Come join me at the Missouri Music Educator’s Conference and Workshop Friday January 29th, 2010 at 10:30am. The Lee’s Summit High School Symphonic Band will be premiering a new piece commissioned for this performance.

When I set out to write it, I knew there had to be a secret nod to Lee’s Summit High School. The first thought that occurred to me was to focus on their mascot, the tiger. Unfortunately, they rejected my first submission which Mr. Finch accurately called, “A sub-par arrangement of Survivor’s ‘Eye of the Tiger.’”

I went back to the drawing board and created Spectrum, which is based on a vaguely “recognizable” harmonic foundation that is first established in the percussion section. Overall, the piece develops on two concepts: the blending of an unexpected idea with a pre-existing idea, and the modification of one or two subtle components as a phrase repeats.

There’s an incredible amount of “dissonance” in this piece that should sound unusually consonant, and there’s a driving rhythm that develops by blending accents of 6/8 and 3/4. I’ve really enjoyed hearing the Lee’s Summit Symphonic Band play this piece and I hope you’ll enjoy it as well.

Join me at MMEA for a great performance!