Dawn On The Island is about the sights of morning on an island. Starting with a depiction of darkness, a dialogue between solo clarinet and low winds is featured. A journey to brightness begins with the middle voices fragmenting the theme, which was already stated by the clarinet. The climax is overwhelming, with so many different colors swirling about and the brightness piercing the scenery, which was dark just moments ago. The piece then settles down and restates the themes in reverse order. The clarinet solo comes back, and the low winds imitate waves on a beach to close the piece.

This was my first piece for band that was performed in 2015 by Lee Russo and the Guilderland High School (NY) Symphonic Band. I’m still grateful to him for the opportunity and the mentorship, and am proud to present this “ 10 Year Anniversary Edition” in which I keep the form and character intact, but recomposed much of the music to generate more variety than I had done originally. This allowed me to retain the charm that my sixteen-year-old self was aiming for, but did not have the experience or knowledge to pull it off fully. The piece is still lushly scored like the original, with great care to make harmonies and melodies clear even if the texture is purposefully “muddy.”