36 Blocks

36 Blocks was commissioned by the Bixby High School Wind Ensemble in Bixby, Oklahoma, and was premiered at the 2019 Oklahoma Music Educators' Association Convention on January 18, 2019, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. At the premiere, 36 Blocks was performed along with "Recipe for a Massacre", a poem by Quraysh Ali Lansana. This piece is influenced by ragtime, gospel piano, 1920s jazz, and the spiritual "Hold On Just a Little While Longer". The last chord remains unresolved, but it is my ultimate hope that I can eventually revise this measure and add a final resolution when reconciliation is achieved at last.