Tapestries

Traveling to Australia on a direct flight from Dallas to Sydney during the summer of 2018 constituted a seventeen-hour plane ride that began at 10pm at night. (My longest previous air travel from Houston to London was no preparation for this marathon event in the sky!) 

Interestingly, because my husband and I left at 10pm at night and traveled westward, and due to the fact that the earth spins eastward, our plane stayed out of the path of the sunlight until we finally arrived in Sydney at 6am. Ever since, I have found my mind drawn to the idea of how this circumstance is physically achieved. Since typically we all experience the daylight and nighttime as the earth makes its daily rotation, my fascination centers around a plane’s ability to move fast enough to not be taken with the atmosphere, but instead, in essence – to chase light.

Chasing Light was funded by my 2019 Saxophone Quartet Consortium, consisting of the following programs:

Brookhaven College Saxophone Studio – Roy Allen Jr., Director
Nazareth College Saxophone Quartet – Chisato Eda Marling, Director
Quantum Quartet – Mark Smith, Director
The Southern Quartet, Georgia Southern University – Carolyn Bryan, Director
Stetson University Saxophone Studio – Daniel Ferri, Director
Texas A&M University Commerce Saxophone Quartet – Chris Beaty, Director
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Saxophone Quartet – Cynthia Cripps, Director
The University of Texas Tyler Saxophone Quartet – Sarah Roberts, Director
Uproar Duo – Andrew Harrison, Saxophone and Clare Longendyke
The Young Saxophonist’s Institute – Evan Withner and Zachary Woolhouse, Directors

It was recorded is 2022 by the Lonestar Saxophone Quartet:

Joey Resendez: Soprano
Mike Korson: Alto
Matthew Stookey: Tenor
Andrew Martz: Bari

Chasing Light For Saxophone Quartet

For the Love of Pets Concert Band Consortium

Available at haleywoodrow.com

Life Unto the Age

Life Unto The Age

Available at haleywoodrow.com

ABOUT DARK MOUNTAIN
Dark Mountain is a Grade 1 work designed to introduce 3/4 meter and d minor.

The mallet part can be played by multiple players on marimba(s), vibraphone(s), and/or xylophone(s) throughout the work. Alternatively, the snare drum, bass drum, timpanist, or tambourine player can double the mallet part from the beginning through m.16, and then move to their respective instrument for the entrance at m.25.

The timpani part is optional but highly preferred. There is both an advanced snare drum part that includes rolls, as well as a part that does not include rolls. Only one part should be played during performance.

There are optional trills throughout for various instruments. All trills are diatonic half step trills. There are exercises included at the back!

Dark Mountain (Northern Arizona University)

Historically late autumn is a celebration of the end of the harvest, a time to enjoy the fruits of labor, share our abundance with others, and gather to celebrate and exchange our culture and experiences. My goal was to capture the essence of the season, so in the arranging of the two songs in this work, I selected traditional songs with a rich and significant history!

The first song Alabado, is a Spanish word that literally translated means “song of thanksgiving”. The second song, Lac qui Parle is is a tune notated and given lyrics by Joseph Renville, whose mother was Sioux Indian and father was French Canadian. The tune is among the world’s most widely known melodies of American Indian origin, and I included it to honor Native Americans. Lac qui Parle literally translates to “lake that talks”, and in addition to being the name of the song, was a mission in which the Sioux Indians’ Dakota language was written and parts of the Bible were translated.

This composition includes the opportunity to use a variety of “found” percussion, specifically brass bells from home.

Mission Songs will fit any celebratory programs, but especially fall or holiday programs. It is a great way to introduce each instrument group to the audience, and also features the percussion section and every instrument on the melody!

A special thank you to Randy Benton and the Le Mars Community 5th/6th Grade Band for commissioning this work. After thirty eight years of teaching, Mr. Benton premiered Mission Songs in April of 2022 on his very last concert!

Mission Songs

The Scorpion Slayer

For Old Times' Sake

Maoz Tzur

Return

And It Begins (TCU Wind Ensemble)

Big Band Chart featuring tenor sax and trumpet, and a counterpoint soli section.

Something Entirely Different

My effort at a "pop" song for the Texas Christian University Student Filmmakers Association short film "Two of a Kind".

Two Of A Kind

Saxophone Trio composition, available at Murphy Music Press.  http://www.murphymusicpress.com/products/c-128

Three

Winter Light

In Two Places (Florida State University performance)

Although the Concert Band owes its origins to the performance of marches, today, after over one hundred years of repertoire to study from, I found myself asking what in 2019 exactly makes a march, a march? Composers these days freely cross boundaries without apology, as they should – after all, art and music must move forward. So, after reviewing typical characteristics of traditional marches, with their trios, break strains, lively snare and bass drum parts and many melodies, I decided to let myself write uninhibited by past formula, but with a clear homage to the genre of march.
March of the Shadows is my resulting creation for young band, whose title refers to the idea of following (as in my case, following the many composers of march who have come before me), and simultaneously referring to the overall dark, minor mood of the work. The work was commissioned by Consortium Director Matthew Hiller and the Young Band March Project in 2019.

Haley Woodrow

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