Flight of the Hawks

by
Alex Eddington

Ensemble: Concert Band

Grade: 2

Duration: 04:15

Year of Composition: 2015

Commissioned by: Ottawa-Carleton District School Board/University of Ottawa

Premiered by: Heritage P.S. Band (Jennifer Stewart, conductor)

Date of Premiere: May, 2015

Publisher: self-published

Available: Yes

How to Acquire: Composer, Purchase

Links:

Web Page

Sample Audio

Perusal Score 

Instrumentation

Flute
Oboe
B♭ Clarinets 1,2
B♭ Bass Clarinet
E♭ Alto Sax
B♭ Tenor Sax
E♭ Baritone Sax
B♭ Trumpets 1,2
F Horn
Trombone
Baritone / Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass / Electric Bass

Mallets: Bells, Xylophone
Timpani (3)
Percussion 1: Wind Chimes, Vibraslap, Drum Kit (Snare Drum, 3 Tom-toms, Bass Drum)
Percussion 2: Wind Chimes, Vibraslap, Suspended or Ride Cymbal, Anvil or Brake Drum


Program Notes:

When I was commissioned to write a new piece for the Heritage Public School band in Navan, I looked for a way to celebrate their school as well as their lovely part of Ontario in the National Capital Region. The Heritage school mascot is a hawk, and I happen to be a bird lover.

Red-tailed hawks are the most common raptor in Ontario, so I began to imagine a piece that would capture the majesty of the bird – and the fierce dedication of Heritage students. Flight of the Hawks contains two musical “scenes”. In the first section of the piece, the red-tails are soaring high above the land. In the second section the hawks are in full hunting mode, diving after prey with their claws extended.

The distinctive call of the red-tailed hawk is a sound that most people have heard, sometimes without realising. Film and TV sound designers often use their cry as a stand-in for other birds of prey, like bald eagles, who don’t actually sound as majestic as they look. I brought recordings of red-tail calls to Navan school and asked the students to try to reproduce them on their instruments. The resulting “hawk call” effects for flute, oboe (or alto sax), percussion, and even the full band found their way into the piece. I’d like to thank the students of Heritage Public School, and music teacher Jennifer Stewart, for their invaluable contributions to this fun (and majestic, and ferocious) piece of music.

(Program note by Alex Eddington)