Purchase Fortress

Year Composed: 2019

Duration: 8:20

Premiere: Arizona State University Wind Ensemble, Sept. 19, 2019, conducted by Jason Caslor (Commissioner)

Perusal Score

Program Notes

The title Fortress came to me before I composed the piece, and it is multi-dimensional. A fortress may be your belief and trust in a higher being, that through Him all things are possible. Your fortress may be a positive state of mind, to protect yourself physically, mentally, or spiritually from things such as negative emotions, disease, suffering, etc. Your fortress may also be a self-protective, and sometimes self-destructive, shield which masks your true self from reality. What is inside the fortress also has significance. For the faithful, is it a beautiful garden of love and acceptance, next to a pool which mirrors God’s love? For the lost, is it a lonely, empty space, broken-down with time, crumbling and turning to dust? The form of the piece was guided by a beloved children’s book about perseverance, facing up to your fears, and overcoming an internal struggle. Some imagery which I incorporated into the music are the building of walls, the passage of time, feelings of anxiety, doubt, and loneliness followed by escape, perseverance, and redemption.

-Theresa Martin, 9.13.19

Instrumentation

Flute 1-2

Oboe 1-2

English Horn

Bassoon 1-2

Contrabassoon

Clarinet in Eb

Clarinets in Bb 1-3

Bass Clarinet

Alto Sax 1-2

Tenor Sax 1-2

Baritone Sax

Harp

Piano

Trumpets in Bb 1-2

Horns in F 1-4

Trombones 1-2

Bass Trombone

Euphonium 1-2

Tuba 1-2

Timpani

Percussion: Bass Drum, Medium Sus. Cym., Tam-tam (or large gong), Small gong, hi-hat Glockenspiel Xylophone Vibraphone Marimba Crotales Tubular Bells/Chimes