Black Hills Gold Rush

In 1874 the Dakota Territory was the site of a massive Gold Rush. The Gold Rush got its start with the Custer Expedition and continued through the next few years. This Gold Rush happened despite the area being recognized as a Native American Territory (the Sioux) and was technically illegal to prospect for gold. This didn't deter fortune seekers, who still flocked to the area in an attempt to locate their share of the precious metal. The whole Gold Rush was started by a small gold discovery near Custer, South Dakota and later larger deposits were found in the town of Deadwood. The history of this area has been immortalized by the HBO series Deadwood. The entire song uses only the first six notes of the Concert B-flat scale, making it a perfect song for beginning bands looking to branch out from method books and into more serious band literature. All wind players have the opportunity to play the melody at some point throughout the song. The song uses 10 unique percussion parts, but is playable with only 5 of these parts, as many are optional or are doubled elsewhere. This song was commissioned by the Brandon Valley Intermediate School 5th Grade Band, Mr. Del Hubers Director