The Journey Home was commissioned by Dean Hickman and the Pomerado Community Band of San Diego, CA, in celebration of their 25th anniversary. The title and concept for the work were initially generated by Mr. Hickman, the band’s conductor, who, as he considered ideas for the piece, stated that “wherever you go, there’s always a place to return to.” This seemed particularly appropriate for the occasion at hand, since many family members and former band members would be making their way home for the celebration.

I have always found that I am much more successful as a composer if I can attach something of my own life to what I am writing and, in this particular case, I had no difficulty. I immediately thought of my own experiences when I was in college and of the growing excitement I would feel as I prepared to go home for Thanksgiving or Christmas, a feeling that became almost tangible as landmarks on the drive became more and more recognizable as “home.” I chose to try to reflect that growing excitement in several ways throughout the piece, most noticeably in my choice of key areas, with each section of the piece rising by step throughout the work, moving from Db to Eb, F, G, A, Bb, and C before the piece finally concluding in F.

The basic melodic material for the piece was generated by an even more significant personal connection. As it happens, I composed The Journey Home just after my family and I had made a significant move from Massachusetts to New Hampshire. My five-year old son, Ethan, had written a short passage of music that he called Song for the New House and this seemed to me to be an ideal representation of “home,” so I incorporated his melody as the basic musical motive for most of the material in the work. The piece is also structured in something of an arch form, beginning with a warm, lyrical melody (the “home” theme, but with a sort of wishful hopefulness), stated initially by a solo trumpet. The actual journey home begins as the tempo increases and motivic ideas from the opening theme are introduced and developed into a melodic line in mixed meter. With each succeeding section, the pitch rises until an eventual arrival at the end of the journey and a triumphant return to the opening “home” melody.