Andrew Pease (b. 1979) got his start as a composer writing rock songs in high school, and he has written and arranged for wind bands and chamber groups ever since. In his day job, he serves as Associate Professor of Music and Director of Instrumental Music at Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY, where he leads the Wind Ensemble and Brass Ensemble. He is also co-conductor of the Catskill Valley Wind Ensemble, a community band also based in Oneonta. His guest conducting work has taken him to several states and the UK, and he has presented nationally and internationally on topics in the wind band field. He studied music and music education at Dartmouth College, Columbia University Teachers College, and Hofstra University. He completed doctoral studies in wind conducting at Arizona State University, studying with Gary Hill. His work there earned him the 2017 American Prize in Collegiate Wind Band Conducting. He started his career in New York City, where he was music director of the Columbia University Wind Ensemble and the community band Columbia Summer Winds (now Manhattan Summer Winds). Throughout his varied career, he has directed players of all ages and ability levels, from elementary beginning band to adult amateurs to professional ensembles. His latest compositions appear at his personal website, www.andypease.com. He also runs two websites dedicated to wind bands. Wind Band Literature (windliterature.org) is a repertoire resource for bands around the world. The Wind Band Symphony Archive (windsymphonies.org) is a dynamic archive of symphonies for wind band.
Me again! I’ve been on sabbatical, which enabled me to write Three Reflections, a grade 5 suite which I plan to premiere with the Catskill Valley Wind Ensemble in November. I didn’t originally want it to be three movements, but it came out that way, allowing me to explore an original melody in different settings and moods, and offering plenty of opportunities for contrasts from each of those moods. My “official” program notes:
All three movements of Three Reflections are written around the same musical theme, first introduced in the opening bars of the first movement. While there is no specific program or story behind this music, each movement is its own self-contained character piece, each capturing a moment from this chapter of my life.
The first movement, “Adventures and Hijinx,” begins contemplative, but quickly becomes more restless, ending its first half with a sense of uncertainty and optimism. The second half explores from there, introducing a pair of contrapuntal melodies that dance around each other, combining eventually with the main theme for a big celebration. (Meanwhile, Vincent Persichetti winks at us from the beyond.)
The second movement, “Diminished,” adopts a much darker outlook. It is built out of both diminished chords and the real frustration that comes from unexpectedly limited capacities and choices. In other words, it works to capture what it feels like to actually BE diminished.
The suite ends with “Metal Monster,” which amounts to an actual heavy metal song written for band. I tried to avoid sounding like anyone in particular, but I will admit to cribbing some rhythms and guitar-ish sounds from many familiar acts, and certainly emulating the vocal style of Chris Cornell from Soundgarden. While I never came up with actual lyrics for most of it, I think you will be able to identify the “vocal” parts as they strive to go ever higher in true metal style. You may even find yourself singing “BEHOLD, MY METAL MONSTER!” during the chorus. Finally, despite heavy metal’s reputation as an angry genre, I take GREAT joy in it, and I hope you will find the same in this movement, for all its brutality.
Andrew Pease
June 28, 2025
Three Reflections premiered on November 23, 2025 with the Catskill Valley Wind Ensemble. Since then, I’ve decided that these movements really need to stand on their own! So I will post the recordings below, but I strongly encourage you to go to the page for each movement to see more.
II. Diminished
III. Metal Monster
Purchasing links are on my website, and you can see the score. But definitely visit those links!