Steven Bryant

Instrumentation:   Band

Genres:   Energetic

This is the wind ensemble version of the piano piece of the same name. This is quite possibly the most difficult piece I’ve ever written (though not by design), and is a play on the idea of “red-lining” an engine (i.e. pushing something to its limits) and the 1/9 subway (“red”) line in New York City, which goes by Juilliard, where I worked for nearly 10 years. It’s a fast, densely crowded train. The piece reflects the combination of these two ideas, and pushes the ensemble to the edge of endurance and energy.

Premiered

1 December 2005, Rowan State University Wind Ensemble, John Pastin, conductor