In pursuit of music to challenge and inspire band students, Scepters and Thrones is written to stimulate the imagination of what life might have been like among Royal Courts in the Middle Ages. Kings ruled the land and assumed charge of ordering armies to defend their territories. Sceptres and Thrones begins with the call of the horn played by muted trumpets, signalling troops to assemble. Drums in the battery take over to advance the soldiers. Several themes represent the confidence and determination of the troops to reach victory. A slow, pensive theme in the middle reminds us of the sadness of loss, which inevitably accompanies warring conflict. The final section, in harmonic minor, expresses the chaos of war and the clashes among kingdoms, as armies retreat from battle. Students will be challenged by multiple key changes and syncopated rhythms.