Up From Ashes

This original show is based on the story-arch of the phoenix -- an immortal bird from Greek mythology that is transformed following a fiery death into victorious new life. Many analogies of this archetype make this compositional work perfect for stories of struggle, death, and overcoming (e.g., an unlikely hero's tale, war, wildfires, violent volcanoes). Whether a natural disaster or personal travail, all of us can identify with this narrative -- facing and overcoming adversity with personal transformation and achievement. The show opens with a peaceful but industrious theme led by mallets and high woodwinds. With a warning heralded from the piccolo, everything changes, and an ominous theme is introduced by the low brass. This theme gradually builds in dread until a violent climax of destruction (e.g., death). Following the disaster, quietly the theme is restated as a mournful bugle call featuring solo trumpet. A new hope rises in the second movement which begins with a melancholy theme featured on solo Flugelhorn. This theme grows in strength and ambition until it breaks into celebration with the opening industrious theme recapitulated in a major key. The show concludes with a triumphant brass fanfare declaring a victorious transformation and achievement over death and destruction. Score and parts include an optional thematic 16 bar warm-up prelude.