Naoya Wada (b. 1986) is a Japanese composer of a wide range of music that has been performed all over the world. Growing up in Fukuoka, he taught himself piano and began composing at age 11. He also played tuba in high school. He undertook formal music study at Toho College of Music, where Jun Nagao was among his teachers. See more about Wada at his website, the Wind Repertory Project, Barnhouse, and Wikipedia.
Wada wrote Amber Moon in 2005 while still in the midst of his undergraduate studies. He dedicates it to “Saki, My Best Friend.” He describes how the piece came to be on his website:
Amber Moon was written in 2005, when I was 19 years old. One winter evening, as I was walking home from university, I saw a large amber moon hanging low in the sky. It was a quiet moment, and something about that moon really stayed with me. It felt beautiful, but also a little mysterious—and even a bit lonely. Right then, the main theme popped into my head, and I ended up writing the piece almost like an improvisation.
The music reflects the emotional complexity of that moment. The first and last sections are in a minor key, portraying the slightly uneasy, introspective feeling evoked by the low amber moon. These are contrasted by a central section in a major key, representing the fleeting but striking beauty that appeared within the darkness.
Here is a professional recording of it:
And a very fine high school band performance:
See more about Amber Moon at Wada’s website, Grand Mesa Music, J. W. Pepper, and the Wind Repertory Project.