Michael Daugherty: RIO GRANDE for Symphonic Band (Score)

Publisher: Michael Daugherty Music
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Duration: 9:34

Program Note:
Rio Grande (2015) for symphonic band was commissioned by the University of North Texas (Eugene Migliaro Corporon) and a consortium consisting of the CBDNA North Central Division Intercollegiate Band (James Popejoy), Clovis North Educational Center (David Lesser), De Pauw University (Craig Pare), Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra’s Wind Symphony (Nicholas Williams), Lone Star Wind Orchestra, Limestone College (Patrick K. Carney), Luther College (Joan de Albuquerque), Messiah College (Brad Genevro), Ohio University (Andy Tracsel), Pacific Lutheran University (Ed Powell), Rockwall Heath High School (Andrew Tucker), Sam Houston State University (Matthew McInturf), San Diego State University (Shannon Kitelinger), South Carolina Intercollegiate Band (Doug Presley), Texas A&M University-Commerce (Phillip Clements), Texas Tech University (Sarah McCoin), University of Michigan (Michael Haithcock), University of North Dakota (James Popejoy), University of Sydney (John Lynch), University of Texas-Austin (Jerry Junkin) and University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley Brownsville (Albert Lo).

The world premiere was given by the North Texas Wind Symphony, conducted by Eugene Migliaro Corporon, at the University of North Texas, Murchison Performing Arts Center, Denton, Texas on October 22, 2015. Duration is 9:30 minutes.

I have composed concert music inspired by American landscapes such as Niagara Falls (1997) for symphonic band, Route 66 (1996) for orchestra, Gees Bend (2009) for electric guitar and orchestra, Mount Rushmore (2010) for choir and orchestra, Lost Vegas for orchestra (2011) or symphonic band (2011) and Reflections on the Mississippi for tuba and orchestra (2013) or symphonic band (2015). I continue my exploration of creating unique aural landscapes with Rio Grande for orchestra (2015) or symphonic band (2015).

Rio Grande is a 1,250-mile river that flows from the mountains of southern Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico near Brownsville, Texas. The river forms a natural boundary between the United States and Mexico as it winds its way through El Paso, Texas down to Big Bend National Park. It is at Big Bend, one of the largest, most arid and remote areas of the United States, that one experiences the magical canyons and spectacular rock formations that line the “Big River,” known in Mexico as “Rio Bravo.”

In my Rio Grande for symphonic band, I have composed a dynamic, expansive musical landscape that is stark, haunting, agitated and majestic. The percussion section, comprised of timpani, bongos, woodblocks, tom-toms and bass drums, creates a rhythmic undercurrent to an angular motif, first heard in the woodwinds, which emerges high above the musical precipice. This jagged motif is passed on to individual instruments, such as the tuba, and eventually in various colorful guises to the entire symphonic band. Reminding us of the long cultural history associated with the Rio Grande, we also hear ghostly Mexican mariachi music echoing faraway through the canyons. In the coda, I combine all the musical material heard throughout the composition to create a majestic ending to our journey down the timeless Rio Grande.

--Michael Daugherty


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