Begun in 1993, Pathways is a series of works for solo instrument and chamber orchestra which consists of a single, fixed accompaniment in the ensemble through which each of the featured solo instruments traverses a unique path. To date, four iterations of the work have been composed, featuring trombone, percussion, soprano saxophone, and piano. The conceptual metaphor for Pathways is that of a traveler’s unique and personal interaction with their surroundings on any given journey. Though a single road may be taken by several individuals (or by the same individual on different occasions), such factors as the time of day, climate, or the traveler’s mood can have a profound effect upon the experience and consequent response of the individual. In the Pathways series, the ensemble acts as a sonic landscape through which the soloist (i.e., “traveler”) wends its way. Because the solo part is intended to reflect the distinctive character of the featured instrument, the music within the accompanying ensemble is recontextualized in each version of Pathways, thus influencing the dynamic unfolding of the overall work.

The first in the series, Pathways I: Opposing Forces was composed for trombonist Andrew Glendening, and was supported in part by a grant from the Margaret Fairbank Jory Copying Assistance Program of the American Music Center. This version, which received honorable mention for the 1994 ASCAP Rudolf Nissim Award competition, was first performed on 9 October 1993 at the University of North Dakota by Andrew Glendening with John Deal conducting the Greater Grand Forks Symphony Orchestra. Here the relationship between trombonist and ensemble is one of contention, with the two forces pitted against one another throughout. Pathways: Opposing Forces is divided into three movements, the first of which, Fractured Horizons, is a study in entropy, where the trombonist seems to push the ensemble beyond its breaking point. Here the concept of “horizon” is evoked, from the ellusive points at the edge of the earth to the cosmological event horizon at the boundary of a black hole. The second movement, The Searcher, is intended as a tribute to exploration and questioning, and to those who dedicate their lives to such pursuits in any field. The third movement, Butterfly Storm, is named for a principle known as “sensitive dependence on initial conditions.” This pertains to those systems which develop exponentially rather than geometrically, where minute deviations in an early stage can lead to extremely divergent results. Studied by meteorologist Edward Lorenz in the early 1960’s and initially applied to weather systems, the so-called “Butterfly Effect” is a reference to the hypothetical notion that a butterfly stirring the air today in Peking could ultimately generate storm fronts in New York City next month.

The Pathways series is dedicated to my wife, Heidi, and my sons, Gabriel and Maxwell, and was supported by a CCP Grant from the American Composers Forum (funded by the Jerome Foundation) and a faculty research grant from the University of North Texas. The work is included on the album Pathways: New Music for Trombone (Mark MCD-1629, 1998).