The final result is something that I call “dynamic minimalism,” which basically means that I love to employ repetitive patterns as long as they don’t get boring. I wanted to write a moto perpetuo, a piece that starts running and never stops (‘equus’ is the Latin word for horse) and would also be a virtuosic show piece for winds. There are a LOT of notes, and I put every one on paper (with pencil). That was the spark, but it took me a full eight months to write the piece. Steve: “Mark my words, If you don’t use that I’m stealing it.” Me: “Just an old idea I’m about to trash.” As I played one section Steve dashed into the room and the following conversation ensued: On the contrary, I had about 100 pages of material for three different pieces, but I wanted to give Gary something very special and just couldn’t find that perfect spark.Īround this time my great friend and fellow Juilliard composer Steven Bryant was visiting me in Los Angeles, and as I had just bought a new computer I was throwing out old sequencer files, most of them sketches and improvisational ideas. That’s not to say I hadn’t written anything. Two years later I still couldn’t show him a single note. I accepted, and the commission formally began July 1st, 1997. At the Midwest Band and Orchestra convention in 1996, Gary Green approached me about a possible commission for his wind ensemble at the University of Miami.
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