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Shenandoah (arr Thomas)
Traditional, arranged by Omar Thomas
General Info
Year: 2019
Duration: c. 7:45
Difficulty: III (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Folksong
Publisher: Omar Thomas
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $125.00 | Score Only (print) - $35.00
Instrumentation
Full Score
Flute I-II
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
Horn in F I-II
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III, including:
- Bass Drum
- Glockenspiel
- Marimba
- Suspended Cymbals (2; with and without sizzler)
- Vibraphone
Players snapping fingers
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
Shenandoah is one of the most well-known and beloved Americana folk songs. Originally a river song detailing the lives and journeys of fur traders canoeing down the Missouri River, the symbolism of this culturally significant melody has been expanded to include its geographic namesake -- an area of the eastern United States that encompasses West Virginia and a good portion of the western part of Virginia -- and various parks, rivers, counties, and academic institutions found within.
Back in May of 2018, after hearing a really lovely duo arrangement of Shenandoah while adjudicating a music competition in Minneapolis, I asked myself, after hearing so many versions of this iconic and historic song, how would I set it differently? I thought about it and thought about it and thought about it, and before I realized it, I had composed and assembled just about all of this arrangement in my head by assigning bass notes to the melody and filling in the harmony in my head afterwards. I would intermittently check myself on the piano to make sure what I was imagining worked, and ended up changing almost nothing at all from what I’d heard in my mind’s ear.
This arrangement recalls the beauty of Shenandoah Valley, not bathed in golden sunlight, but blanketed by low-hanging clouds and experiencing intermittent periods of heavy rainfall (created with a combination of percussion textures, generated both on instruments and from the body). There are a few musical moments where the sun attempts to pierce through the clouds, but ultimately the rains win out. This arrangement of Shenandoah is at times mysterious, somewhat ominous, constantly introspective, and deeply soulful.
- Program Note by composer
Media
- Audio: Reference recording. University of Maryland (College Park) Wind Ensemble (Andrea Brown, conductor)
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- Cuesta Wind Ensemble (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) (Jennifer Martin, conductor) – 11 May 2022
- Clovis (Calif.) West High School Wind Symphony (Bryan Chesi, conductor) – 22 April 2022 (2022 San Joaquin Valley (Calif.) Concert Band Invitational)
- University of Iowa (Iowa City) Concert Band (Tyler Strickland, conductor) - 6 April 2022
- University of Illinois (Champaign) Wind Symphony (Elizabeth Peterson, conductor) - 3 March 2022 (87th Annual ABA National Convention)
- Rutgers University (New Brunswick, N.J.) Symphonic Winds (Todd Nichols, conductor) - 25 February 2022
- 2022 Eastern Division Intercollegiate Band (Baltimore, Md.) (Caroline Barber, conductor) – 19 February 2022 (CBDNA 2022 Eastern Conference, Baltimore, Md.)
- Texas 5A Symphonic Band (Damon Talley, conductor) - 12 February 2022 (2022 TMEA Conference, San Antonio)
- Association of Texas Small School Bands (ATSSB) Symphonic Band (Emily Threinen, conductor) - 12 February 2022 (2022 TMEA Conference, San Antonio)
- Margaretta High School (Ohio) Concert Band (Adam Reardon, conductor) - 30 January 2022 (Severance Music Center, Cleveland)
- The Ohio State University (Columbus) Collegiate Winds (Ashby Goldstein, conductor) - 21 November 2021
- California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Wind Orchestra (Nicholas P. Waldron, conductor) – 30 October 2021
- University of Massachusetts (Amherst) Wind Ensemble (Matthew Westgate, conductor) - 1 May 2021
- Texas Christian University (Ft. Worth) Concert Band (Donald Hale, conductor) - 28 April 2021
- Penn State University (University Park) Symphonic Band (Hannah Redd, conductor) - 28 April 2021
- University of Nebraska (Lincoln) Symphonic Band (Anthony Falcone, conductor) - 28 April 2021
- University of Missouri (Columbia) University Band (Christian M. Noon, conductor) - 27 April 2021
- University of Lethbridge (Alb., Can.) Wind Orchestra (Chee Meng Low, conductor) - 18 April 2021
- South Dakota State University (Brookings) Wind Symphony (Jacob Wallace, conductor) - 22 March 2021
- Ohio Wesleyan University (Delaware, Ohio) Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Richard Edwards, conductor) - 21 March 2021
- University of Maryland (College Park) Wind Ensemble (Andrea Brown, conductor) – 3 May 2019 *Premiere Performance*
Works for Winds by This Composer
Adaptable Music
- Emma Catherine (Flex instrumentation) (2004/2009)
- Sharp Nine (Flex instrumentation) (2020)
All Wind Works
- Candor (2021)
- Caribana (2021)
- Come Sunday (2018)
- Emma Catherine (Flex instrumentation) (2004/2009)
- The Low-Down Brown Get-Down (2020)
- A Mother of a Revolution! (2019)
- Of Our New Day Begun (2016)
- Sharp Nine (Flex instrumentation) (2020)
- Shenandoah (as arranger) (2019)
Resources
- The Horizon Leans Forward…, compiled and edited by Erik Kar Jun Leung, GIA Publications, 2021, p. 496.
- Oh Shenandoah, Wikipedia Accessed 2 June 2020
- Omar Thomas website Accessed 14 May 2019
- Pease, Andy. "Shenandoah by Omar Thomas." Wind Band Literature, 24 January 2020. Web. Accessed 24 January 2020
- Perusal score