The Witching Hour is based on a folklore concept of the same name, found across several centuries to mean a particular time of the late night and early morning hours where it is believed that the veil between life and death is the thinnest.

During this Witching Hour, the listener can experience this ethereal world where spirits of loved ones are once again able to reunite with their living relatives. The slow waltz that concludes this piece showcases those moments of reconnection before both worlds are closed off to each other, until the next Witching Hour.

The Witching Hour

Robot Dreams is based on a science-fiction short story of the same name by American writer Isaac Asimov, and follows the narrative found within. Throughout the piece the trombone voice can be thought of as that of LVX-1 (or “Elvex”), the focal point of Asimov’s short story. The piece portrays scenes of dreams described by Elvex, growing out of and fading into relative silence, ranging from feelings of awe and flight to contemplative self-reflection, until the short-lived and unintended gift of its autonomy leads to its eventual revolution and demise.

Robot Dreams

Audio recorded in Mary Moody Northen Hall at West Texas A&M University by Carlos Casso

Ensemble under the direction of Dr. James Barger

The Witching Hour - West Texas A&M University Saxophone Choir

Written for brass choir, Beneath the Tides is rooted in Norse mythology, retelling the stories of unsuspecting seafarers coming under siege by the legendary Kraken.

Beneath The Tides

as the golden hour passes

Written for Saxophone Octet, Echoes and Reflections involves splitting the ensemble in two halves. SATB and BTAS work to actively mimic each other and "reflect" the rhythmic and melodic lines within. This was written for the 2018-19 Saxophone Choir from West Texas A&M University under Dr. James Barger.

Echoes And Reflections

One Giant Leap centers around mankind's great love story with outer space. Since the dawn of time, people have looked up at the night sky and felt a kindred spirit, even a yearning to return to the stars that everything once came from. 

This piece was written to be premiered by the West Texas A&M University Saxophone Choir, under the direction of Dr. James Barger, on March 9th at the 2020 North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conference at Arizona State University.

One Giant Leap

Impressions, written for reed quintet, was one of my first compositions in college that went unfinished until my senior year. It consists of two movements, both of which share a common melodic motif that explore the styles of two of my biggest compositional influences, Philip Glass and Steve Reich.

Impressions for Reed Quintet

Impressions, written for saxophone quartet, was one of my first compositions in college that went unfinished until my senior year. It consists of two movements, both of which share a common melodic motif that explore the styles of two of my biggest compositional influences, Philip Glass and Steve Reich.

Impressions for Saxophone Quartet

I was approached by members of a trombone octet on campus who wanted a piece that was “hard and fast”, and with complete creative license, I wrote a piece based on my ideas of Dante’s Divine Comedy. I borrowed the moods of the Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso, telling a story of one thrown into the depths of hell, who travels through a brief and somber purgatory before reaching the great shining gates of heaven. Their paradise is short-lived, however, as they are plucked from the heavens and are forced to race against the ever burning and rapidly encroaching hellfire in order to escape eternal damnation.

Hellfire will be premiered in March at the 2020 American Trombone Workshop in Arlington County, Virginia by the West Texas A&M University Trombone Choir, under the direction of Dr. John Shanks.

Randy Stagich