Flight

While I love composing and generally consider myself to be an artistic and creative person, I have always set music to texts by other people because I didn't think I could possibly write a text that I would be willing to set to music. So, this is my first real attempt at being "lyricist" as well as "composer". Additionally, I had never really composed in a strict arch form, so this was an effort to push myself to write a piece in a form that's different than what I'm used to.

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The piece opens with a jaunty piano ostinato in 5/8 that was, ironically enough, born out of my fingers slipping on the piano. An onlooker describes a flock of birds who take to the sky at the beginning of a new day. As the piece progresses, the onlooker gets more and more swept up into their daydream of what it would be like to be able to see the world from a bird's view. The music reflects the thrill and adventure as well as the peace and serenity of this imagined experience. At the end, the onlooker snaps out of their daydream as the birds fly off towards the horizon, and the music fades to nothing.

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With many changing meters and tonal centers, this is an exciting piece for a capable treble chorus, with a flashy piano part for an exuberant accompanist.

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The piece has yet to be recorded, so if you're interested in performing this piece with your ensemble, let me know and I'd be happy to send you the music for free in the hopes of getting a recording!