Spirit of Adventure

Spirit of Adventure is the tale of a grand and exciting adventure across the land, with many trials and tribulations along the way. It draws inspiration from many of the great stories in literature, including some of my own favorites such as The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and the Percy Jackson series (a favorite of my students as well). In particular, it focuses on how these stories evolve over time, forever changing the characters as they navigate the world around them. Musically, there are several motifs throughout the piece, which are constantly changing and evolving until they form something entirely new. 

This piece can be interpreted many ways, and listeners and performers are encouraged to put their own story to the music. The piece begins with a beautiful and majestic trumpet solo over a luscious background, representing home or yearning for adventure. The music soon picks up the pace, starting simple but gradually adding more and more layers that weave in and out of each other. The low brass represent the first conflict of the story, with echoes of the first melody throughout. As the conflict is overcome the melody rises to the surface, leading to a glorious and heroic moment. 

Soon after, a new peril begins. The percussion and low brass create an intense mood, while the woodwinds recreate the first motif in a high energy and dangerous style. Each section is featured, creating different moments in the story. This builds to the climax of the piece, which is the same as the first heroic moment, but raised to a higher key. The moment ends differently, however, leading back to the first moments of the piece. As the hero returns home, the melody is familiar, yet changed from the beginning, and with echoes of the journey throughout. 

This piece is aimed for intermediate players, with moments of increased difficulty with breaks in between. It is also a mix of the more repetition-focused style of more beginner music, and the more programmatic nature of many advanced works. The percussion parts are aimed at a small group of independent musicians, and can be fully covered with only 4 players. The Percussion 1 and 2 parts in particular are built around having high school level mallet parts, while also including legitimate drum parts, promoting well-rounded percussionists.