Taming the Tasman for Brass Band
Taming the Tasman – Dale Vail
Format: Digital Download (PDF + Audio Track)
Instrumentation: British-Style Brass Band
Difficulty: A Grade / Championship Level
Taming the Tasman is a powerful original work in three movements, written for advanced brass band. With strong jazz influences, a continuous drum kit part, and rich emotional depth, the piece explores the migratory journey of birds across the Tasman Sea between New Zealand and Australia—a metaphor that also carries autobiographical meaning for the composer.
Each movement portrays a distinct chapter in this journey:
I. Stormheart – An urgent and rhythmically charged opening movement. Surging brass lines and driving percussion evoke the turbulence and danger of the Tasman crossing, setting the tone with relentless energy.
II. Silent Echoes – A stark contrast in mood, this meditative movement is underscored by a recorded track of birdsong and features a poignant Tenor Horn cadenza, and jazz trumpet solo. It evokes isolation, memory, contrasted by defiant swagger, capturing both the stillness of open skies and the will to go on.
III. Broken Wing – The final movement reflects fragility and defiance. It combines lyrical solos and fractured rhythms, suggesting injury, perseverance, and the bittersweet cost of passage.
Included in your purchase:
Full Score (PDF)
Complete Set of Parts (PDF)
Transposed Parts for Horns in F (optional)
Transposed Parts for Low Brass in C (Bass Clef) (optional)
Birdsong Audio Track (MP3) for use in performance
Both programmatic and personal, Taming the Tasman is a substantial and expressive work suited for contest performance or as a centrepiece in a major concert program. It challenges the ensemble while offering a uniquely evocative musical narrative.
Taming the Tasman – Dale Vail
Format: Digital Download (PDF + Audio Track)
Instrumentation: British-Style Brass Band
Difficulty: A Grade / Championship Level
Taming the Tasman is a powerful original work in three movements, written for advanced brass band. With strong jazz influences, a continuous drum kit part, and rich emotional depth, the piece explores the migratory journey of birds across the Tasman Sea between New Zealand and Australia—a metaphor that also carries autobiographical meaning for the composer.
Each movement portrays a distinct chapter in this journey:
I. Stormheart – An urgent and rhythmically charged opening movement. Surging brass lines and driving percussion evoke the turbulence and danger of the Tasman crossing, setting the tone with relentless energy.
II. Silent Echoes – A stark contrast in mood, this meditative movement is underscored by a recorded track of birdsong and features a poignant Tenor Horn cadenza, and jazz trumpet solo. It evokes isolation, memory, contrasted by defiant swagger, capturing both the stillness of open skies and the will to go on.
III. Broken Wing – The final movement reflects fragility and defiance. It combines lyrical solos and fractured rhythms, suggesting injury, perseverance, and the bittersweet cost of passage.
Included in your purchase:
Full Score (PDF)
Complete Set of Parts (PDF)
Transposed Parts for Horns in F (optional)
Transposed Parts for Low Brass in C (Bass Clef) (optional)
Birdsong Audio Track (MP3) for use in performance
Both programmatic and personal, Taming the Tasman is a substantial and expressive work suited for contest performance or as a centrepiece in a major concert program. It challenges the ensemble while offering a uniquely evocative musical narrative.
Taming the Tasman – Dale Vail
Format: Digital Download (PDF + Audio Track)
Instrumentation: British-Style Brass Band
Difficulty: A Grade / Championship Level
Taming the Tasman is a powerful original work in three movements, written for advanced brass band. With strong jazz influences, a continuous drum kit part, and rich emotional depth, the piece explores the migratory journey of birds across the Tasman Sea between New Zealand and Australia—a metaphor that also carries autobiographical meaning for the composer.
Each movement portrays a distinct chapter in this journey:
I. Stormheart – An urgent and rhythmically charged opening movement. Surging brass lines and driving percussion evoke the turbulence and danger of the Tasman crossing, setting the tone with relentless energy.
II. Silent Echoes – A stark contrast in mood, this meditative movement is underscored by a recorded track of birdsong and features a poignant Tenor Horn cadenza, and jazz trumpet solo. It evokes isolation, memory, contrasted by defiant swagger, capturing both the stillness of open skies and the will to go on.
III. Broken Wing – The final movement reflects fragility and defiance. It combines lyrical solos and fractured rhythms, suggesting injury, perseverance, and the bittersweet cost of passage.
Included in your purchase:
Full Score (PDF)
Complete Set of Parts (PDF)
Transposed Parts for Horns in F (optional)
Transposed Parts for Low Brass in C (Bass Clef) (optional)
Birdsong Audio Track (MP3) for use in performance
Both programmatic and personal, Taming the Tasman is a substantial and expressive work suited for contest performance or as a centrepiece in a major concert program. It challenges the ensemble while offering a uniquely evocative musical narrative.