"Windsor Blue" is named after the fictional abstract expressionist painter Rabo Karabekian's
most famous work "Windsor Blue Number Seventeen" in the Kurt Vonnegut novel Bluebeard.
This piece focuses on development of material throughout. Featuring solos for trumpet and
trombone on rock and metal grooves, the woodwinds also get a workout on their doubles.

Windsor Blue

“Eventide” was written in the beginning of 2014 for my former trombone mentor, Jim Pugh.  This upbeat piece features the trombone throughout, as well as the ensemble in several tutti passages.

Eventide

Composed by Scott Ninmer

From the Downbeat award-winning album "High & Mighty" by the Cal State Long Beach Concert Jazz Orchestra

Afterthought

"The Wind in the Willows" was inspired by the well-known children's novel of the same name by Kenneth Grahame. Set on the river Thames, the four main characters, Mole, Ratty, Badger, and Mr. Toad, embark on a variety of adventures. The novel begins with Mole "spring cleaning" in his underground home. He wanders outside and ends up at the river where he meets Ratty, and they spend their days rowing and relaxing. Later, they pay a visit to Mr. Toad at his grand estate. Toad is wealthy, but is very obsessive and has a proclivity for crashing things such as boats, horse-drawn carriages, and motor cars. Throughout the novel, these three characters have several adventures in Wild Wood, where friendly Badger lives.  Wild Wood is depicted as a frightful, cold, mysterious place with "evil faces" among the trees. The climax of the novel tells of how the weasels and stoats (the "evil faces" of Wild Wood) have overtaken Toad Hall in Toad's absence (he was in jail for stealing a car), and Mole, Ratty, Badger, and Mr. Toad's communal victory in retaking it.

The first four sections of the piece ("Spring Cleaning", "The River", "Toad Hall", "Wild Wood") feature a tale from each individual character and location. Each character is given a theme that is presented in their corresponding tale. The "Wind in the Willows" motive (first played by the horns in the opening fanfare) is woven into each of these character's themes, and also recurs independently in various guises throughout. All four themes ultimately come together in the "The Fight for Toad Hall", as the piece comes to a close with Toad's glorious victory banquet.

The Wind in the Willows

This piece was written as an assignment for the 2013 Metropole Arrangers Workshop.  During the week-long workshop, we were given a lead sheet on Sunday night and were asked to write a two-minute arrangement to be performed by the Metropole Orchestra at a recording session on Thursday morning.

The assignment was designed to test our ability to function under heavy time constraints.  In hastily writing the piece, I tried to be as creative as possible while still retaining the swing flavor of the original.  Similarly, I sought to vary each section of the form melodically, harmonically, or orchestrationally while tying all of the pieces together into a cohesive form.

Afterthought

Drew Ninmer

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Jake Tickner

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