Instrumentation

PERFORMANCE NOTES Any combination of the instruments below is encouraged. Creative alternatives to the instrumentation below is also encouraged. Number of players doubling each part is at the discretion of the conductor (but in keeping with a balanced sound). When necessary, performers may transpose notes up or down an octave. Conductor is free to tacet instruments when the music is too difficult, or to give a player a rest. If performing this work with a small ensemble, adjust percussion dynamics to create a balanced sound between the ensemble and the percussion. INSTRUMENTATION PART 1: when necessary, performers may transpose notes up or down an octave. If there is an octave within a part, play either the upper or lower note. Flute; Oboe; Bb Clarinet. PART 2: when necessary, performers may transpose notes up or down an octave. If there is an octave within a part, play either the upper or lower note. Bb Clarinet. Eb Alto Saxophone. Bb Trumpet PART 3: when necessary, performers may transpose notes up or down an octave. If there is an octave within a part, play either the upper or lower note. Bb Clarinet. Bb Tenor Saxophone. F Horn. Trombone. Baritone T.C. Euphonium B.C. PART 4: when necessary, performers may transpose notes up or down an octave. If there is an octave within a part, play either the upper or lower note. Bb Bass Clarinet. Bassoon. Eb Baritone Saxophone. Trombone. Tuba. Double Bass (rest bow and play pizzicato throughout, disregarding cresc. and dim. indications in sustained notes). Marimba (tremolo cresc. and dim. during sustained notes). Electronic Keyboard for bass reinforcement (use small amplifier and balance dynamics with the other acoustic instruments). PERCUSSION 1: any combination of mallet instruments is at the discretion of conductor. Play in the appropriate octave and adjust as necessary. Marimba. Vibraphone. Xylophone. Glockenspiel. PERCUSSION 2; Tambourine and/or Maracas. Triangle. Claves and/or Woodblock. PERCUSSION 3: Bass Drum or Large Tenor Drum (Bass Drum preferred). Bongos and/or Congas with hands or drumsticks or Snare Drum with drumsticks.

Availability

Score and parts for hire

Programme Notes

Made for You and Me: Inspired by Woody Guthrie (2020) for adaptable band was composed in response to the need for new music that may be performed by middle and high school band ensembles of flexible size and instrumentation. This five-minute work can be performed by seven or more players on a wide variety of musical instruments, depending on availability.
 
My composition is inspired by Woody Guthrie (1912-1967), the Dust Bowl troubadour who traveled the backroads of America from coast to coast with his guitar and harmonica, performing folk songs of love, wandering and social justice at Workers Union gatherings, radio stations, street corners and concert halls during the Great Depression and World War II. The main theme heard at the beginning of the composition is based on the old gospel hymn, “Oh My Loving Brother,” which Woody Guthrie borrowed and used as the main theme for his famous anthem “This Land is Your Land” (1940).
 
Perhaps it matters now more than ever to remember these iconic words from Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land”:
This land is your land, this land is my land
From California, to the New York Island
From the Redwood Forest, to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me.
 
As I went walking that ribbon of highway
I saw above me that endless skyway
I saw below me that golden valley
This land was made for you and me.
© Michael Daugherty 2020