Through The Eyes of Masked Vengeance

Vengance is a word we often seem to have misconstrued. Does is mean justice? Does it mean revenge? In either case, what do you want out of it?

There came a point in time, specifically toward the latter half of 2023, where I was feeling sunken in life. It felt like one bad thing led to another and the cards were just not in my favor at all. One day during my lesson, my applied clarinet professor said to me, "You're sounding good, you just sound like you're playing with... vengeance."

He was right. A lot of what I felt I was able to hide either in my face or in my everyday activities was pretty much screaming through my clarinet. So I felt I needed to find another way. I channeled a lot of what felt into my own individual connection to the fictional character that I think a lot of people think of when they hear this word.

This piece takes the listener through the tension and dread that someone feels when they are at a particularly low point in life. The dramatic eighth notes motifs in the low brass are meant to generate panic and urgency. Such as to say time feels like it's running out. The piece ends on a triumphant stinger moment as if to say: What next?

There were several moments while composing this piece where I felt several things. What I imagine a lot of people in similar situations to mine in their own lives might feel. My hope for those who get to perform this is to find their way of channeling those feelings through their performance. By the end, I hope they will, in turn, begin to find the answer to their own question: What next?