CONCERT BAND/wind ensemble
The Distant Band for Solo Brass Quintet and Wind Ensemble2026
Duration: ca. 21 minutes
Grade:5-6
Instrumentation:
Solo Brass Quintet (2 Trumpets, Horn, Trombone, Tuba), Piccolo, 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, English Horn, E flat Clarinet, 6 Clarinets, Bass Clarinet, Contrabass Clarinet, 2 Bassoons, Contrabassoon, Soprano Sax, Alto Sax, Tenor Sax, Bari Sax, 4 Horns, 6 Trumpets, 2 Trombones, Bass Trombone, 2 Euphoniums, 2 Tubas, String Bass, Piano, Harp, Timpani, Percussion (Glock., Tubular Bells, Vibes, Snare Drum, Piatti, Sus. Cymbal, Tambourine, Triangle, Bass Drum)
Notes: This is the first piece I’ve written where I had the title before I wrote a note. “The Distant Band” came to me when I first started thinking about the sound of a piece for solo brass quintet and wind ensemble. Something about that sound world reminded me of playing horn in the Golden Gate Park band when I was in high school. I imagined walking into the park, which is very large, hearing the sound of the band from far away and being drawn to it. I decided the piece would be about the journey to that distant band.
But as I worked, I realized that this preordained story was inhibiting my creativity. So, I decided to let it go and just follow my musical instincts without concern for whether or not those choices conformed to a narrative.
After finishing the piece, I tried to understand what I had created. I realized that it was still about being drawn to distant music except that now the journey was punctuated by my formative musical experiences. Memories from music I heard or concerts I played: The Beatles, the first time I heard the end of Mahler 1, playing the Pines of Rome and the Rite of Spring and many others. Recently it has been studying the masterpiece of the wind ensemble repertoire: Lincolnshire Posy by Percy Grainger. Those experiences triggered a large palette of emotions for me.
I see now that “The Distant Band” is a kaleidoscope of reminiscences - a more abstract journey. These are not quotes, instead they are sounds that emanate from my early, natural, connection to music, something at the core of my being.
The piece is in two parts and is based on three themes. The first part ends just after a solo played by the horn in the solo quintet which is followed by three quiet timpani notes. A short break in the music there seemed appropriate. The first of the themes is heard in the opening, played by harp, piano and timpani. It later comes back in a more compressed form played by the entire ensemble. The second theme is a chorale also heard in the opening, played first by the solo quintet. This theme is repeated a number of times. In the first part of the piece it is played by the whole ensemble in a way that is less recognizable. The last theme does not appear until the second half of the piece and that one is the foundation for the finale.
One of the challenges of writing this piece was that the timbre of the solo instruments is the same as the large brass section of the wind ensemble. Five solo brass could easily be overwhelmed by that larger force. For this reason, the brass section hardly plays for the first half of the piece. When they finally arrive, you will notice a real change in sound.
Maybe this music will remind you of a journey you have taken to be closer to something very dear to you, like me and my musical memories. I hope so, and I hope you enjoy the piece.
I am so honored that Seraph Brass, Maestro Junkin and the Dallas Winds asked me to write this piece. Thank you to them and to the members of the commissioning consortium who will be performing the work over the next year (in alphabetical order):
Saratoga High School, Michael Boitz, Performing Arts, Department Chair
University of Nevada at Las Vegas, Thomas Leslie, Director of Wind Band Studies
University of Wyoming, Dr. Matthew Schlomer, Director of Bands
Western Illinois University, Dr. Mike Fansler, Director of Bands
and to my lifelong friend: Michael Gast, Principal Horn, Minnesota Orchestra (retired)
.
With Jerry Junkin and Seraph Brass following the premiere on April 14, 2026 in the Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas.
First Dance2023
Duration: ca. 5:45 minutes
Grade:3-4
Instrumentation:
Piccolo, 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 3 Clarinets, Bass Clarinet, 2 Bassoons, 2 Alto Saxes, Tenor Sax, Bari Sax, 2 Horns, 3 Trumpets, 3 Trombones, Euphonium, Tuba, Timpani, Percussion (Glockenspiel, Snare Drum, Piatti, Triangle, Finger Cymbals, Bass Drum)
Notes: First Dance is inspired by memories of my first thrilling experiences playing in bands. Among them, I remember playing the Pines of Romes with the California All-State Band in 1975. In the performance, when the conductor turned around to cue the offstage brass at the back of the hall, I was so excited, it might as well have been the Chicago Symphony. That feeling, and others like it, have stayed with me all my life.
With those feelings present, I composed this music. My hope is that another young musician will have a similar experience while performing First Dance.
