Wyvern Fire was commissioned by Todd Millen and the Kingswood Oxford School (CT) Band. Unlike most of my pieces, the title for this one came first and was the inspiration for the entire piece. Mr. Millen and I are old friends from Northwestern University and so it was a wonderful opportunity for me to have the chance to write for his band at Kingswood Oxford. Even better was the fact that I was able to meet with his students several times during the course of the commission, allowing them to present their own ideas about concepts for the work. During one of these meetings, a student in the trumpet section mentioned that the school’s mascot was the wyvern, a mythical beast with a dragon’s head and wings, a reptilian body, and a pointed tail. This student suggested the title of Wyvern Fire, and all of my ideas for the work grew from there.

The piece begins in F phrygian and basically revolves around the alternation of two ideas. The first is an aggressive and driving section featuring an accompaniment of powerful parallel fifths in the lower instruments and an extensive array of percussion instruments with a wailing melody that is first presented in a solo clarinet. The second features a more scalar melody that is somewhat folk-like and ritualistic in nature. These two alternate throughout the work, eventually building to an intense and dramatic finish.