Nocturne No. 1 for Winds (2011)
Runner Up, 2012 National Band Association’s Young Composer Mentor Project
Premiered on February 18th, 2012 by James O. Welsch and the Syracuse University Wind Ensemble
(3 Fl, Fl. III doubles Pic. 2 Ob, 3 Cl, Bass Cl, Bsn, C. Bsn, A Sax, T Sax, B Sax, 4 FH, 3 Trp, 2 Trb, Bass Trb, Tuba, CB, Pno, Timp, 4 Perc.)
Duration: 4’
Program Note:
Nocturne No. 1 for Winds is a transcription of the solo piano work, written in the spring and summer of 2011. The piano work was originally commissioned by the Society for New Music as part of their Rising Stars concert series. The transcription was written for Dr. John Laverty and the Syracuse University Wind Ensemble, who premiered my first work for wind ensemble, Toward Nightfall.
The work itself is essentially a three and a half minute expansion of the opening gesture. Built in three sections, the opening material is derived from the pitch sets [014], [016], and the interval of a tritone. After a brief climax, the opening section slowly fades away. The second section begins with a folk melody heard in parallel major sevenths in the piccolo and oboe. After playing through this melody once, it is transformed into an ostinato pattern setting up the final section of the piece, where the first and second sections are superimposed on top of each other.