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
Solo Piano
Flute I-II-III (I doubling 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
Percussion I-II-III-IV-V, including:

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

Errata

(As provided by www.danawilson.org):

Flute I-II-III, m.15: Flutes play on beat 2
Flute I, m.124: tutti fl.
Flute I, m.143: tutti fl.
Oboe, m.26: a2
Oboe, m.39: a2
Oboe, m.117: a2
Bassoon, m.25: A nat.
B-flat Bass Clarinet, m.7: F#
B-flat Bass Clarinet, m.25: A nat.
All Brass, m.123: Staccato on beat 3
B-flat Trumpets, m.27: 8th rest after notes
B-flat Trumpets, m.59: 8th rest after notes
B-flat Trumpet II-III, m.79: a2
B-flat Trumpets, m.121: 8th rest at end of meas.
B-flat Trumpets, m.205: 8th rest after notes
Horn in F II, m.85: Courtesy natural in front of E
Horn in F II, m.122: Courtesy natural
Horn in F III-IV, m.217: Quarter rest at end
Horn in F I-IV, m.225: Courtesy natural
Euphonium, m.120: a2
Tuba, m.120: a2
Tuba II, m.246: A is flatted
Percussion V, m.109: med mall, not cym.
Percussion IV, m.236: 8th rest at end
Percussion I & V, m.272: Half note

Published E-flat Baritone Saxophone part may misidentified as Tenor Saxophone. See Dana Wilson website.

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 composer

Media

Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown
Audio: Reference recording. University of Florida (Gainesville) Wind Symphony (David Waybright, conductor)
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 Florida (Gainesville) Wind Symphony (David Waybright, conductor) – 20 January 2015
University of North Texas (Denton) Wind Symphony (Dennis Fisher, conductor; Pamela Mia Paul, piano) – 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)
Of my dream before me... (2021)
Old Number One (2017)
On Fire! (2017)
The One-Lady Band from Owego (2021)
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)
the most sacred of times (2022)
Time Cries, Hoping Otherwise (1991)
To Set the Darkness Echoing (2005)
Uprising (1995)
Vortex (1999)
When I Am Gone Away (2006)
Winds on the Steppes (1994)

Resources

Dana Wilson website
Wilson, D. (2002). Vortex [score]. Boosey & Hawkes: New York.