We never know where a piece is going to go when we begin its journey – and it’s always we. Sure, the composer writes it, but the commissioning path includes organizations, performers, venues, sometimes festivals or events; and yes, the composer too.

Kayla Solomon and Danielle Guina, the performers of “The Stars of November” have been an inseparable part of the process. The piece was specifically written about a family member of Danielle’s, we all reviewed and discussed different aspects of the piece’s architecture and style as it was being written, and we even rewrote the ending together in Kayla’s living room. It’s always a collaborative process.

One night in 2022, I got a message in our Messenger thread that the International Trumpet Guild has a New Works recital in May 2023. They were accepting submissions and the team thought that we should submit it. Hey, why not? You can’t win the lottery if you don’t buy a ticket, so I put an application together and threw our hat in the ring.

Of 156 submissions, 15 were selected and “The Stars of November” was one of them. Needless to say, we are super excited. Kayla and Danielle are heading to the conference in Minneapolis to perform it and, if the recital doesn’t fall on the night of my band concert, I’ll be there too.

Congrats to the winners and congrats to our team!