Isle of Skye
General Info
Year: 2012
Duration: c. 6:45
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Madison Music Works
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $125.00
Instrumentation
Full Score
Solo Horn
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
Trombone I-II
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
Harp
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV, including:
- Bass Drum
- Crash Cymbals
- Crotales
- Marimba
- Snare Drum
- Suspended Cymbal
- Tom-Tom
- Triangle
- Vibraphone
- Wood Block
- Xylophone
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
Isle of Skye was commissioned in honor of Robert H. Ambrose in his 27th year as director of bands at Andover High School (Bloomfield Hills, Michigan) by the Andover Instrumental Music Supporters. The work was to be premiered in Scotland by the visiting Andover High School Band, so I looked to that country for inspiration.
Having traveled to Scotland several years prior, my initial memories kept taking me back to a vision of the Hebrides islands while passing them on a cruise ship at dusk. The misty, mountainous landscape of the Isle of Skye aroused mysterious and majestic feelings as I wrote. Although no Scottish folk melodies are used and no attempt to create similar tunes was made, allusions to bag pipe drones and hunting horn calls appear throughout the work. The horn solo is crafted to exploit the singular talents of Katy Ambrose, who premiered the work.
- Program Note by composer
The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, (Scottish Gaelic: An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or Eilean a' Cheò; Scots: Isle o Skye) is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some of the most dramatic mountain scenery in the country. Although Sgitheanach has been suggested to describe a winged shape, no definitive agreement exists as to the name's origins.
- Program Note from Wikipedia
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Rochester Community Concert Band (Rochester Hills, Mich.) (Paul F. DeRubeis, conductor; Megan DeRubeis, horn) - 28 February 2023
- Rochester Community Concert Band (Rochester Hills, Mich.) (Paul F. DeRubeis, conductor; Megan DeRubeis, horn) - 10 May 2022
- Andover High School Symphony Band (Robert Ambrose, conductor; Katy Ambrose, horn) – 8 April 2012 (Edinburgh Easter Festival, Scotland) *Premiere Performance*
Works for Winds by this Composer
- As the Leaves Fall Again (2022)
- Bora Bora (2004)
- By the Shores of Lake Michigan (2021)
- Cauldron
- Cityscape (2006)
- Equinox
- Exuberance (2012)
- Fanfare for a Golden Sky (2003)
- Fjords - Suite for Band
- How Can I Keep From Singing
- Illini Jubilee (2018)
- Isle of Skye (2012)
- Let There Be Peace
- Persistence of Hope (2021)
- Poem (2005)
- Porta Nigra
- Sesquicentennial Fanfare
- Shadows (2012)
- Silver
- Son Song (2020)
- Strive (2014)
- A St. Patrick's Day Toast (2017)
- Windjammer
- Wonderstruck (2019)
- Zirk
- Zoom (2021)
Resources
- Aisner, Art. "Behind the Andover Band's Performance of 'Isle of Skye'." Patch, 26 April 2012. Web. Accessed 10 May 2022
- Isle of Skye. Wikipedia. Accessed 10 May 2022
- Scott Boerma, personal correspondence, May 2022
- Scott Boerma website – Accessed 10 May 2022