Dreams of Flight is one of the first works I composed. Originally, this piece was written for my high school wind ensemble my senior year. I also dedicated the piece to my friend Bradford Parris who was always very supportive of me throughout high school, especially when it came to composition.

Dreams of Flight tells a story of a boy who goes to bed and dreams of flying in the open sky. Although he cannot physically do so in real life, the dream feels real to him and is thrilling to experience. However, Dreams of Flight also tells a deeper story: a story that is rooted in real life. The boy is myself, and the dreams are my grand aspirations to new heights in the music community, both as a performer and composer. I know not where my music will take me, but it is that uncertainty and that unknowing potential that thrills me to press on.

The tune starts with a free-time Flute solo representing the soul of the boy himself. The ensemble joins after the Flute solo in slow, somber, but comforting music. The Soprano Saxophone voice then joins in and chimes in a new melody, the melody of wishful thinking and imagination. As the music caries on, it finally gives way to the Flute solo again, this time an octave higher, letting the audience know that the boy has finally entered his dreamscape.

The piece then dramatically picks up tempo and there is wonderful energy and excitement as the boy soars through the clouds high above the surface of the world. The boy meets a friend in the sky, and they chase each other through the clouds through the quick runs in the woodwind section. The music builds and builds to a grand climax where the boy bursts to his highest point yet in grandiose glory. The boy’s theme is then restated in duet between the oboe and the flute, showing how the boy is not the only one dreaming of this, and how he made a new friend along the way. As the music settles, there is peace and calm once more, and the boy who dreamed of flying is content to move on to new greater dreams.