Choosing a Direction

Normally beginning a new composition is an exciting time for me.  After choosing the ensemble I am faced with a myriad of possibilities for style, sound world, texture, duration, form, etc.  This time, however, I am faced with a little trepidation.  The ensemble for which I will be composing this piece is a middle school band.  Now I have no problem with this ensemble.  It is just that the techniques I can employ become limited.  It is through no fault of their own.  Most of the students have only been playing their instruments for a couple of years.

Another aspect of this piece that causes some intimidation is that I am friends with the director of the band. I tend to put a little more pressure on myself in this type of situation.  I am sure it will not cause me problems.  It is just something I think about.  After all, I want to make sure that I start off with strong material.

As I was working on Études Scéniques there was a phrase in the fifth piece Shaded Path that seemed very familiar to me.  At the time I used it because it lends itself well to that étude.  I have decided that I am going to use and develop this phrase in the band piece.  To me this phrase is not an opening phrase, but it will likely be the phrase with which I begin my sketch.

I still cannot place the familiarity of this line.  I am unsure if it is my own music or someone else's.  Maybe I will figure it out in time, or maybe it is not important.  Either way this is the material with which I shall start working.