Search results for: 'joshua hobbs'

This piece for brass quintet started life as a somewhat awkward mixed-meter groove. I began to layer different textures over the top and when I played some of it for my wife, she said it sounded like traffic. I took that idea and went with it.

Road Rage consists of several different scenes in a standard daily commute. Imagine you’re in a traffic helicopter watching from above, with each instrument featured as we focus attention on each vehicle before returning to the opening thematic material to end the work.

In order to help you visualize the scene: Tuba = a semi-truck, just moving along at its own pace, maybe a bit hopped up on No-Doz to make it to the end of the route; Horn = sports car, zooming through traffic just a bit too fast; Trombone = an emergency vehicle, moving quickly and confidently, hitting the siren every once in a while to warn the tuba and horn it’s coming through; Trumpets = commuters, annoyed at the confusion that others are creating and honking their horns in protest. In the fall of 2004, Road Rage was selected for performance at the Appalachian State University Brass Chamber Music Forum, honoring the 50th anniversary of the New York Brass Quintet, where it received an award for excellence in composition. 

with Electronics

“You can’t fight the desert...you have to ride with it.” – Louis L’Amour

I’ve always been fascinated by deserts; the stark, almost alien landscapes, the extremely diverse and efficient ecosystems, the mystic, spiritual effect of being in the vast expanses of silent nature. Recently I travelled from the Pacific Northwest into the deserts of Nevada and Utah. While neither are the typical Hollywood deserts of endless sand dunes, they hold their own magic. Mirages are a part of that magic. I watched them rise and fall as I drove by, imagination blending with the illusions to create hidden cities. As with many of my works, I didn’t start out with a concrete concept, but as the scales and modes started to come through, desert imagery continually flowed through my mind’s eye.

The piece consists of three sections, each fading and evaporating like mirages. Stylistically there are heavy elements of rock and jazz, as well as the percussion flavors of the Middle East, India, and Central America.

I’d also like to thank everyone who contributed to the creation of this piece. You all help make it possible for composers to keep creating new music!

-Ben McMillan

Commissioned By:

Frank Meredith, Pat Stuckemeyer, Dan Davis, David Saltzman, Jesse Orth, Fernando Zuniga, SFA ITEA Chapter, Northern Lights DUO, Gail Robertson, Justin Gorodetzky, Richard Perry, William Hess, Scott Sutherland, Will GrayBeach, Joshua Hauser, Adam Frey, Erik Lundquist, Seth Fletcher