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Chapter 1
Introduction
The universe: an endless enigma that has plagued the minds of civilization since
the beginning of time. On the outskirts of a distant star system, a desolate, dying planet
waits for its inevitable fate. It is in this setting and state of mind, in which I composed my
epic work for wind ensemble, Astral Wastelands.
I have always had an interest in the stars, planets, and the seemingly never-ending
universe that encompasses both what we know and have yet to discover. I am constantly
finding myself looking to the night sky, questioning the reason for my existence, the
existence of humankind, and pondering about whatever else may exist in that vast
vacuum of endless space, beyond the horizons of the knowledge of man.
Throughout my journey as a musician, I have always wanted to compose a piece
for a large ensemble. My current involvement playing in the university’s wind ensemble,
and my love for the combination of sounds that can be produced by a wind band, fueled
my desire to write a piece for this group of energetic and accepting musicians. When you
have an ensemble that is led by a great conductor, Dr. Robert Halseth, you know that you
have a backdrop for a very successful performance of a new work.
In my conception of the piece, I wanted to make sure that everyone in the band
had both something interesting to play that was also different from what others in their
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particular section were playing. I aspired to make excellent use of the great percussionists
in the group, and I wanted to expose some of the top notch players in the Wind
Ensemble, by way of solos, which would allow the players to shine through the rest of the
ensemble. Driving rhythms, fun and transfigured melodies, and varied uses of repetition
are all characteristics that can be found in my music, so naturally I wanted to explore the
use of these compositional tools in a large group setting. With the support of the band,
my composition professors, and my colleagues, I began the journey that is this piece.
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Chapter 2
Overview and Analysis
Astral Wastelands opens in a funeral march-like style, with the hits in the chimes
and the anvil acting as a signal of imminent death. This leads into a drone-like chord,
played by the low brass (marked “stagger breathing”), which outlines the theme
presented six measures later in the chimes.
Example 1
Throughout this section, the other percussionists are playing distant-sounding accents that
build and expand. For example, the snare drum, bass drum, and timpani reinforce the
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funeral march feel, while parts like the glockenspiel, crotales, and vibes play spacey solo
lines that help create an engaging environment for the listener.
This leads into the next section of the piece, where once again, the brass plays a
drone outlying the main theme, while the woodwinds play a soaring melodic figure over
the top of the band. These players all end up on a B natural, and then gradually begin to
fall away into a heavily dissonant chord, played by the entire woodwind family. This is
passed off to the brass in the form a rising rhythmic passage, leading into a sequence of
semi-dissonant chordal textures. Again, this is passed back to the woodwinds, who
simultaneously play rising and falling lines into a huge dissonant chord, which is played
by the entire band. Everyone drops out here, except for nine woodwind players, who
carry this dissonance into the downbeat of the main theme section at rehearsal letter B.
Example 2
The main theme is first presented by a solo flute, playing in the lower register,
which gives the theme a darker and airier tone quality. This is reinforced by the piccolo,
also playing in the lower register, before being passed off to some of the other
woodwinds, along with a muted trumpet and muted baritone. This continues to build into
a huge percussion solo at rehearsal letter C.
At rehearsal letter D, the brass plays a version of the introductory theme presented
in the chimes, while the percussion (marimba) and woodwinds trade off variations of the
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main theme. This continues to build into a huge key change at rehearsal letter E, with
percussion accents and woodwind trills providing atmospheric qualities to the piece. The
most important part in this section is the variation of the main theme in the chimes, which
needs to carry over the top of the band!
Example 3
After the sax and bass clarinet play an inverted diminution of the theme, the band builds
into a massive Db major chord. At the same time, the glockenspiel and some of the
woodwinds are playing an augmented version of the theme, offset by a bar to add some
rhythmic interest. This leads into a soaring trumpet solo, with spacey accents in the
percussion and woodwinds, as this section really opens up and gives the listener a brief
moment of relief.
However, this sense of relief is short-lived as the piece quickly returns to the
minor mode, with the low brass taking over variations of the main theme until the actual
theme is presented in the rest of the brass. This continues to build, with variations of the
theme in the chimes and vibes, as the woodwinds play an F minor chord underneath
everything. The woodwinds (and some of the brass) then play rising and falling chordal
figures that lead into the entire band playing the main theme, with a huge build up into
rehearsal letter H.
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The next portion of the piece is my representation of a reflection on one’s life,
personifying the desert planet as a part of the human experience; a life flashing before
one’s eyes, so to speak (the life of the planet in this case). This is presented by way of
very sparse, soloistic playing by the woodwinds (flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and alto
sax). In this section, I really thought about the individual playing abilities of members of
the wind ensemble, and parted out the solos accordingly. I also orchestrated this section
with the particular instruments that I thought would be the most successful at achieving
this vision of personal reflection. These small instances of remembrance are interspersed
among the soloists and lead into rehearsal letter I, where the vibes play a solo part
(marked freely) that is derived from some of the mallet material in the introduction.
