Vortex

Dana Wilson

General Info

Year: 1999 / 2002
Duration: c. 11:00
Difficulty: VI (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Boosey and Hawkes
Cost: Score and Parts - $125.00 | Score Only - $7.95

Instrumentation

Full Score
Flute I-II-III (I doubles piccolo)
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
Contrabassoon
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-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium I-II
Tuba I-II
Piano
Percussion I-II-III-IV-V, including:

Bass Drum
Bongos
Celeste
Cymbals (small and large suspended)
Gong (Tam-tam)
Guiro
Lion's Roar
Marimba
Timpani (3)
Tom-Toms (4)
Triangle (small)
Vibraphone
Woodblock (small)
Xylophone

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

A vortex is a whirling mass, such as a tornado or whirlpool, which is created when a source of momentum causes a thick layer of unstable stratification to move with ever stronger tangential velocity as the medium (air or water) converges into a smaller radius. The vortex gradually gains power and momentum while, ironically, forming a vacuum at its center. It is this image of opposites - one influenced by the other - that was the genesis of this piece. The piece alternates between moments of extreme stasis and whirling energy. While the work is not a concerto, the piano often serves as the source of momentum,with the ensemble - static at first - gradually pulled into the vortex.

Program Note by Dana Wilson

Media

Audio CD: Ithaca College Wind Ensemble (Stephen Peterson, conductor)
Audio CD: University of Florida Wind Symphony (David A Waybright, conductor)

State Ratings

Louisiana: IV
North Carolina: VI
Oklahoma: CONCERT BAND CLASS 5A

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

University of North Texas (Denton) Wind Symphony (Dennis Fisher, conductor; Pamela Mia Paul, soprano) – 22 February 2001 (CBDNA 2001 National Conference, Denton, Tx.)

Works for Winds by This Composer

A complete list of Dana Wilson's compositions may be found here:

Avatar, The (2005)
Awakening... (2011)
The Banquet (2017)
Black Nightshade (2004)
Calling, Ever Calling (1990)
Clarion Call (1988)
Colorado Peaks (2009)
Concerto for Double Bass and Wind Ensemble (2010)
Concerto for Drum Set and Wind Ensemble (2021)
Concerto for Horn and Wind Ensemble (1997)
Concerto for Jazz Piano and Wind Ensemble (2019)
Concerto for Trombone (2015)
Concerto for Tuba (Wilson) (2012)
Conjurer, The (2015)
Dance of the New World (1992)
Day Dreams (2006)
Evolution (1999)
Fanfare for a New Center (2011)
Fanfare for Karel (2017)
Footsteps (2010)
Front Burner (2020)
How Very Close (2012)
Io Rising
Kah! Out of Darkness (1999)
Last Ride to Solutré (1998)
Leader Lieder (1993)
Liquid Ebony (2006)
Liquid Gold (2005)
May the Road Rise Up to Meet You (2013/2019)
Odysseus and the Sirens (2008)
Old Number One (2017)
On Fire! (2017)
Piece of Mind (1987)
Primal Worlds (2000)
Quintessence (2019)
Sang! (1993)
Searching for Lost Dreams (2013)
Shakata: Singing the World into Existence (1989)
Shortcut Home (2003)
Speak to Me (2010)
...the harder they fall (2004)
Time Cries, Hoping Otherwise (1991)
To Set the Darkness Echoing (2005)
Uprising (1995)
Vortex (1999)
When I Am Gone Away (2006)

Resources

Dana Wilson - Official Website