Brass Quintet

My Brass Quintet was an important piece for me; my goal was to break out of the generally boring part-writing conventions that are often resurrected in brass quintet repertoire. Much like most modern choral music, the danger in writing a brass quintet is that, due to similarity of color and the weight of historical convention, it is difficult to avoid ascribing traditional roles to each instrument. Although brass instruments are not bound by the physical limitations of a human voice, hymnody often seems to be used as a model for registration and voice-leading when writing a brass quintet.

This piece one first prize in WFMT-Chicago's 50th Anniversary Composition Competition, and was premiered live on the air on 12 December, 2001 by the Skye Brass Quintet.

hear a sample: [mp3 / right click + save as]
(( performed by the Skye Brass Quintet ))