Train Heading West and Other Outdoor Scenes

Begun in the mid-1970's as a set of three sketches for beginning band, the present work was expanded, rescored, and revised in early 1997. Although the difficulty level is somewhat higher in the revised score, the work still represents an opportunity for entry-level bands to become engaged in the concept of programmatic-descriptive music in a setting that makes limited technical demands upon the players. The expressive demands are considerable, however, and the conductor and players will profit from careful study of the work's language and its compositional procedures. The evocation of the great outdoors has always been a tradition in twentieth-century American music, with perhaps the best examples found in the music of Aaron Copland, particularly his great ballet score, Billy the Kid. The use of open intervals, sparse scoring, and powerful elemental tunes has become familiar, not only in symphonic music and band music, but also in film scoring.

Program Note by composer, 27 May 1998