Randall Standridge is a composer and band director from Arkansas. His music has been performed all over the US and internationally.
Standridge offers the following program note on Adrenaline Engines:
In 2008, I wrote a piece entitled Afterburn, which I premiered with my Junior High ensemble. The kids loved the piece; even more amazing was the response from my high school band students. The next day, I was bombarded with requests from the senior band members that boiled down to “We want to play something like that!” I was happy to oblige, and Adrenaline Engines was born.
Adrenaline Engines is essentially “Afterburn II.” It explores some of the same rhythmic and motivic ideas, but is written for more advanced players. There are time signature changes, key changes, timpani changes, etc… and the rhythmic and melodic challenges are greater.
Adrenaline Engines was also the result of a commission from George Pokorski, band director at Marion Middle School in Marion, AR. He wished to commission a piece to premiere with the Arkansas Small Band Association All-Star Band. He premiered the piece with that ensemble in the Spring of 2009.
I hope you, your students, and your audience will enjoy the thundering percussion, driving rhythms, and kinetic (sometimes frenetic) energy that I tried to imbue in this work.
Here is Standridge himself conducting his high school band in Adrenaline Engines:
And the inspiration for this piece, Standridge’s Afterburn performed by his middle school band with the composer conducting.