To the Mountaintop (Band Gr. 4.5)

Experience the grandeur of the mountains of North Carolina through this exceptional work for wind band. Commissioned by the Wachovia Winds Youth Wind Ensemble as part of a series to write new music for North Carolina bands, To the Mountaintop was composed to represent the more difficult literature available for bands and has already been performed by several high schools and colleges across the state.

Genre: Band | # of Players: Standard
Series: Ruby Band Series
Level: 4.5 | Duration: 6:15

Instrumentation
Conductor's Score (11x17)

Piccolo
Flute 1
Flute 2
Oboe 1
Oboe 2
Bassoon 1
Bassoon 2
B-flat Clarinet 1
B-flat Clarinet 2
B-flat Clarinet 3
Bas Clarinet
Alto Saxophone 1
Alto Saxophone 2
Tenor Saxophone
Baritone Saxophone

B-flat Trumpet 1
B-flat Trumpet 2
B-flat Trumpet 3
F Horn 1
F Horn 2
F Horn 3
F Horn 4
Trombone 1
Trombone 2
Trombone 3
Euphonium
B-flat Baritone T.C.
Tuba

Timpani (4 drums)
Keyboard Percussion 1: Glockenspiel
Keyboard Percussion 2: Xylophone, Marimba, Xylophone
Percussion 1: Snare Drum, Bass Drum
Percussion 2: Suspended Cymbal, Crash Cymbals, Tambourine, Cabasa, Mark Tree
Percussion 3: Triangle, Congas, Claves, 4 Concert Toms

Program Notes
Many times when I begin a new composition, I have no idea where to begin. To the Mountaintop falls into that category. It was commissioned by the Wachovia Winds Youth Wind Ensemble for the North Carolina Concert Band Music Consortium, and the only mandatory inclusion was the connection to North Carolina. But how did I want to connect North Carolina? I decided that rather than use a famous melody or style of music with roots here, I would create something connected to me, personally, and why I love the state I have always called home. And if I could choose anywhere to be in North Carolina, it would be the mountains. My piece, To the Mountaintop, is the aural representation of what I see and feel when I visit the wonder and beauty of our mountains in North Carolina.

–B.W.T.