I Met Senator Levin Today
for Wind Band (Grade 4.5)
I) There was a short pompous procession of ROTC members holding
flags and swords
II) The speech was stultifyingly dull
III) The guy could answer questions though
IV) Afterwards, he told me that the amount of money needed to win a
senatorial race was indeed a problem, and that they would probably have
to
create a new amendment to change campaign finance laws in order for the
population to accurately be represented, which unfortunately would
require
tampering with the 1st amendment, which was dangerous. This gave
me some level of
confidence in him, but made me feel negatively about our political
system in general.
Sightread by the University of Texas Wind Ensemble
conducted by Ryan Kelly
In late 2009, Senator Carl Levin of Michigan made a
visit to Central Michigan University. I attended, and the
experience inspired me to write a piece later
that night. "I Met Senator Levin Today" was originally for solo
piano, but I immediately
thought it would make a great band piece.
In early 2011 I created
the transcription: the first movement is for brass and percussion
only, the second is for woodwinds and
percussion, and the final 2 are tutti.
This composition takes
inspiration from Peter Schickele, Samuel Barber, and (obviously)
Senator Carl Levin!