Unstoppable - for symphonic band

Year: 2024

Grade: 3

Duration: ca. 3:30

Purchase: Here (and it’s on sale!)

The impetus for Unstoppable came from a casual remark made to me at the 2023 Midwest Clinic (a massive, annual, international conference dedicated to music for bands and orchestras). The comment was, to paraphrase: “it seems like all of y’all who are studying for a music degree are writing these big, complex works of music for professional musicians, whereas us over here without music degrees are all writing music for younger musicians.” It wasn't an indictment or criticism of either party—simply an observation of the state of things. It was certainly true for me, as I was finishing up my undergraduate studies at the time and had been focused on composing rather difficult works. In response to this observation, I said something along the lines of “well, I’d love to write music for younger musicians, too!”, to which the remarker replied, honestly and earnestly, “what’s stopping you?” That question nagged at me for weeks after our interaction, and I eventually realized that the answer to the question was that I was stopping myself. Writing great music for young musicians is a truly difficult task that requires a high level of skill, and those that do it are to be lauded. Because of this, I had been steering myself away from attempting it out of a fear of failure.

The person who asked me that question was Michael Markowski—a man whom I have long admired to no end, and whose music has been massively influential on my own work since my early teens. As I grew into the professional sphere of my field, I found myself quite lucky to connect with Mike and, today, I’m proud to be able to call him a colleague and a friend. More than once, his encouragement and belief in me has reminded me to let nothing stop me in my own pursuit to create the greatest music I can create and share as much love as I possibly can with the world. This question of his did exactly that, and it is in that spirit that I found myself determined to write excellent music that can be accessible to young musicians. Unstoppable is my way of paying forward this sentiment; it is a message to each and every young person in our world that no matter the difficulties or adversity they face, they can achieve anything to which they set their mind. It simply requires—as I’ve learned from experience—the ability to step out of one’s own way every once in a while.