This first movement of Meditations was commissioned by Dustin Seifert and the 2014 Eastern New Mexico University Alumni Band for the reunion of that same year. I was approached by Dustin at the Texas Music Educators Association and asked to take part in the alumni reunion by writing and conducting the premiere of a new lyric work for band. With as much respect as I have for the institution of my undergraduate study I agreed without hesitation (and was overflowing with enthusiasm at the time). This work happens to be the first piece I ever encountered legitimate “writer’s block” while planning and composing. In my effort to clear my head and try to encourage some small shard of inspiration I began reading Taoist literature and simultaneously meditating. This natural, flowing, organic way of thinking fascinated me, and I began trying to emulate that focused, yet wildly adventurous journey of the mind on paper. The result is a collection of musical movements, each inspired in some way by color and light, and each reflecting intensely upon my emotional and spiritual experiences of my recent years.

This movement, I. Violet, is written for the most intelligent man I have ever met; one of the greatest mentors and strongest supporters of my undergraduate career – Maestro Neil Rutland.

World premiere Saturday, June 21, 2014 by the ENMU Alumni Band at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales, NM.

Meditations - I. Violet [world premiere]

ROCO’s annual conductorless concert featured works in which the orchestra is subdivided. Concertmaster and violin soloist Scott St. John lead the ensemble in the commissioned world premiere of Marcus Maroney’s Concerto for Orchestra (composed in the style of Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra, which divides the orchestra into pairs), as well as Haydn’s Symphony No. 6 (characterized by multiple duets within the larger piece). The program was completed by Vaughn Williams’ Lark Ascending, featuring Scott St. John, and Bartok’s Rumanian Folk Dances. Performed February 13, 2016, at The Church of St. John the Divine, Houston, TX.

An Iberian Fanfare

Austin Brake