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THE VALLEY OF SHADOWS is a 2022 piece for concert band commissioned by Doug Butchy and the Shenango High School Concert Band. The piece features a large percussion section (as a percussion ensemble) with winds and brass adding coloristic, textural, and melodic components throughout the piece. In addition to the traditional concert percussion instruments, the piece also includes handbells and crystal wine glasses. The title of the piece does not refer to the “Valley of the Shadow of Death” from Psalm 23 but is instead a musical reference to Gustav Mahler’s Ninth Symphony. The first movement of the symphony is marked Schattenhaft, or “shadowy.” Schattenhaft is an important musical texture in Mahler’s Nineth Symphony. It is used to convey a sense of uncertainty and obscurity, as the music shifts between light and darkness.
THE VALLEY OF SHADOWS is a 2022 piece for concert band commissioned by Doug Butchy and the Shenango High School Concert Band. The piece features a large percussion section (as a percussion ensemble) with winds and brass adding coloristic, textural, and melodic components throughout the piece. In addition to the traditional concert percussion instruments, the piece also includes handbells and crystal wine glasses. The title of the piece does not refer to the “Valley of the Shadow of Death” from Psalm 23 but is instead a musical reference to Gustav Mahler’s Ninth Symphony. The first movement of the symphony is marked Schattenhaft, or “shadowy.” Schattenhaft is an important musical texture in Mahler’s Nineth Symphony. It is used to convey a sense of uncertainty and obscurity, as the music shifts between light and darkness.