Grey Snow March

Wind ensemble

In 2016, I received a commission from an old friend who I toiled with in my undergrad learning to be a music educator, Mr. Dusty Johnson; he wanted me to write something for his wonderful middle school band in Tipton, Iowa. He’s a fantastic teacher and human being, and the place where he taught is only about 30 minutes away from the town in Iowa where most of my extended family is from, Muscatine, so I jumped at the chance to write him something. The result was a piece whose title references the Native American tribe Dusty’s home state of Iowa is named after.

“Ioway” was the name other tribes gave them; they actually referred to themselves using the Chiwere term, “Bah-Kho-Je,” which translates roughly to “grey snow.” Anyone who’s driven the state in the winter understands why that’s an apt way to refer to the beautiful land they held dear at the time.

In 1837, they were moved by the federal government far away to reservations in present-day Kansas and Nebraska, but also have a presence in Oklahoma.

Grey Snow March was commissioned by the Tipton Middle School Band (Dusty Johnson, conductor).

Performed by the University of Texas at Austin Wind Ensemble
(Dr. Jerry Junkin, conductor).