Journeys III (2015, rev. 2022)

for Wind Ensemble

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Composed August-October 2015, rev. 2022

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*Winner of the Special Selection Prize; Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble Composition Competition, 2020

 

7 Minutes

Grade 5 on Instrumental Grading Scale

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Instrumentation:

Piccolo, 2 Flutes, Oboe, 3 Clarinets, Bass Clarinet, Bassoon, 2 Alto Saxophones, Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, 3 Trumpets, 4 Horns, 3 Trombones, Tuba, Piano, Timpani, 4 Percussion

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Premiere:

Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble; Dr. Brian Messier conducting – February 19, 2022

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Program note:

Originally written in 2015, following Journeys I and II for string orchestra, Journeys III was Quinn’s first attempt at an original work for Wind Ensemble. The title proved apt, setting him on a personal journey of discovery: “[Journeys III] turned out to be too difficult in terms of how it was written; I was still not yet familiar with band keys or how the different band instruments interacted with each other and some of the time signatures made no sense.” Several years and many original compositions later, Quinn revisited the work, applying lessons gained along the way. In 2020 he submitted the revised version to the Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble’s Composition Competition, where it was chosen by the student musicians of the DCWE as the DCWE Special Selection Prize. The work itself employs overlapping textures and choirs of sound, with elisions and evolutions providing a sense of perpetual drive and direction. The use of extended sonorities and harmonic progression in the low brass and winds, covered by rhythmic ostinatos in the upper woodwinds, is reminiscent of the soundscreen techniques of Hindemith and minimalism of Adams.

-Brian Messier