A Call To Honor2019 (revised 2022)
Duration: ca. 3.5 minutes
Grade:5
Instrumentation:
3 Flutes (3. Piccolo), 2 Oboes, 3 Clarinets, Bass Clarinet, 2 Bassoons, 2 Alto Saxes, Tenor Sax, Bari Sax, 4 Horns, 8 Trumpets, 3 Trombones, Bass Trombone, 2 Euphoniums, 3 Tubas, Timpani, Percussion (Large Snare Drum, Piccolo Snare Drum, Piatti, Bass Drum)
Notes: A Call To Honor is inspired by my belief in the majesty and truth of our Constitution and our democracy. Our entire system of government is based on the fundamental idea that we are all created equal. It is that goal, and the noble ideas that naturally flow from it, that animate this music.
A Call To Honor was premiered on May 29, 2022 by the "President's Own" United States Marine Band at Wolf Trap in Washington DC, conducted by Colonel Jason Fettig.
Available from C. Alan Publications.
A Call To Honor with the USMB at Wolf Trap
with Colonel Jason Fettig and the USMB
Water Makes The Rim Grow Distant2022
Duration: ca. 15 minutes
Grade:5
Instrumentation:
3 Flutes (3. Piccolo), 2 Oboes, English Horn (doubling Oboe), 3 Clarinets (4 on a part), Bass Clarinet, 3 Bassoons (3rd doubling Contrabassoon), 2 Alto Saxes, Tenor Sax, Bari Sax, 4 Horns, 3 Trumpets (2 on a part, all doubling Cornet), 2 Trombones, Bass Trombone, 2 Euphoniums, 2 Tubas, String Bass, Harp, Timpani, Percussion (Glöckenspiel, Crotales, Bell Tree, Large Snare Drum, Bass Drum, Tubular Bells)
Notes: Water Makes The Rim Grow Distant is inspired by my experiences backpacking from the north rim of the Grand Canyon. The title is from a wonderful book about the geology of the canyon, Hiking The Grand Canyon's Geology, by Lon Abbott and Terri Cook. That poetic phrase descibes the process of scarp retreat, whereby erosion, pebble by pebble, caused by underground springs emerging through the side of the canyon, eventually causes large slabs of rock to collapse. Over time, the canyon is widened and the rim of the canyon grows more distant.
As a guide, leading backpacking trips for REI, I have seen the many moods of the canyon. The overpowering beauty of the environment, the fragility of the ecosystems, the remants of the peoples who once lived there and the always nagging sense of danger that underlies it all.
This piece is a representation of the emotions that flow from all of that and that linger with me always.
Title used by permission of The Mountaineers Books.
WMTRGD, short video
Skyscrapers2022
Duration: ca. 5 minutes
Grade:5
Instrumentation:
2 Flutes, Piccolo, 2 Oboes, English Horn, E flat Clarinet, 3 Clarinets (4 players on each part), Bass Clarinet, Contra Alto Clarinet, 2 Bassoons, Contrabasson, 2 Alto Saxes, Tenor Sax, Baritone Sax, 3 Trumpets (2 players on each part), 4 Horns, 2 Trombones, Bass Trombone, 2 Euphoniums, 2 Tubas, Timpani
Percussion:
Wind Gong, Snare Drums (4), Triangle, Tubular Bells, Bass Drum, Tom-toms (3), Tambourine, Piatti, Glöckenspiel, Brake Drum, Tam-tam, Opera Gong, Agogo Bells
Solemn March2022
Duration: ca. 3.5 minutes
Grade:3
Instrumentation:
2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, English Horn, 3 Clarinets (4 players on each part), Bass Clarinet, 2 Bassoons, 2 Alto Saxes, Tenor Sax, Bari Sax, 4 Horns, 3 Trumpets (2 players on each part), 2 Trombones, Bass Trombone, 2 Euphoniums, 2 Tubas, Timpani, Percussion (Piatti, Snare Drum, Bass Drum)
Noble Redwoods 2022
Duration:ca. 4:30
Grade:3
Instrumentation:
2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, English Horn, 3 Clarinets, Bass Clarinet, 2 Bassoons, 2 Alto Saxes, Tenor Sax, Bari Sax, 4 Horns, 3 Trumpets, 2 Trombones, Bass Trombone, 2 Euphoniums, 2 Tubas, Timpani
Walk Of Honor2023
Duration:ca. 5:00
Grade:2
Instrumentation:
2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, English Horn, 3 Clarinets, Bass Clarinet, 2 Bassoons, 2 Alto Saxes, Tenor Sax, Bari Sax, 4 Horns, 2 Cornets, Flügelhorn, 2 Trombones, Bass Trombone, 2 Euphoniums, 2 Tubas, Glöckenspiel
Note:
This piece is inspired by the ceremony that honors organ donors. Family, friends and hospital staff line the hallways and pay tribute to the donor as they are wheeled to the operating room to donate their organs.
