Dancing Under the Stars

I am pleased to announce that my new work for young band “Dancing Under the Stars” will be released this summer by Bandworks Publications. This works is intended for a Junior High or Middle School Concert Band. I have always admired people with the courage to “dance like no one is watching”, and this piece is somewhat analogous to that idea both musically and metaphorically. I don’t consider this work to be a real departure from my stylistic writing habits (flutes are high, tubas are low… ;^)), but I made attempts to write in a manner that included moments of interplay across the ensemble to offer a change in texture. Performing in the arts requires tremendous courage – we can be wrong in single moment, just as easily as we can be right – and young musicians can feel that pressure very easily. Conductors must inspire their students to “play like no one is listening”, play for joy and innocence, and be courageous in all their performing endeavors. There are a couple of instances where the ensemble can be paired down to just a few players on a part, though it works just fine with all players contributing. A preview recording is now up on my composition page, or you can check out the recording posted by Bandworks Publications on YouTube. My thanks goes out to the Westminster College Wind Ensemble for making the recording, and for my personal mix-master Ryan Dore for cleaning up the audio!