Kevin Day is a young (b. 1996) American composer who, as of this writing, is rising. Fast. REALLY fast. It is clear that it will be impossible to keep up with his flurry of activity, which already includes more than 100 compositions, numerous premieres and conference performances, his second composer-in-residence position (with the Mesquite Orchestra in Texas), and graduate study in composition and conducting at the University of Georgia. This is only the tip of the iceberg, and it is sure to increase by the time you’ve read this, so I refer you to his ever-changing bio at his website. Also check him out at the Gabriela Lena Frank Academy of Music, MCI Composers, Texas Christian University (his alma mater, class of ’19), the Wind Repertory Project, D Magazine, The Dallas Morning News, and the Everything Band Podcast.
Rocketship! is a barn-burner of a piece that gives every instrument a lot to do. Day wrote it in 2017 for Paul Rosales and the William James Middle School Band Program in Fort Worth, TX, to whom it is also dedicated. It has famously become a mainstay in Julie Giroux‘s honor band rotation, and it is performed here by one of the Alabama All State bands under her direction:
Read more about it at Murphy Music Press.