Ballad of a Wanderer (2022)

Ballad of a Wanderer (2022)

horn choir

Duration: 8′

Click HERE to view PDF of the score.

Available for purchase: JW Pepper, Sheet Music Direct, and Sheet Music Plus

“Well, I sing by night, wander by day. I’m on the road and it looks like I’m here to stay.” – Bob Dylan

I was inspired by these words when composing Ballad of a Wanderer for horn choir. Imagine a scenic hike along the coast where most of the trail is along the cliff’s edge. To the left is the forest and to the right is the vast, open sea. Opening with a quartet of horns forming a melody out of hocketing tones, a lyrical, vast and whimsical atmosphere is created as more and more horns join in. For me, the music represents the personal adventure as various melodies intertwine throughout, carrying us on this musical journey. At the end, the melodic ideas gradually fade out, unresolved, reminding us that even though an experience – an adventure such as a hike, may have an end point, our memories will forever continue onward.

Ballad of a Wanderer was written for the Eastman Horn choir and premiered March 22, 2022 at the Women in Music Festival to celebrate the Eastman Centennial.

It was awarded an Honorable Mention in the Virtuosi Division of the 2022 International Horn Society Composition Contest and performed by the IHS Advisory Council Horn Ensemble at the 55th International Horn Symposium.