Example 4
After a held chord in the woodwinds, the glockenspiel takes over with a version of the
vibes solo, leading into a held chord played by some of the brass.
At rehearsal letter J, the clarinets take over a version of the introductory theme,
while the piccolo continues with the solo line previously depicted in the vibes and
glockenspiel. The drums and timpani answer by playing underlining march-like material
that is carried over from the introduction, servicing as a little reminder to the listener that
death, although obscured, is still approaching. The thematic material is then passed to the
Saxes, as the Eb clarinet takes over the soloistic material. After another instance of the
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march theme in the percussion, the brass takes over the thematic material as the
woodwinds exchange parts of the solo line, leading into a huge D# half-diminished chord
at rehearsal letter L.
This section contains a bunch of moving solo lines played by several different
instruments at the same time, reinforced by the low brass, and represents how one’s
separate memories all come together during the final moments of existence. After a big
decrescendo, the brass take over with a chordal representation of the introductory theme,
with the most important part being the first Horn (as is suggested by the dynamics). The
woodwinds add some color with sixteenth-note triplets over the top of the brass chords,
which arrive to D major in measure 178. While the rest of the band holds this chord
(orchestrated in a variety of ways), the low brass and woodwinds play a descending
chordal passage leading into the epic conclusions at rehearsal letter M.
Here the entire wind section is holding a D major chord as the timpani plays the
main theme over the entire band (FP in winds against FF in timpani).
Example 5
The piece moves into a quick chordal section in ¾ time, with big hits in the gong,
cymbals, and anvil, as the timpani continues to drive into the final measures. The
trumpets, along with the first and third horn, hold on to a D major chord moving into the
second to last measure, while the low winds play a Bb major chord moving to an
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augmented F chord (C#) on count three. At the same time, the high woodwinds, snare
drum, and bells play the final statement of the main theme moving into the last measure,
where the entire band ends on a huge D major chord; both a representation of the final
explosion of the desert planet and confirmation that, although this body is no longer here,
it has left a mark that will never be forgotten. Life will go on!
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Chapter 3
Possible Problems and Solutions
I would like to briefly discuss some problems and possible solutions I came
across while working on this piece with the wind ensemble. First of all, a problem for
some bands might be the massive amount of percussion this piece calls for. One possible
solution would be to just leave out the snare and bass drum parts in the introduction
(although the piece loses some drive), so that the percussionists can focus more on the
atmospheric nature of this section. For example, the maracas, glockenspiel, crotales,
vibes, and cymbals have the most important parts in terms of color and creating the astral
environment. Another possible solution, if a band has players that can multitask, might be
to have someone who can for example play the maraca part in one hand and strike a gong
or cymbal in the other. If a band is lacking in percussion players altogether, it might be
best to just play the metallic mallet parts on one or two instruments (condensing the
crotales and glockenspiel parts to just the vibes for example, although doing this will
sacrifice a lot of the different colors and timbres these other mallet instruments carry).
Another problem could be that a particular band doesn’t have all of the
instruments and players the piece calls for (like a second baritone, second bassoon,
second oboe, etc.) Although a lot of these parts can be found interspersed among other
instrument groupings of the band, some, like the second bassoon entrance three measures
after rehearsal letter I, must be addressed beforehand (it can be parted out to the first
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bassoon, or given to the Bari sax player). In the same fashion, the second baritone part
could just be given to a third trombone player.
Although I have provided possible solutions to these potential problems, I mainly
leave it up to the band director and percussion section to decide what to play or leave out,
depending on personnel.
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Chapter 4
Conclusion
Astral Wastelands is the culmination of my compositional studies at California
State University in Sacramento; it is an amalgamation of my journey as a composer,
musician, and student, and a culmination of the events that surround my own existence.
I have faced many challenges while composing this piece, which include making
sure everyone has something interesting to play, balancing the sections (solo vs. sectional
playing, brass vs. woodwind playing, and the entire ensemble playing in general). With
the vast amount of voices in the band, orchestrating the piece also proved to be a difficult
task in its own right. At one point, when I was practically done composing the piece, I
ended up taking out about a three minute section starting at rehearsal letter I (which is a
lot!), and replaced it with entirely new music (from rehearsal letter I to rehearsal letter
L), which I feel gives the piece contrasting moods as well as a better overall structure.
Through all the ups and downs I went through while composing this piece, the
biggest thing I’m taking away from this project is a newfound confidence that I can write
anything and everything I want as long as I work hard and fully dedicate myself to the
project at hand. Being able to work hands-on with the wind ensemble has given me
insight into future compositional and life endeavors that I never would have realized if it
had not been for this experience. Not only has enduring through this process made me a
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better composer and musician, but it has helped me navigate through my own personal
deserts and find light in my own bouts of darkness; I am a better person because of it.