Prairiescapes Concerto for Trombone & Wind Band
Trombonist Benjamin Yates and composer Katherine Bergman are pleased to announce a new consortium commission for the creation of a wind band arrangement of Prairiescapes, a trombone concerto originally composed for trombone with symphony orchestra.
Details
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About the Concerto
Prairiescapes explores three distinct Iowa landscapes, delving into the history and variety of landscapes throughout the state, and imagining what the land looked like hundreds or even thousands of years ago.
Before Iowa was settled and plowed, over 80% of the state was covered in tallgrass prairie. Today, native prairie only covers less than one tenth of a percent of Iowa’s landscape. The first movement of Prairiescapes depicts what the land would have looked like before farming took hold. Flowing repeated patterns bring forth images of bright, colorful grasses and wildflowers as far as you can see, blowing in the wind like waves in the sea.
The second movement explores the Loess Hills, situated along Iowa’s western border. The hills were formed over thousands of years by wind blowing very fine soil called loess into tall hills and mounds. An extremely rare landscape, the only other place in the world with hills made of loess that are as high as these is in Eastern China. The movement begins with wind sounds coming from the brass section as the music mimics the soil drifting upward and then packing down to form hills. The trombone then begins traveling up and down over the grass-covered hills.
The third movement takes inspiration from the Driftless Region in Iowa’s northeast corner. The Driftless Region has a very distinctive terrain because it was not covered in ice during the last ice age, and therefore lacks the deposits of silt, gravel, and rock—called glacial drift—that glaciers leave behind. This created a vastly different landscape from the surrounding areas, with steep hills, forested ridges, deeply carved river valleys, spring-fed waterfalls, and cold-water trout streams. The movement begins with a triumphant feeling of overlooking the landscape before becoming more jagged and taking swift turns in different directions. Suddenly, the music drops down a rocky cliff-face and floats down a trout stream. Remnants of tallgrass prairie themes from the first movement sneak in like patches of prairie sitting atop cliffs or in valleys.
Prairiescapes was originally commissioned by Benjamin Yates and the Oneota Valley Community Orchestra in 2021 and is also available for trombone and piano.
Before Iowa was settled and plowed, over 80% of the state was covered in tallgrass prairie. Today, native prairie only covers less than one tenth of a percent of Iowa’s landscape. The first movement of Prairiescapes depicts what the land would have looked like before farming took hold. Flowing repeated patterns bring forth images of bright, colorful grasses and wildflowers as far as you can see, blowing in the wind like waves in the sea.
The second movement explores the Loess Hills, situated along Iowa’s western border. The hills were formed over thousands of years by wind blowing very fine soil called loess into tall hills and mounds. An extremely rare landscape, the only other place in the world with hills made of loess that are as high as these is in Eastern China. The movement begins with wind sounds coming from the brass section as the music mimics the soil drifting upward and then packing down to form hills. The trombone then begins traveling up and down over the grass-covered hills.
The third movement takes inspiration from the Driftless Region in Iowa’s northeast corner. The Driftless Region has a very distinctive terrain because it was not covered in ice during the last ice age, and therefore lacks the deposits of silt, gravel, and rock—called glacial drift—that glaciers leave behind. This created a vastly different landscape from the surrounding areas, with steep hills, forested ridges, deeply carved river valleys, spring-fed waterfalls, and cold-water trout streams. The movement begins with a triumphant feeling of overlooking the landscape before becoming more jagged and taking swift turns in different directions. Suddenly, the music drops down a rocky cliff-face and floats down a trout stream. Remnants of tallgrass prairie themes from the first movement sneak in like patches of prairie sitting atop cliffs or in valleys.
Prairiescapes was originally commissioned by Benjamin Yates and the Oneota Valley Community Orchestra in 2021 and is also available for trombone and piano.
Click to peruse the orchestral score and listen below to versions for trombone + piano and trombone + orchestra.
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About the Composer
Katherine Bergman is a Minnesota-based composer who draws on nature, environmentalism, and the intersection between art and science to create music described as hypnotic and visceral. She has received commissions and performances from leading ensembles throughout the United States and abroad, including the U.S. Coast Guard Band, Estonian Police and Border Guard Orchestra, Hub New Music, Zeitgeist, Unheard-of Ensemble, Seen/Heard Trio, Nautilus Music-Theater, and many others.
Katherine’s music for band, orchestra, and chamber ensembles is frequently performed at concert halls, festivals, conferences, school band rooms, and national parks. Her work has been presented at ISCM World Music Days, The Midwest Clinic, North American Saxophone Alliance Conferences, College Band Directors National Association Conferences, IDRS, The Upper Midwest Chamber Winds Symposium, and the Liquid Music Concert Series. Her compositions have received support from the Minnesota State Arts Board, the Jerome Foundation, the Metro Regional Arts Council, and New Music USA.
Katherine holds a master’s degree from the University of Northern Iowa School of Music, where she studied composition with Jonathan Schwabe and Alan Schmitz. She earned a bachelor’s degree in music from Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, Minnesota with composition instructors including Michele Gillman and Steve Wright. She has studied extensively with Mary Ellen Childs, and has received individual instruction from Samuel Adler.
Her work is published under Katherine Bergman Music, and her compositions for large ensemble are distributed by Murphy Music Press. Katherine is Co-Founder and Artistic Director of the Minnesota Winds, a professional concert band with a vision to embrace the dynamic energy and inclusive culture of school band and bring it to the professional level.
Katherine’s music for band, orchestra, and chamber ensembles is frequently performed at concert halls, festivals, conferences, school band rooms, and national parks. Her work has been presented at ISCM World Music Days, The Midwest Clinic, North American Saxophone Alliance Conferences, College Band Directors National Association Conferences, IDRS, The Upper Midwest Chamber Winds Symposium, and the Liquid Music Concert Series. Her compositions have received support from the Minnesota State Arts Board, the Jerome Foundation, the Metro Regional Arts Council, and New Music USA.
Katherine holds a master’s degree from the University of Northern Iowa School of Music, where she studied composition with Jonathan Schwabe and Alan Schmitz. She earned a bachelor’s degree in music from Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, Minnesota with composition instructors including Michele Gillman and Steve Wright. She has studied extensively with Mary Ellen Childs, and has received individual instruction from Samuel Adler.
Her work is published under Katherine Bergman Music, and her compositions for large ensemble are distributed by Murphy Music Press. Katherine is Co-Founder and Artistic Director of the Minnesota Winds, a professional concert band with a vision to embrace the dynamic energy and inclusive culture of school band and bring it to the professional level.