Howls and Hymns

As the title suggests, Howls and Hymns is at its core inspired by the idea of uniting things that many people might consider to be disparate. In this case, these two entities are a young wind band and a professional-caliber trombonist. When Tim [Smith] approached me to write this piece, I found the concept incredibly inspiring, as many young musicians are not often exposed to professional-caliber musicians other than their band directors. Having opportunities to perform with such musicians is even more rare, despite the fact that these can be some of the most formative and memorable experiences for students. Whether the trombone soloist is from the local orchestra, university, or even high school, I hope that this piece will continue to make these guest artist collaborations a normal occurrence, especially with ensembles that perform at a grade 3 level. Uniting musicians of skill levels and ages can only do good for our musical and artistic communities, and I was humbled to be a part of this project. Heartfelt thanks to everyone who made this piece possible, including Tim Smith and the eleven bands and their directors!