Curtain Raiser

— Premiered by the American Band of Providence, Brian Cardany, conductor, November 5, 2017
— Performed by the Clemson University Symphonic Band, Mark Spede, conductor, December 5, 2017
— Performed by the Kansas State University Wind Ensemble, Frank Tracz, conductor, December 7, 2017
— Performed by the American Band of Providence, Brian Cardany, conductor, February 25, 2018
— Performed by the American Band of Providence, Brian Cardany, conductor, March 18, 2018
— Performed by the Kansas State University Wind Ensemble, Frank Tracz, conductor, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C., April 17, 2018
— Performed by the Kansas State University Wind Ensemble, Frank Tracz, conductor, at CBDNA, April 25, 2018
— Performed by the University of Georgia Wind Ensemble, Cynthia Johnston Turner, conductor, September 27, 2018
— Performed by the University of Texas Wind Ensemble, Jerry Junkin, conductor, November 4, 2018
— Performed by the Carroll Community Wind Ensemble, Terry Lowry, conductor, November 13, 2018
— Performed by the Florida Atlantic University Wind Ensemble, Kyle Prescott, conductor, February 16, 2019
— Performed by the Alabama Symphonic Band, Randall Coleman, conductor, February 26, 2019
— Performed by the University of South Alabama Wind Ensemble, William Petersen, conductor, April 16, 2019
— Performed by the Marshall University Wind Symphony, Adam Dalton, conductor, May 2, 2019
— Performed by the American Band of Providence, Brian Cardany, conductor, at the Boston Festival of Bands, June 8, 2019
— Performed by the University of Texas Wind Ensemble, Jerry Junkin, conductor, June 29, 2019
— Performed by the World Youth Wind Symphony, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Jerry Junkin, conductor, July 6, 2019
— Performed by the Dallas Winds, at Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas, Jerry Junkin, conductor, January 14, 2020; broadcast nationally on Performance Today, April 18, 2020
— To be performed by the UC Berkeley Wind Ensemble, Matthew Sadowski, conductor, February 25, 2022

Having been focused primarily on orchestral music in my composing career to date, and having been rather unfamiliar with repertoire for concert band or wind ensemble, I hesitated before accepting the commission offer from Brian Cardany to compose a work for the 180th anniversary of The American Band of Providence. Among the reasons I chose to accept the challenge of composing my first work in this genre were that I am a native of Providence, and one of the former directors of The American Band was the late Francis Marciniak, who was my undergraduate music theory teacher during my first two years at Rhode Island College. These connections to the years in which I first set off on a musical path were part of my motivation to try my hand at a new genre.

The commission request was for music which would be appropriate to celebrate the 180th anniversary of The American Band, founded in 1837. In considering that request, and seeking to compose a piece which could serve as a festive concert opener for this and many other celebratory occasions, I settled upon the title of Curtain Raiser, which seems to suggest the character of this music.