American composer Dana Wilson (b. 1946) has won numerous awards and grants for his work. His music has been performed and recorded across the United States, Europe, and Asia. He has been commissioned to write new works by organizations and prominent soloists around the world. His output includes music for orchestras, chamber groups, choirs, and a wide-ranging repertoire for bands at all levels. Educated at the Eastman School of Music (DMA, 1982), he was the Charles A. Dana Professor of Music in the School of Music at Ithaca College before his recent retirement. To read more about his distinguished career, visit his website, Wikipedia, or his Ithaca faculty page. For an overview his music by one of the distinguished figures in our field, visit Tim Reynish’s website.
Wilson wrote Colorado Peaks in 2005 for the St. Vrain Valley Honor Band in Colorado. The Wind Repertory Project attributes the following program note to the composer:
Written for large concert band, the piece has recurring thematic material throughout but does not adhere to a set formal structure, just as the peaks of the Rocky Mountains are bound by no set pattern. The work, filled with gentle syncopation, simple chromaticism, and timbral variety, is essentially based on two ideas; a crisp quarter-note pulse representative of hiking and the broad reach of the distant mountains first presented in the horns. There is also a tranquil section intended to be introspective, indicative of all such hiking journeys as metaphors for, and ultimately about, inward growth. Regarding Colorado Peaks, the composer states:
“Because this piece was commissioned by an ensemble in Colorado, I wanted the piece to make some reference to the awe-inspiring Colorado Rockies. The work is not, however, a depiction of their majesty. Instead it suggests a person’s relation to them via a rugged and persistent climb.”
Listen to the North Texas Wind Symphony perform it, and follow along in the score!
Learn more about the piece at J. W. Pepper, Wilson’s website, and Hal Leonard.
Wilson is clear that this piece is about the struggle and inner growth of a hike in the Rockies. Here is a montage highlighting their natural beauty anyhow: