Ancient Light (Wind Band)

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Ancient Light (Wind Band)

from $39.00

Grade 4.5

Ancient Light is inspired by the stunning photographs of deep space taken by the James Webb Space Telescope.

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Printed Score Only: $39
Printed Score + Printed Parts: $149.99
Printed Score + Digital PDF Parts: $149.99

Details

Grade 4.5 – Wind Band
Year of Composition: 2023
Length: 5 minutes 20 seconds

Bandworld Magazine Top 100 Selection, 2024

About the piece

The cosmos have fascinated and mystified humans since the beginning of time, and I’ve often felt myself in awe of the sheer depth and magnitude of space. Have you ever looked up into space and wondered how far it extends? Is it endless? There are theories about this, but we don’t really know. What we do know is that there are millions upon millions of stars and galaxies out there, some of which have been captured by satellite imagery. In December 2021, the James Webb Space Telescope was launched and sent into the dark unknown to take photos of very distant space. The Webb Telescope is able to take photos of deep space as it existed millions of years ago, so we are literally able to peer back into the ancient past of the cosmos. This is possible because when Webb takes a photo in space, it is capturing light that has travelled millions of light years to reach Webb. It’s almost incomprehensible the distances that the light travels (and therefore the sheer size of space). It’s traveling for millions of years through space to reach us, and the speed of light is quite fast – 186,000 miles per second.

This piece, Ancient Light is a reflection on that distant light traveling to us from the unknown depths of space. The music tries to capture the speed and excitement of this light, and its mysterious origins. As we peer into the deep corners of space and time, what mysteries might we find?

Ancient Light was commissioned by a consortium organized by the Oregon Band Directors Association and premiered by the 2024 Oregon All-State Band.