Door County Summers (Perc Ens 12-14 + Bass)

Door County Summers is a large percussion ensemble work that evokes the composers memories of time spent at the Birch Creek Music Performance Center in Egg Harbor, WI. The work has multiple opportunities to feature improvisation from select performers, and expands the traditional concert percussion ensemble to include instruments such as steel pans and a rhythm section. With lush harmonies and soaring melodies, this work will be enjoyed by both performers and audience members alike!

Genre: Percussion Ensemble | # of Players: 15
Series: N/A
Level: Medium Advanced | Duration: 6:30

Instrumentation
Conductor's Score (8.5"x11" spiral bound)

Glockenspiel
Crotales (2 octaves)
Tenor Pan (optional, but recommended)
Double Seconds (optional, but recommended)
Vibraphone 1
Vibraphone 2
Marimba 1 (4.3-octave)
Marimba 2 (4.3-octave)
Marimba 3 (4.3-octave)
Marimba 4 (5.0-octave)
Timpani (4 drums)
Bass Guitar
Drum Set
Percussion 1: Suspended Cymbal, Finger Cymbals, Mark Tree
Percussion 2: Suspended Cymbal, Triangle, Shaker, Rainstick, Concert Bass Drum

Program Notes
Founded in 1976 by James and Frances Dutton, Birch Creek Music Performance Center is a summer music camp in Egg Harbor, WI. I was lucky to teach at Birch Creek for several years, always coming away with a sense of awe from my two-week stints in Door County.

In 2021 the Percussion Program Director, Dan Moore, asked me if I would be willing to write a piece for the faculty ensemble as well as some select students to perform for the James Dutton Memorial Concert. I recalled a chorale we had performed a few years prior by James’s son, Jon, called Summer Mood, and thought it would be a touching tribute to use material from that chorale as the main themes for this new work.

Door County Summers is meant to reflect the many fond memories I have of my time at Birch Creek and is dedicated to all the students and faculty that have been lucky enough to perform on a stage in an old barn in Door County, WI.

– B.N.

Iowa Percussion, Dan Moore, director