Thornton Community Band (TCB) proudly announces a special feature in its upcoming November 5th concert: "Masque of the Red Death," composed by TCB's own member Ryan Powell.
"Masque of the Red Death" is based on Edgar Allan Poe's work of the same name. "Poe's words--flowing, rhythmic, hauntingly macabre, and beautifully melodic--were the impetus behind this piece," Powell described. His first exposure to the short story was through a dramatic reading by "The Hunger Artists," a Denver-based theatre group. "Poe weaved a moving and sinister tale that, at its very core, communicated imagery through stark sounds, music, and colors. As such, I found the story was an ideal subject to express through the medium of music," though, with a broad smile, Powell credits his wife for the initial inspiration.
Powell began composing Masque in 2002, at the age of 21. At the time, he was an Aviation Technology major and Music minor at Metropolitan State College of Denver. Powell went beyond traditional requirements, however, and took additional ensembles and private composition courses, where he studied under Cherise Leiter. Powell was also principal clarinet in Metro's Wind Ensemble and was a member of the University of Colorado Denver's featured jazz ensemble, called the Claimjumpers, where he had the opportunity to perform at the Moscow Conservatory in Russia.
Masque was first performed in 2003 by the Metro's wind ensemble under Paige Vickery. "Hearing your composition played for the first time is truly hard to put into words," Powell reached. "There's nothing quite like hearing your creation come to life. There was a mixture of nervousness, elation, pride, and release as the final note rang into the hall. Composing is very personal to me, but the ultimate goal is to touch other people with the music," he added. Powell describes this moment as one of the very great moments in his life.
Just a few years later, with Powell now the principal clarinet player with Thornton Community Band, he approached conductor Dr. David Kish with the idea of programming the piece. "He was very receptive," recalls Powell. Kish, along with TCB Board President Harley Brown, recalls working to ensure the piece fit well with the programming. "Not only does his piece have a color in the title, it also offers an interesting and contrasting musical style to our mix of music." Brown said of placing Masque in the November 5th lineup, which is based on a theme of colors.
Powell has made some adjustments to the orchestration of the piece based on his first experience and on TCB's particular instrumentation and strengths. "I focused on fleshing out the brass parts to better feature our fine players. As a results the piece boasts more intricate layers of countermelodies, which I believe better manifests Poe's vision of a phantasmic masquerade." Powell's piece is a perfect example of the contrasting "colors" available to musicians. "Masque elicits both bright, happy sounds while also contrasting dark, heavy chords. It's very appealing," stated Kish.
Powell noted the pleasure in hearing Masque come together through TCB rehearsals. "Dr. Kish has done an outstanding job both rehearsing and interpreting my piece, and it's very exciting for me to hear the piece through his fresh rendering," Powell lauded.
Thornton Community Band will perform Powell's "Masque of the Red Death" as part of its "Colors" concert on Thursday, November 5th. The concert begins at 7:30pm, located at Skyview Auditorium, 8990 York Street in Thornton.
The concert is free; donations welcome.
For more information about Thornton Community Band, visit
http://www.thorntonband.webs.com/.