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Student Guide
By Robert Buckley
Lesson Goals:
1. Students will perform sections of Walking to the Sky with improved tone, articulation,
and alignment while also being challenged to assess and offer suggestions to their peers
2. Students will perform A section melody with improved tone and intonation.
3. Students will differentiate articulation styles in WTTS by comparing air support and
articulation word references.
4. Students will aurally analyze what sections play certain parts of the piece.
5. Students will be able to perform all transitions between differing section of style with
immediate response to style appropriation
6. Students will perform the last section of WTTS with musical accuracy, alignment, and
correct articulation with word/phrase guidance.
Background Guidance:
Unit 1: Composer
Robert Buckley was born in Brighton, England in 1958. He now divides his time between
Vancouver, Montreal, and Holland. Buckley took up the piano at the age of ten, and he began
composing almost immediately. At the age of twelve he started playing the clarinet inspired by
the opening solo in "Rhapsody In Blue". Soon after that he began playing the saxophone and
flute. He formed various bands in high school for which he wrote music; he also wrote for the
school orchestra, concert band and jazz band. He studied with California composer Hubert Klyne
Headley who exposed him to the twentieth century music of Stravinsky, Bartok, Ravel,
Shostakovich. He studied composition, conducting and arranging at the University of
Washington with American composer William Bergsma and studied electronic music at the
University of British Columbia. His career path has been very diverse including work as a
composer, arranger, performer, producer, recording artist, and conductor. He has created many
albums and hit songs with performing labels such as CBS and A&M. He has also conducted and
arranged for major artists including Michael Buble, Bryan Adams, Celine Dion, Our Lady peace,
Simple Plan, and Aerosmith. For film and television he has composed music for many award
winning shows for Disney, ABC, FOX, CBS, PBS, etc. Robert composed for worldwide events
including the Calgary Olympics, the Victoria Commonwealth Games, the Vancouver Olympics
and the FIFA World Cup Opening Ceremony with Cirque Du Soleil. He composed This Is My
Home for the Canadian Pavilion at the World Expo – a song that has been performed at every
Canada Day since and has become a Canadian tradition. In the concert world, he has composed
and conducted for major symphony orchestras and his symphonic wind band compositions are
being performed worldwide. Recently, he had the honour of recording a CD called
Undercurrents with the renowned Naden Band of the Canadian Navy. His concert music is
published by Hal Leonard.
Unit 2: Composition
Walking to the Sky is just one of Robert Buckley’s many pieces for band. The piece is inspired
by a 100 foot tall sculpture created by Jonathan Borofsky, also entitled Walking to the Sky. The
sculpture creates the illusion of a group of people of all ages, races, and genders walking
skyward into the sky. It was this vision that motivated Buckley to create this piece to “celebrate
humankind’s collective quest for wisdom and transcendence.” Buckley was very inspired by
movie music and movie scoring at the time he wrote this piece. The sudden shifts in dynamics
and unexpected key changes give the piece a certain drama and excitement. There are two main
themes in the piece. One that Buckley describes as “a majestic theme introduced by the low brass
representing the quest,” and the other is “a lyrical theme introduced by the upper woodwinds
representing humanity.”
Peer assessment:
Peer Assessment Prompts
A. Is my partner playing with good tone? How can I help them play with a more
rounded tone?
B. Is my partner playing all the right notes and rhythms?
C. Is my partner playing musically? How would I shape this phrase in my own
playing?
D. Is my partner playing with good posture?
E. Is my partner playing correct articulations? How can I help my partner have more
accurate articulation style?
Self Assessment:
Self Assessment Prompts
A. How is my tone? Is it characteristic of my instrument?
B. Am I playing technically accurate with good beat?
C. How is my phrasing? Does my musicality make sense for this piece?
D. What problems am I having with this piece? How can I solve those problems?