A composition for full concert band, written for a class that was supposed to be advanced composition but was really an experiment in letting teenagers take themselves seriously. I was sixteen. The full title was “Awn Saum Bull: A Hymn for Her,” which is exactly the title sixteen-year-olds write. The band performed it at a school concert. Nobody hated it, which at that age feels like winning. I’d been playing music for years but had never built something from scratch. The shape of the work, and the panic of seeing other people read your notes, those still come back to me whenever I’m composing anything.
