Style
Dark • Explosive • Varied
AT A GLANCE
Selected Performances & Recognition
🏆 2024 Honorable Mention – WASBE International Composition Competition
University of Illinois – Urbana-Champaign
Multiple American Honor Bands
What Makes It Unique
Atmospheric textures, driving grooves, and a heavily involved percussion section create a work that offers unusual variety and energy within a compact duration.
Musical Influences
John Barnes Chance – Variations on a Korean Folk Song
Claude Debussy – Nuages
Frank Ticheli
Julie Giroux
Why I Wrote This Piece
Commissioned for a Colorado honor band, the work explores the contrast between groove-driven energy and atmospheric, color-focused writing.
Instrumentation
Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
Clarinet in Bb I-II-III
Bass Clarinet
Alto Saxophone I-II
Tenor Saxophone
Baritone Saxophone
Trumpet in Bb I-II-III
Horn I-II
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
Piano
9 Percussion
Notes
• Piano cued in percussion parts
PROGRAM NOTE
The Clouds Are Near is a musical depiction of the impressive and varied cloud formations we often experience in Colorado. Winds, rain, and hail can be upon you within an instant, yet just as quickly dissipate, just to return yet again.
The short triplet motif (introduced by the oboe and muted trumpet) is a vague quotation from Debussy’s Nuages (French for “clouds”). The slower middle section is based on a short “original” melody sung by my niece, whose fascination with clouds also inspired the title of the work.
This work was commissioned by The Adams 12 Five Star Schools Honor Band in Thornton, Colorado. It premiered in January 2024 under the baton of Dr. Wesley Broadnax.
Questions about the piece?
Feel free to reach out if there's anything I can do to help as you explore this piece.