Marching Band (1:52) - August 1995

Glossolalia March (Recital Edition) (MIDI)

My second composition ever. I was flipping through a book of Sousa marches one day when the creative demons overtook me. So, I tried to write a march in basic march format. It turned out to be tongue-in-cheek, hyper, and extremely hard to play. I still hadn't quite gotten a handle on instrument ranges yet. After its completion, I also realized that there was no traditional dogfight in the trio, but hey, that's the way it goes. The trumpet is the predominant instrument in most of the first strains.

This piece was read a few times by my high school band, which helped me learn what not to do. It was later rearranged for a variety of occasions. I eventually re-arranged it as the encore on my Fifth Year Recital. I based it on the version with a dogfight used in my pep band book. I think the addition of the soprano saxophone added an amusing timbre to the sound, which really brought out the character of the piece. As Prof. Jim Glazebrook said, "It sounds like Prokofiev and John Philip Sousa got their DNA mixed up in some strange wacky world."