Some Notes

• First band piece I wrote
• Premiered in 2012 at a local band festival
• Originally inspired by music in an episode of my favorite television show Airwolf
• Middle section inspired by my father’s near fatal heart attack in December 2011
• My students say it should be in a movie
• Sorry for the quality of the video. It is what we had to work with. The sound is good
• Performed by the Carl Hayden High School Concert Band with Rebecca Vogel conducting

The Story Behind The Journey

While grading papers one afternoon I was drawn to some background music playing in an Airwolf episode I was listening to. My mind began to experiment with it and soon I was at the piano tinkering with the melody and the underlying chord progression. Around the same time I began hearing band instruments playing the music and realized I could write a piece for my band students to play. That would be a neat experience for them and for me. From time to time I had to fix a variety of issues in music I purchased for my band to play and figured I couldn’t do any worse.

By the start of the next school year, the 2011-2012 school year, I had completed most of this composition but it didn’t feel quite finished yet. That December, my father had a near fatal heart attack. I found out about it 45 minutes before I had to go on stage and run a band concert. I didn’t know if my father would even be alive the next day but the show had to go on. Through the grace of God I was able to run the band concert like nothing had happened. My father is currently alive and well. This emotional experience gave me what I needed to finish writing the piece. My students played it the following spring semester. It was performed at the spring band festival and their final concert that year. This piece has been well received by all who have heard it.