Composer pens piece for MLHS band

MOSES LAKE — It all began when composer Darryl Johnson II was here last year to have the Moses Lake High School band perform some of his music.

Johnson, who writes music for high school bands and orchestras, came to Moses Lake last December as part of a tour of Washington high schools to direct the band and show off three of his original compositions when he then sat down with MLHS Music Director Dan Beich to talk music.

And see what Johnson could do for Moses Lake.

“We met when I did a tour of Washington schools, and he had been wanting to do a commission for a while, so he asked for a commission for Moses Lake,” Johnson said.

So he wrote an eight-minute-long piece, “Frontier Rising,” that musically explores the landscape, the past and the present of Moses Lake, which will have its world premiere at the Moses Lake band’s winter concert on Dec. 13.

“When you’re a city like Moses Lake, you’re not a flashy city,” Johnson said. “It’s easy to miss what’s going on.”

“Frontier Rising” begins “with the Native American inhabitation of the land,” and follows the city’s development as settlers arrive, the Columbia River is dammed, the Air Force encamps here, and then as the partnership with Japan Air Lines paves the way for new industries, ending with a reiteration of the Native American theme, according to a description of the piece.

“Each period has a theme of its own,” Johnson said.

Even though the piece is debuting in Moses Lake, Johnson said what the MLHS Wind Ensemble will be playing is really “Frontier Rising’s” first draft. After the performance in December, he will see if any changes need to be made before taking the piece on tour and playing it with other high school bands.

“It’s an extensive process,” he said of composing an orchestral piece. “This is the first final draft, I’ll make some edits, and then test it with a few schools this summer.”

Johnson said, however, the process of composing an orchestral piece for a patron — the Moses Lake School District is sponsoring the composition — is different from an artist writing or recording a song. It takes some to make sure composer and patron are all working with the same vision.

“I’m introducing a new piece to the world,” he said. “We have contributed a new musical voice to Washington and the world.”

That said, he’s looking forward to returning to Moses Lake and working with the high school band again.

“It’s especially exciting getting to do this in Moses Lake,” Johnson said. “It was a warm, fun place, and the kids were so positive.”

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached via email at countygvt@columbiabasinherald.com.