Drive - for saxophone quartet

a first-place winner of the 2019 Sinta Quartet National Composition Competition

Year: 2019

Duration: ca. 9:30

Drive is a series of miniatures each inspired in some way by my experiences with (and love of) driving. Since I first learned to drive as a teenager, it has been one of my favorite things to do. It gives me a sense of freedom that leaves me refreshed and invigorated like nothing else. It is this positivity that is musically reflected in each of the movements of Drive.

Sunset Street begins with calm reflection. There is a road in my home town that I like to drive on when I am seeking to clear my head or relax. I will take it east from my house all the way to its end several miles away, and then travel west back home. If I leave at the right time of evening, I can see the sunset cascade in its full glory as I drive west.

Where the Other Road Leads begins with wonder and imagination. I am a natural navigator; before I ever drove, I knew most roads of my hometown like the back of my hand. As a driver, I took the challenge of searching for the places I’d never seen and traveling the roads I’d never traveled. Often, I would find myself choosing between one path or another, and having to choose only one, would inevitably think about the road I had not taken, and whether perhaps it would have taken me to a new, exciting destination that I had not yet seen.

A Strange Familiarity begins with the spark of memory. Once, I took a drive down a turnpike to reach a destination quite far south of my home. This turnpike is one I am familiar with, though I had never before driven this far on this road. My surroundings were quite new to me, until I reached an underpass that I felt strongly was incredibly familiar. This place is too far away from my home that I could find any reason that I might have seen it in the past- and yet, I could swear that I have seen that underpass in a dream before.

Floor It begins with a blaring car horn and intense acceleration. The title is a common idiom, but one that I particularly appreciate. As my parents taught me how to drive, I would joke with them and respond to their teachings by saying “okay, so… floor it, right?” The final movement of Drive closes the work with this attitude; a mood of humor and positivity. It is a celebration of driving and my love for it. It is a joyride at a high speed, with just a little bit of a sense that it could go careening off the road at any moment.