Large Instrumental Ensembles
The Days We Knew (2023)
Commissioned by the Kealing Middle School band program, The Days We Knew was written in dedication to the memory Ava "Asher" Zumwalt. It paints colors of mourning, yet joy for life lived. The flute was Ava's instrument, and is prominently featured in the piece. I hope that the sweeping melodies and light, energetic portions of the piece can comfort all who wish to honor the memory of someone with a song of remembrance.
The Kealing Middle School Wind Ensemble performs The Days We Knew
Homecoming (2023)
Homecoming: for this piece, the word is not an allusion to the American high school football tradition, but rather the sense of returning to anywhere one might call “home.” The piece aims to paint the sounds of longing, nostalgia, sentimentality, warmth, and home. While writing this piece, my mind considered my high school days, the deep friendships I’ve built over the years, and my family. There is a sense of bittersweetness that I think a lot of us feel when think
of or journey back to an “old stomping ground” - joy from the fond memory, yet pain in the loss of what was. I wanted the melodies of this piece to be hummable and clear, as a good memory can come to mind clearly and immediately, like the tune to a song one has always known. The harmonies and instrumental textures are meant to sound warm and sweet, with hints of sadness mixed throughout. The
piece begins with sparse instrumentation, emulating the way one feels when they just begin to remember something in their past - as a single person, like the bare flutes that start the piece, considers a memory, more people, places, and senses start flooding back, like the full orchestration that follows in the piece. Sparse instrumentation returns at the end and the music fades, symbolizing the end of
reflection on a memory. I hope it reminds you of a place you consider home.
The McNeil High School Wind Ensemble performs Homecoming at the 2023 Music For All National Concert Band Festival
Behold, the New Has Come (2019)
Inspired by a line in the Bible, this piece is about rebirth. The ESV translation of 2 Corinthians 5:17 uses the titular phrase to describe a new creation replacing the old within ourselves. Written during a time where this line prompted much personal reflection, this seemed a fitting subject matter to frame a fanfare-esque piece around. The opening of the piece is somewhat somber and distant in tone, and is soon replaced by a bold statement of brass and bells ushering in something new and exciting. The cascading entrances of the horns and uplifting melodies transform throughout the piece and make a clear statement at the end, definitively announcing that something new is on the horizon. A slower ballad-like pause in the middle of the piece is meant to allow a fresh melody to soar, keeping with the theme of something new appearing, while telling a story of someone who is aware of the change occuring and torn between fear of the unknown and peace with who they are becoming. The presence of these two emotions is constant throughout the piece in the open harmonies battling for consonance but unavoidably finding dissonance, until the very end, where the piece has reached a confident acceptance of what has transpired.
Texas State Univeristy brass and percussion musicians perform Behold, the New Has Come
Conductor-view live performance, Seth Davis conducting
In This Moment (2017)
A selected entry for performance in the 2018 Sarah and Ernest Butler Austin Symphony Texas Young Composers Competition
In This Moment was composed during a season of change. It is meant to embody both the peace of nostalgia we so often lean on during times of change, and the energy that embarking on a new path produces. The introduction, which recurs near the end of the piece, is broad and puts one slightly on edge, the way a new journey does. There is a feel of pressing forward that sneaks in throughout the work, as time must press forward on despite our fears of what lies ahead.
The slow middle section is yearning for a time that was, but can never be again. It is tender, singing of the moments we can only carry in our hearts as memories. This melody is not entirely lost as the style of the piece changes, as all the moments of our pasts have played a part in molding us into the people we are today.
There are jazz-influenced licks that nod to the innovators of music in the 20th century. Improvisation acknowledges the beauty of an unforeseen moment. It embraces uncertainty, and paves a beautiful moment of spontaneity. Those moments which we cannot feel fully prepared for can often be the greatest of our lives. I attempted to write in styles that were a new challenge for me in this piece, yet still leaned on what I knew from past experience. My hope is that this work may elicit some sense of what anyone may feel when living out a new moment—a reminiscent glance back, and a bold step forward.
Synthesized playback
Prelude to Eternity (2017)
Fourth Place Winning Entry of the 2017 Sarah and Ernest Butler Austin Symphony Texas Young Composers Competition
The vision for Prelude to Eternity was conceived during a study of the book of Revelation from the Bible. Rather than a literal musical prelude to “Eternity,” the piece is an illustration of the precursor to God's eternity: the birth, fall, and redemption of man. The piece follows the idea that God had created a world of pure good and beauty, a genesis of perfection, only to be tainted with the stench of sin. In Revelation, the story of the final chapter in human history, the Angels possess majestic trumpets. This instrument, along with the French horn, are utilized to represent the glory of God in the main themes of the piece, at the beginning and the end. The opening horn theme is a variation on the line later played by the strings and trumpet, meant to express the wonder of the beginning of creation, and the triumphant nature of God as he invites man to a flawless eternity in Heaven through his Son.
The middle of the piece grows somber, representing the pain and suffering that plague humanity. The dark trombone glissandos represent the attacks of evil. The entrance of the solo trumpet is hopeful, suggesting that good still exists. As the pace picks up, the horn, string, and trumpet lines become prominent, brightly building the idea of hope. They overpower the familiar darker lines, with good overcoming the weight of evil. In the finale, low voices recall the once sullen theme in a new light. This references the transformation of our broken world into something good. The recurring three-note runs in the violins, piano, harp, and high woodwinds emphasize the momentum of approaching eternity. Most of the themes end on the second scale degree, a note of inconclusion. These patterns seem unfinished, just as humanity's story is still unfinished.
Published by Ars Nova Music. For purchasing information, visit: http://arsnovamusic.com/youngComposer/35/Amy%20%20Gravell
Excerpt of the Austin Symphony Orchestra performing live at the 2017 Texas Young Composers Concert
Neverending Dreams (2017)
Inspired by my orchestral work Prelude to Eternity, this piece is largely an arrangement with modifications created specifically for the McNeil High School Wind Ensemble, of which I was a member at the time of the work's conception. The title was changed to "Neverending Dreams" with a threefold meaning. One of my dearest friends in the band had recently showed me a poem (whose author and title I regretfully cannot remember to give due credit) with a touching line about never-ending dreams, which served as inspiration for titling the work. This phrase seemed an appropriate title, as it had been a dream for many years before high school that I might one day compose a piece for the Texas Young Composers Competition and hear it live, perhaps even with the opportunity to arrange it for wind ensemble, as one of the most formative musical experiences in my young life had been witnessing another student conduct his own work. To have this dream realized through the kindness of a supportive band director, whom I will always owe my utmost gratitude, and through the Texas Young Composers Competition, was a joy unable to put into words. I hope the music does even a fragment of justice to paying back the wonderful peers and mentors that made a high schooler's dream reality.
The McNeil High School Wind Ensemble performs Neverending Dreams live at their 2017 spring concert
Depths of the Mind (2016)
Depths of the Mind was written as an entry to the 2016 Reflections Competition, where it was awarded with the National Award of Excellence in the high school division. The band piece was later premiered by the McNeil High School Wind Ensemble, conducted by composer Amy Gravell. The piece aims to provide a short illustration of the paths the mind can take during a creative process.