ABOUT THE COMPOSITION In 2018, the Manitoba Band Association commissioned me to create five original chorales for beginning bands for their Level One Band Festival - Chorale No. 3 in E-flat 'Maple Lane' was the most challenging of the lot. Following the completion of that project, I endeavored to create a few more pieces for concert band accessable to beginning players. Autumn Down A Maple Lane begins with this original chorale, as heard in the flutes, clarinets, and vibes in the opening measures (an instrumental colour borrowed from Merlin Patterson's band arrangement of Copland's Down A Country Lane). The rest of the piece is a simple development of the chorale material.

From an emotional perspective, this short piece is an homage to the positive power of memory. I grew up on 'Fairview Road' in rural Manitoba, a street covered by a lush canopy of oak, poplar, and maple trees on either side of the road. Once October came every year the views down the straight-driving lane were breathtaking, with hues of red, yellow, green, and orange playing off the soft streams of sunlight. Today, few things calm my nerves better than a walk down that street mid-Autumn.

Autumn Down A Maple Lane is dedicated to Mac Sobie, a childhood friend of mine who passed away on February 10, 2004 at the age of 15 from cancer. The piece was premiered by Dr. Wendy Zander McCallum and the West Valley Winds in Canmore, Alberta on March 2, 2019.