Wind Octet No 1

This piece was commissioned by Arquin Abaya, a Music Education student and clarinet player at CSUF. It is one of my largest works to date in terms of both length and instrumentation. I drew influence from wind repertoire like Poulanc’s Sextet for Piano and Wind Quintet, video game soundtracks like Final Fantasy 9, and pop music such as Dream Theater’s The Astonishing. The piece features an interplay between ensemble writing and I intend for this to be the first movement of a larger work to come. Be sure to listen for the arching clarinet and flute solos in the slow middle section.