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Scenes from the American West
General Info
Year: 2018
Duration: c. 5:00
Difficulty: II-1/2 (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: FJH Music Company
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $60.00; (digital) - $60.00 | Score Only (print) - $8.00
Movements
1. Rocky Mountains – 1:50
2. The Redwood Forest – 2:00
3. Big Bend Petroglyphs – 1:10
Instrumentation
Full Score
Flute I-II
Oboe
Bassoon
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II
Horn in F
Trombone I-II
Euphonium
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV-V, including:
- Bass Drum
- Bells
- Bongos
- Chimes
- Concert Tom
- Crash Cymbals
- Crotales
- Lion's Roar
- Marimba
- Sleigh Bells
- Snare Drum
- Suspended Cymbal
- Tambourine
- Tam-Tam
- Temple Blocks
- Triangle
- Vibraphone
- Xylophone
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
Scenes from the American West was commissioned to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service. An enthusiastic hiker and camper, the composer intimately expressed how each park conjures vivid emotional reactions that lend themselves to portrayal in musical form.
The first movement is a short fantasia based on the folk song Rock Mountain. It is meant to depict the sheer joy of emerging from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and experiencing the full panorama of snowcapped peaks.
The second movement touches on the sense of wonder one feels upon encountering the sheer size of a redwood tree. Gentle, dissonant chords slowly build to a mighty peak as the listener imagines flying toward the top of the forest. Big, bold chords represent the view from above the canopy with massive trees swaying in the wind. The audience’s imagination then takes them to a surreal moment in the canopy, where they are engulfed by the sound of creaking branches and bird calls.
The third movement breaks the silence with war drums and a dramatic portrayal of petroglyphs [indigenous rock carvings] at Big Bend National Park in West Texas. The percussion section drives the piece to an intense coda.
- Program Note from Keller Middle School Wind Ensemble concert program, 20 December 2018
The work was commissioned by the Park Crest Middle School Band in Pflugerville, Texas, under directors Rick Lucio and Amanda Pinner.
- Program Nite from score
Media
State Ratings
- Texas: II. (at least 2 mvts.)
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Keller (Tx.) Middle School Wind Ensemble (Jedidiah Maus, conductor) - 20 December 2018 (2018 Midwest Clinic)
Works for Winds by This Composer
- Across the Serengeti (2016)
- And Sail Away (2017)
- Bold
- Bravado Tango (2015)
- Cassini's Dive (2021)
- Christus Factus Est (as transcriber) (1884/2018)
- Circle of Wagons (2013)
- Come Down Rain (2018)
- Crowns of Glory (2020)
- Dance Slav (2018)
- Everybody Sang (2019)
- Foiled Again! (2014)
- Laniakea (2016)
- Legacy Fanfare (2016)
- Moon Over Half Dome (2019/2021)
- On the Kerry Shore (2017)
- On the Wing (2014)
- Palo Duro Sunrise (2015)
- Passage of Arms (2013)
- Queen Anne’s Revenge (2013)
- Ruins of Tulum (2013)
- Scenes from the American West (2018)
- Solstice Dance (2015)
- The Spirit of Cashel (2019)
- Spellbound (2016)
- A Swashbuckling Christmas (2017)
- Symphony No.1 (2022)
- ¡Viva! (2017)
- Wellspring (2020)
- Whirling Novas (2015)
Resources
- Jack Wilds Music Accessed 2 August 2021
- Perusal score
- Williams, Shiree X. "Scenes from the American West." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 12, Compiled and edited by Andrew Trachsel, 263-270. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2021.