Premiere:

April 28th 2023 Byron Nelson High School Chamber Orchestra, Conducted by Gary Keller

Program Note

The ocean is a very beautiful place, vast waters filled with amazing sealife and incredible reefs. The ocean can also be viewed as mysterious and even dangerous at times. Unknown giants and incredible storms that can take down a whole ship like it wasn't even there. The vast beauty in combination with the unknown mysteries make the ocean a perfect setting to take on an epic and adventurous voyage. Weather its pirates or explorers taking on a storm, this piece is an adventurous journey across the deep blue exploring the unknown of what lies below the edge.

Below the Edge opens with a fast moving ostinato in the violins that continues throughout the piece. This is followed by an opening theme in the celli that soon this develops into an epic progression all to suddenly drop into the original ostinato passing between the middle strings. As we traverse deeper, our basses open a window driving the original motive which is soon assisted by the rest of the strings in an extravagant fashion.

Now we get a hint of the second theme in a soft resolution in the upper strings. The basses take over with the new theme and the violins keep the ostinato going while the mids drive everything forward in the background. Next, the theme takes on a variation in a more diplomatic approach via a soft yet punctual pizzicato across the ensemble. The adventure continues when the theme drives to the end in an epic and cinematic close.