Curtis Biggs

Solo Trombone and Trombone Ensemble 6 Tenor Trombones, 2 Bass Trombones, Solo Tenor Trombone

Composer's Note:

I was driving through a canyon in the mountains of Utah Valley. It was a foggy winter day and as I drove through the canyon, I passed a lake with a wall of fog hiding it from view. On the same trip back later that day, I saw an eagle soaring in the sky. This piece attempts to capture some of the wonder of that experience. The opening melody with accompaniment depicts the fog covering the lake, the wah-wah mute providing atmospheric texture in two of the ensemble parts. Later in the piece, the soloist joins the ensemble parts in the wah-wah mute and then has a muted cadenza with multiphonics. You can hear the eagle when the soloist and ensemble build to a climax, and then the solo trombone soars above the ensemble on a high D.

This piece was premiered on December 10, 2022 in the Larsen Recital Hall at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah with Lyman McBride as soloist and Curtis Biggs directing the Snow College Trombone Ensemble.