Fantasia No. 1 for Alto Saxophone and Piano

When I was working towards my Master of Music degree from the University of New Hampshire one of my friends in the saxophone studio asked me to write them an alto saxophone solo. After the world premiere of my Fantasia for Alto Saxophone and Piano I thought that it might be fun to write a fantasia for each wind instrument but I wasn’t sure if they would be connected in any way. When I mentioned the concept to my friend and colleague Dr. Phoebe Robertson at Arkansas Tech University, she commented that it would be like my “own Persichetti Parables.” I hadn’t thought of it in that way so I decided to run with it! Vincent Persichetti, being one of my favorite wind band composers, wrote twenty-five parables for woodwinds, brass, strings, and keyboard instruments in both solo and chamber ensemble settings, including a parable for wind band (Parable IX) and an opera in one act (Parable XX). "Fantasia for Alto Saxophone and Piano" is the first installment of my "Fantasies for Wind Instruments" and was premiered by Darren Lilliard and Christi Zuniga at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.