Golden Ridge
(for wind orchestra)
by Jeff Album – adapted & arranged for wind orchestra by Robert Lennon
Golden Ridge is by the Seattle-based composer Jeff Album, whose concert music is lyrical and broadly romantic in idiom, with the long-breathed melodic writing and harmonic warmth of film scoring behind it. The piece moves between quietly scored passages and full-ensemble climaxes.
Performance Details
Duration: 5 minutes approx.
Difficulty: Moderate / Difficult
Instrumentation
Piccolo
Flutes 1 & 2
Oboes 1 & 2
Clarinets 1, 2 & 3 in B♭
Alto Saxophones 1 & 2
Tenor Saxophones 1 & 2
Baritone Saxophone*
Bassoons 1 & 2
4 Horns in F
3 Trumpets in B♭
2 Trombones
Bass Trombone
2 Euphoniums
2 Tubas
Timpani
Glockenspiel
Tubular Bells**
Clashed Cymbals
Suspended Cymbal
Double Bass
Notes: * Cues provided for alternative instruments or doubled. ** Single tubular bell required – C4.
Listen and follow the score on YouTube;
A contemporary work, and one your audience will not have heard before
Golden Ridge began as a piece for solo piano. Robert Lennon’s earlier arrangement of it for piano and orchestra was recorded by the Budapest Symphony Orchestra. This wind orchestra version does without the solo piano part — hence adapted as well as arranged.
The Arrangement
Scored for standard wind orchestra with string bass. The lyrical passages are carried by the woodwinds, with solos for oboe, clarinet and flute; the climaxes rest on the brass, and there is substantial writing for the trombone section. The string bass runs throughout rather than serving as an occasional doubling.
For Conductors and Programmers
Golden Ridge will take a feature, centrepiece or closing position in a programme, for more advanced wind ensembles and symphonic bands. It is accessible on first hearing, which makes it a lower risk than most unfamiliar contemporary repertoire.
Want to look at the score first?
A full perusal score is available free, with no obligation — everything you need to decide whether this belongs in your programme.
Full score & set of parts $55
(Downloadable PDF format – 1 full score, A3 size plus set of 37 parts, A4)
Purchase orders from schools and colleges accepted
If you’re considering this for a programme and want to talk it through, get in touch — happy to discuss.