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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.