Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
The New Rockford-Sheyenne High School band is working on a brand new piece of music, "The Steam Powered Rocket," which launches in just eight days.
Dr. Kyle Vanderburg, Assistant Professor of Practice and Composer in Residence at NDSU's Challey School of Music, approached NR-S Band Director Annette Hovey about composing a piece specifically for her band.
Hovey's son Nick, a 2018 graduate of NR-S, is a student composer and vocal music education major studying under Vanderburg at NDSU. "We have several NR-S alums here and they're all great musicians," Vanderburg noted, adding that he connected with NR-S through Hovey.
Vanderburg's aim was to compose a piece that reflected the community, so he conducted research on New Rockford.
"I think that the music we write in North Dakota should be tied to what we do here, so I try to write things here that can be enjoyed everywhere but has a connection to here," he said.
He was first inspired by the Central North Dakota Steam Threshers Reunion, as he had recently finished working on a printing project using 1880s Chandler and Price press equipment operated at the Braddock Threshing Bee. With that, he decided he definitely wanted to incorporate steam.
The other source of inspiration for the piece was the NR-S mascot, the Rocket. Vanderburg's imagination wandered to "what space travel might look like if rocket technology emerged several decades earlier. What might a steam-powered rocket sound like?" he posited.
The result is a composition that not only honors the past but also envisions what could be. The piece has three distinct sections, and is put together like a space mission. Listeners can expect a chaotic "liftoff" and "landing" with a calm, choral-like "orbit" in between.
There are plenty of unique sounds not typically heard in a concert band piece. Hovey noted the "fixed electronics" that begin counting down to take-off at the beginning, which the musicians play over. Vanderburg says to make those sounds he played with a technique called a "Shepard Tone."
"Since nobody knows what a steam-powered rocket would sound like, I tried out a lot of sounds," Vanderburg said. The musicians themselves get in on the fun too, using whistles and shakers to mimic steam power, and everyone gets to make "SHH" sounds to replicate pressure relief.
The small band of 13 members initially posed a composition challenge for Vanderburg, but that certainly didn't deter him. "I decided to use the opportunity to write a piece for "flex band," sometimes called flexible instrumentation or adaptable instrumentation," he said. "Basically, it's a piece of music that can be reconfigured based on the instruments that are available."
For example, Hovey said the score calls for a jawbone, which is literally made from the jaw of a donkey. This natural rattle instrument has its roots in South and Central American music. However, the NR-S band will use the guiro (pronounced wē - rō), a French island instrument made of a serrated gourd, to create the sound.
The NR-S Concert Band will premier "The Steam Powered Rocket" at the Region 5 Large Group Contest, which will be held in Carrington on the afternoon of Tuesday, March 15. The public is welcome to attend and listen to any and all of the performances. Both the high school band and choir at each school in the region is invited to compete.
The large group contest kicks off the busy spring season for the NR-S music department. The schedule is listed below. The public is welcome to attend all events and performances.
NR-S Spring Music
Calendar
Tuesday, March 15
Region 5 Large Group Contest
Carrington High School
Wednesday, April 6
Region 5 Solo & Ensemble Contest
Valley City State University
Saturday, May 7
State Class B Music Festival
Minot State University
Tuesday, May 17
JH and HS Spring Concert
NR-S Gymnasium
