Pioneer's Quest

Pioneer's Quest
Grade 3
Time: 6:30
Composed by: Chandler L. Wilson (ASCAP)
Commissioned by Florida State University Summer Music Camps

Pioneer’s Quest is the result of a commission project by the Florida State University Summer
Music Camps. The work is centered around the westward expansion. As a young kid, I grew up playing the classic game “Oregon Trail." Since then, I have always found the expansion of the West interesting.

It began in 1803, through a treaty negotiated with France in which the United States paid France for the Louisiana Territory, which was 828,000 square miles of land just west of the Mississippi River. After the treaty was signed, President Thomas Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to find a route to the Pacific Ocean. They returned three years later, with their mission completed, in 1806.

This work reflects that journey to the Pacific Ocean in three movements.

Movement One (Giddy Up!) - represents the beginning and excitement of the adventure west.

Movement Two (Stony Ground) – reflects the harshness of the journey itself. Although they
eventually made it, many of their discovery corps did not make it due to weather, health, and nature.

Movement Three (New Beginnings) – presents the excitement of their arrival and knowing that their quest is complete.

Grade 3

Time: 6:30