Affinity (2023)

Affinity is a work for percussion orchestra dedicated to my wife Kaitlin and the commissioning ensemble, Justin Schramm and the Prior Lake High School Percussion Ensemble (Savage, Minnesota). In early 2022, Justin approached me with an idea for a large ensemble work to commemorate the tenth anniversary of his wonderful students at Prior Lake, which also happened to coincide with my (almost) eight

years of life with Kaitlin. Seeking a method to create an inspirational work without overtly forcing a “story,” I looked to the innate characteristics of music and the structures that bind it together. With this in mind, I chose the simplest form of a cycle, the octave, to push the musical narrative in Affinity, both through its inherent

numerical values and its role in melodic tension and release.

Affinity may be performed in a condensed version (reduced by 90 seconds) by omitting the following sections:

• mm. 84–87

• mm. 92–98