Steven Bryant

Aloft evokes the relentless pursuit of powered flight by the Wright Brothers at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, as well as the broader sense of persistence and elation during any creative act.

Aloft is meant to be truly accessible to a very wide range of musicians, conforming to the North Carolina Bandmasters Association MPA grade 2 guidelines, and thus playable by young and inexperienced musicians everywhere.

I am grateful to Danny Green, the Wachovia Winds Youth Wind Ensemble, and all the members of the consortium for creating this unique project for so many North Carolina composers. The complete Special thanks to Philip Riggs for additional consultation on making the work’s technical demands accessible to young musicians.

The Wachovia Winds Youth Wind Ensemble North Carolina Concert Band Music Consortium:

Piedmont Wind Symphony
Winston-Salem, NC
Dr. Mark A. Norman, Music Director/Conductor

Winston Salem State University
Winston-Salem, NC
Dr. Michael Magruder, Dr. Kinard Douthit,
Dr. James Armstrong

Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, NC
Dr. Tim Heath

University of North Carolina Wilmington
Wilmington, NC
Dr. Dominic Talanca

University of North Carolina School of the Arts
Winston-Salem, NC
Dr. Mark A. Norman

University of North Carolina Pembroke
Pembroke, NC
Tim Altman

University of North Carolina Greensboro
Greensboro, NC
Jonathan Caldwell

University of North Carolina Charlotte
Charlotte, NC
Hunter Kopczynski

University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC
Jeff Fuchs, Evan Feldman, Erin Cooper

University of North Carolina Asheville
Asheville, NC
Emily Mariko Eng

North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC
Dr. Paul Garcia

Lenoir-Rhyne University
Hickory, NC
Christopher Nigrell, Neil Underwood

High Point University
High Point, NC
Brian Meixner

Elon University
Elon, NC
Jonathan Poquette

East Carolina University
Greenville, NC
Dr. William Staub

Duke University
Durham, NC
Dr. Verena Mösenbichler-Bryant

Catawba College
Salisbury, NC
J. Ben Jones

Appalachian State University
Boone, NC
Dr. John Stanley Ross

West Wilkes Middle School
Wilkesboro, NC
Matthew J. Dauer

Surf City Middle School
Hampstead, NC
Trevor Judy

Southeastern Stokes Middle School
Walnut Cove, NC
Justin Carter

Roberta Road Middle School
Concord, NC
Greg Dills

Piney Grove Middle School
Lawsonville, NC
Meagan Moser

Pilot Mountain Middle School
Pilot Mountain, NC
Matthew Trice

Mt. Airy MS
Mt. Airy, NC
Meredith Dowdy

Lewisville MS
Lewisville, NC
Colin Choat
John Stewart, Sponsor

Ledford Middle School
Thomasville, NC
Dave Beitzel, Angel Gonzalez

Lake Norman Charter Middle School
Huntersville, NC
Dylan Scaringelli

H.M. Arndt Middle School
Hickory, NC
Kevin Townsend

E Lawson Brown Middle School
Thomasville, NC
Christina DiGioia Carter, David Deese

Eben Hopson Sr. Memorial Middle School
Utqiagvik, Alaska
Christian E. Roseboro

East Yancy Middle School
Burnsville, NC
Kelsea English

Cuthbertson Middle School
Waxhaw, NC
Katie Ebert, Todd Ebert

Chestnut Grove Middle School
King, NC
Dylan Jones

Canal Winchester Middle School
Canal Winchester, Ohio
Taylor Leonard, Luke Furniss

A L Stanback Middle School
Hillsborough, NC
Michael Capps

West Stokes High School
King, NC
Will Nichols

West Forsyth HS
Clemmons, NC
Tom Shoemaker
John Stewart, Sponsor

Starmount High School
Boonville, NC
Michael Hyde, Melanie Watson
The Shallowford Foundation, Sponsor

Simon G. Atkins High School
Winston-Salem, NC
Justin Sumners, Greg Murphy

Ronald Reagan High School
Pfafftown, NC
Robert Johnston, Kenny Tysor

Rolesville High School
Rolesville, NC
Michael Mayer

Robert B. Glenn High School
Kernersville, NC
Jonathan Miller

Palisades High School
Charlotte, NC
Joshua K. Potter

North Stokes High School
Danbury, NC
Meagan Moser

Niles West High School
Skokie, Illinois
Justin Johnson

Mt. Airy High School
Mt. Airy, NC
Nick Tirpak

Lord Beaverbrook High School
Calgary, AB, Canada
Scott Campbell

Ledford High School
Thomasville, NC
Angel Gonzalez, Dave Beitzel

Lakeside High School
Evans, Georgia
Jared Best

J. H. Rose High School
Greenville, NC
Matthew Howard, Raekwon Dupree

Grand Haven High School
Grand Haven, Michigan
Iain Novoselich, Luke Kirkopoulos

Forbush High School
East Bend, NC
Donald Dohm, Anna Peterson
The Shallowford Foundation, Sponsor

East Surry High School
Pilot Mountain, NC
Matthew Trice

East Mecklenburg High School
Charlotte, NC
Chris Moreau

East Forsyth High School
Kernersville, NC
Alex AsKew

East Davidson High School
Thomasville, NC
David Deese, Christina DiGioia Carter

Davie High School
Mocksville, NC
Matthew Brusseau

Cuthbertson High School
Waxhaw, NC
Todd Ebert, Katie Ebert

Central Memorial High School
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Adam Mailman

Canal Winchester High School
Canal Winchester, Ohio
Taylor Leonard, Luke Furniss

Bowling Green High School
Bowling Green, Missouri
Zach Keller, Brandin Bovay

Barrow High School
Utqiagvik, Alaska
Christian E. Roseboro

Apex High School
Apex, NC
Daniel Jarvis

Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools
Brad Oliver, Executive Director
Andrew Craft, Director, Arts Education

North Carolina Youth Wind Ensemble
Durham, NC
Phillip Riggs,
Dr. Verena Mösenbichler-Bryant

Dynamic Music Education Products
Huntersville, NC
Ruth Petersen – Owner

Charlotte Pride Band
Charlotte, NC
Ron Vereen , Dr. John Stanley Ross

Avery County Community Band
Newland, NC
Dee Raby

Commissioned by: The Wachovia Winds Youth Wind Ensemble for the NC Concert Band Music Consortium Artistic Director, Danny Green. Conductors, Alex AsKew, Matthew Brusseau, Daniel Campbell, Derrick James, Robert Johnston, Quincy Lundy and Justin Sumners

Premiered

27 May 2023, Wachovia Winds Youth Wind Ensemble, Alex Askew, conductor

7 November 2023, Reagan High School Wind Ensemble, NCMEA convention, Winston-Salem, NC

Technical Info

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