Shenandoah (arr Thomas)

Omar Thomas

Traditional, arranged by Omar Thomas

General Info

Year: 2019
Duration: c. 7:30
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
F Horn 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 from Omar Thomas

Commercial Discography

None discovered thus far.

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

• 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 Southern Mississippi (Hattiesburg) Concert Band (Travis Higa, conductor) - 2 March 2021
• Arkansas State University (Jonesboro) Wind Ensemble (Shawn Crawford, conductor) - 13 March 2020
• Blythewood (S.C.) High School Wind Symphony (Quintus Wrighten, conductor) - 18 March 2020
• California State University, Los Angeles Wind Ensemble (Emily Moss, conductor) – 13 March 2020
• California State University, San Bernardino, Symphonic Band (Nicholas Bratcher, conductor) - 10 March 2020
• West Virginia University (Morgantown) Wind Symphony (Scott C. Tobias, conductor) – 9 March 2020
• Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge) Symphonic Winds (Gabriela Gomez-Estevez, conductor) – 3 March 2020
• Northwestern University (Evanston, Ill.) Concert Band (Daniel J. Farris, conductor) – 1 March 2020
• University of Texas (Austin) Texas Concert Band (Trey Lockett, conductor) – 1 March 2020
• Western High School (Russellville, Ind.) Concert Band (Brian Caldwell, conductor) – 27 February 2020
• Truman State University (Kirksville, Mo.) Wind Symphony I (Curran Prendergast, conductor) – 27 February 2020
• Michigan Technological University (Houghton) Superior Wind Symphony (Michael Christianson, conductor) - 2020
• 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

• 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

• 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