Description

This piece started as an experiment with my own horn; I wanted to see what textures I could create without the presence of a bass voice. I ended up drawing on many ensembles the trumpet is used in—concert bands, orchestras, jazz bands, even marching bands. Within all this, I wanted to create a back-and-forth feel to the music, similar to the banter that many friends, siblings and trumpet players engage in on a regular basis. While the quartet begins as two teams, each intent on proving superiority, they eventually come together in pursuit of a common goal, as any ensemble must.

A note to performers:

Sibling Rivalry is written as a performance piece—acting the part of disgruntled siblings is encouraged and will add to the character of the piece overall. A few directions have been given in the score to assist performers in this endeavor; however, feel free to put in as much before and/or after the piece as you like.

Please don’t swap out horns for this piece. I wrote for Cs and Bbs specifically to get the micro-contrasts in the two timbres. Thanks!

Run time: between 4’30” and 7′, depending on how many antics you add.

Sibling Rivalry perusal

Watch a performance of Sibling Rivalry from the spring of 2015 featuring myself, Alex Wilson, Devin Henderson, and Tori Riemersma:

Past performances:

• 4/10/2015: myself with Tori Riemersma, Devin Henderson, and Alex Wilson, with movement (and general chaos), Church of the Epiphany, Tempe, AZ
• 9/29/2014: myself with Tori Riemersma, Davis Smith, and Alex Wilson, with movement, Katzin Concert Hall, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ (world premiere)