D a v i d   V e s s

'Take Flight' (originally called Brass Quintet No. 1) was the very first piece of concert music I ever started writing. I remember being captivated by the idea of being a composer just after David Maslanka came to UNCSA for a residency, where our wind ensemble performed his Symphony No. 4. As I was a very uncertain tuba performance major at the time, the possibility of being a composer simply wasn't on my menu. But after meeting Dr. Maslanka, the idea hit me like a truck, and I set out immediately to write my first piece. That sense of boundless possibility and excitement very much shaped the mood of this first piece of mine. 'Take Flight' is a brass quintet about the ascending, limitless feeling of flight. The piece opens with an unrelenting tempo and a fanfare-like gesture that launches the music skyward. From there, the harmonic language mirrors this upward trajectory — always climbing, always reaching — shaped after the opening melodic gesture itself, but stretched toward the horizon. The middle passage slows to something soulful and expansive: long, cloud-like horn melodies suspended above running cascades from the muted trumpets. It is remarkably calm this high up — I know, because I wrote most of this section on an actual flight. From there the music gathers itself and builds toward a glorious return, though never back to the home key. Instead it continues its ascent, savoring each upward key change before hurling itself to the finish. What remains is a sensation of optimism, of infectious joy and possibility that might even get you yourself to jump up and 'Take Flight'.