Composer: Tadd Russo
Piece: And Down the Stretch They Come... (2006)

Notes:

And Down the Stretch They Come... was commissioned by James Dowdy and the Capital University Junior Winds for their performance at the 2007 Ohio Music Educators' Association State Conference in Columbus, Ohio. Though not conceived as program music, the work evokes the thrill of the chase in the final seconds of a horse race. A bombastic theme drives the opening and closing sections, contrasted with hints of pastoral tranquility. Even as the texture relaxes to reveal four soloists, the harmony never rests and continues to propel the band throughout the work. The composer found equine inspiration both in the champion horses who share names with the streets in Dowdy's community, and in Baltimore's Pimlico racetrack--the home of the Preakness.

And Down the Stretch They Come...

Premiere by the Capital University Junior Winds, James Dowdy, Conductor
The 2007 Ohio Music Educators' Association State Convention
Columbus, Ohio
February 8, 2007