Expedition (to the Superstition Mountains) [Band Gr. 3]

The Superstition Mountains of central Arizona are home to the fabled Lost Dutchman’s gold mine. Expedition depicts an exciting adventure into this unforgiving wilderness. Each section of the band will find opportunities to shine, and the percussion section is featured in the middle.

Genre: Band | # of Players: Standard
Level: 3 | Duration: 3:00

Instrumentation
Flute
Oboe
Bassoon
B-flat Clarinet 1
B-flat Clarinet 2
Bass Clarinet
Alto Saxophone 1
Alto Saxophone 2
Tenor Saxophone
Baritone Saxophone

B-flat Trumpet 1
B-flat Trumpet 2
F Horn
Trombone 1
Trombone 2
Euphonium
B-flat Baritone T.C.
Tuba

Percussion 1: Timpani (3 drums), Chimes, Slapstick
Percussion 2: Bells, Triangle, Wind Chimes
Percussion 3 & 4 [2 players]: Snare Drum, Bass Drum
Percussion 5 & 6 [2 players]: Crash Cymbals, Suspended Cymbal, 3 Concert Toms

Program Notes
The Superstition Mountains of central Arizona are home to the fabled Lost Dutchman’s gold mine. Legend has it that the German immigrant Jacob Waltz discovered a huge cache of gold in this vicinity and then revealed its location on his deathbed back in 1891. Ever since, hundreds of hopeful teams have entered these forbidding mountains in search of the treasure trove. No one is sure if it has ever been found, or if it even existed at all.

Expedition depicts an exciting adventure into the Superstition wilderness. This work exposes students to the Dorian and Lydian modes of the diatonic scale. The main theme uses the F Dorian mode, which is like F natural minor with a major sixth scale degree (F-G-Ab-Bb-C-D-Eb-F). The subordinate theme begins in the Bb Lydian mode, which is like Bf major with a raised fourth scale degree (Bb-C-D-E-F-G-A-Bb), continuing with the Lydian modes of Eb, Ab, and Db before returning to F Dorian once again. Each section of the band will find opportunities to shine, and the percussion section, particularly the concert toms, is featured in the middle.