Firefall (2022)
for concert band
Approximate duration: ca. 4' 30"
Difficulty: Moderately hard (Grade 4-5)
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Instrumentation:
picc, fl. 1 & 2, ob., E.hr., bs. 1 & 2, cl. 1 & 2,b.cl.,a.s., t.s., b.s. / trp 1, 2 & 3, hr 1 & 2, trb 1 & 2, b trb, euph, tuba / harp / piano / perc (5 players): Crotales, vibraphone, marimba, small triangle, large triangle, finger cymbals, gong, glass wind chimes, bell tree, suspended cymbal
Premiere: May 18, 2026
Pacific Symphony Youth Wind Ensemble
Costa Mesa, CA
Dr. Gregory X Whitmore, dir.
PROGRAM NOTES
Firefall began as just an abstract, self contained exercise in timbral exploration. I was attending the Midwest conference in 2019 and I was sitting in a performance of one of the many stellar groups who perform there, and out of nowhere came the idea of a descending line of notes in thirds contrasted in different registers and instrument choirs. So in the beginning the piece had no other purpose than an exploration of instrumental color.
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In a wonderful instance of artistic serendipity, it was in this very incipient stage of writing that I somehow came across in my various social media or news feeds mention of the firefall phenomenon. There is a renowned waterfall in Yosemite National Park called the Horsetail Fall on the El Capitan ridge. At a specific time of year, usually mid February, the placement of the planet aligns with the rays of the setting sun to penetrate the water of this fall at just the right angle and produce a breathtaking light illusion that makes the water seem like cascading lava for just ten or fifteen minutes. The phenomenon has become so renowned that hundreds of people make an annual pilgrimage to witness this natural wonder.
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I don’t remember how or where I was made aware of this, but my mind instantly correlated this image with the musical material fomenting in my head, and from there the piece developed incredibly fast.
Since the impetus of the piece is visual, it stands to reason that Firefall is largely depictive, an exercise in tone painting. I’ve contrasted musical ideas that depict water flowing or cascading with timbral images of growing or decreasing light, culminating in a full blaze and decrescendoing from there.