - 17 November 2022
  • North Dakota State University (Fargo) Wind Symphony (Warren Olfert, conductor) - 16 October 2022
  • University of Nebraska (Lincoln) Symphonic Band (Anthony Falcone, conductor) - 11 October 2022
  • University of Minnesota (Minneapolis) Symphonic Band (John Leonard, conductor) -- 1 March 2022
  • California All-State High School (Fresno) Wind Symphony (Cynthia Johnston-Turner, conductor) – 19 February 2022 (2022 CASMEC Conference, Fresno)
  • Las Vegas Academy (Nev.) Wind Ensemble (John Seaton, conductor) - 8 February 2022 (The Smith Center 2022)
  • 2022 Eastern Division Intercollegiate Band (Baltimore, Md.) (Caroline Barber, conductor) – 19 February 2022 (CBDNA 2022 Eastern Conference, Baltimore, Md.)

Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources

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