Periapsis

About

Periapsis: The point at which an orbiting object is closest to the center of mass of the body it is orbiting. Any object at such a point is at its greatest orbital velocity.

Periapsis was composed in mid-March of 2022, and takes inspiration from the bold, innovative private Space Flight companies currently striving for greater heights. The piece was conceived while experimenting on the melodica and experimenting with semi-dissonant tone clusters while on the way to pick up his wife, Ashlie, from work. The beginning starts with an articulated rhythmic gesture in the trumpet that slowly transforms into a dissonant, piercing chord with all three trumpets playing in rhythmic unison, while maintaining moderate dissonances between themselves.  As the rhythmic gestures continue throughout the piece, several melodies jump in and out of the texture, utilizing the full sound of an orchestra to create the tapestry of outer space itself, with the rhythmic gesture becoming the engine of our human ingenuity, driving us to the stars.

Performances