We Choose to go to the Moon - Concert Band

"In the fall of 2019 when I was asked to write a new wind ensemble work to accompany Mare Tranquillitatis, a piece I had written eleven years prior, I was both thrilled to revisit an older work that has meant a lot to me personally and nervous to try to find a way to bring ideas from that piece into the present and the future. As I write these program notes, we have not sent a person to the Moon in 47 years, but our drive to return there and go beyond is as strong as it has been in recent memory. For generations, we dreamed of traveling to the stars, and during the 1960s, competition with the Soviet Union finally pushed us to achieve manned space flight and travel to our nearest celestial neighbor. As President Kennedy said in his famous 1962 speech, we choose to do difficult things because they are hard, and because the reward is so much greater for achieving them. Putting people on the Moon and returning them to Earth safely was not without many trials and setbacks, such as the Apollo 1 tragedy; succeeding at this monumental task was a testament to perseverance. This composition is a celebration of the achievements of the intrepid astronauts, scientists, and engineers who made what seemed impossible a reality in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and also a reflection of the excitement surrounding the possibility of returning to the Moon and going beyond to Mars in the near future."

-Roger Zare, composer

We Choose to Go to the Moon opens with the same floating A-flat major chord as Mare Tranquillitatis, but a sudden shift in harmony led by pitch-bending trombones and horns immediately returns us back to the Earth. After a few attempts to get going, a continuous flow of notes helps push the music forward while fragmented melodies interject. This music is restless and complex, reflecting the difficulty and dangers of sending people outside the comforts of our planet. A calm middle section features euphonium and bass clarinet solos, with rich harmonies that help the music become warmer and more stable. As the stream of quick notes returns, a contrasting chorale emerges that culminates in a celebratory explosion of sound.

Concert Band, Grade level 4 - score and parts included
Duration - 6:00