All Out!! - Texu Kim

Commissioned by the JMU Symphony Orchestra (world premiere)

"All Out!! comes from my daily routine: working out. I go to Orangetheory Fitness, where half of each session is cardio, done at three levels that each person sets for themselves: base pace, push, and all out. Every session ends with an all-out run or its equivalent, and it always reminds me how much I still have left to give, even after an hour of hard, high-intensity exercise. This five-minute piece draws on that experience: continuous build-ups and pushes that culminate in an "all-out" moment. I hope it energizes everyone who plays and hears it!"

(note by the composer)

Dub-Sanjo - Texu Kim

"Sanjo is a virtuosic Korean folk music tradition performed by an instrumentalist with a barrel drum accompaniment. The first ones were created by gayageum (Korean plucked instrument) players and have been aurally transmitted with many variations (now there are also written scores). I combined various melodic patterns in diverse gayageum sanjos and arranged them into a short (original sanjos are 30-60 minutes long) orchestral overture. Dub- is a short form of duboo (meaning 'together' in Korean) and indicates that this piece connects different traditions and is played by multiple players (as opposed to a solo instrumentalist)."

(note by the composer)

Blow, Fly, Pop!! - Texu Kim

"Blow, Fly, Pop!! is an eight-minute orchestra piece inspired by bubble blowing. It begins with performers blowing water (on stage), from which ascending scales fragments emerge, portraying the fizzing bubbles. The music becomes more vivacious and paints a picture of myriad bubbles flying, reflecting the brilliant sunshine in various colors. These kaleidoscopic streams of sounds are occasionally interrupted by brisk pops utilizing diverse combinations of sounds, including balloons bursted (as a percussion instrument) on stage."

(note by the composer)

The Great Locomotive Chase - Robert W. Smith

Inspired by the events surrounding the railway between Atlanta and Chattanooga during the early years of the Civil War, Robert W. Smith stages the train chase complete with fascinating textures and effects. Listeners become engulfed in the vivid sounds. You can almost smell the smoke.

(note from the publisher)

Prairie Dance - Zachary Docter

Opening Night - Brian Balmages

This original Broadway-style overture is full of energy and will transport audiences to the world of musical theater. The curtain rises, the spotlight is on, and the magic begins as the show finally reaches its opening night.

(note from the publisher)

Pirates of the Caribbean - Klaus Badelt/arr. Ted Ricketts

An arrangement for concert orchestra of the musical highlights from Pirates of the Carribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

In Pursuit of Something Greater (2026) - Sawyer Gage

In Pursuit of Something Greater is a work dedicated to the effort, dedication, and resilience that I have come to admire in others as I have grown up. I have been fortunate to meet so many different people who come from so many different walks of life. The people I have come to admire most often have had experiences that helped them to develop a drive and determination to improve their lives. All sorts of experiences, from working an insanely difficult and dangerous job that put their dreams into perspective, moving halfway across the world on a scholarship and an incredibly loose personal connection without a guarantee, and even choosing to remain in a small, stable job that doesn't pay much, so that they can be there for their family and support them as much as possible.

The work itself is a three-part piece that opens with a driving, repeated mixed-meter groove pattern. It is surrounded by chaotic motivic ideas; the combination of both evokes the hard work it takes to make significant change in your life. The middle section represents the personal reflection needed to grow, starting with a back-and-forth between the flute and euphonium soloists, a calmer start, before slowly evolving into a chaotic, intense, and resolute chordal section. The final section represents the growth that comes, beginning with a broken arpeggio idea in the piano and mallet percussion. Looking back on previous melodic and small motivic ideas, all culminating in a grand finish. Each section and idea represents a small part of what I believe is required to reach something greater in life.

(note by the composer)

"The isle is full of noises:" Symphony No. 2 - John Mackey

A shoddy and distracted duke, Prospero should not have been altogether shocked when his throne was usurped by one more interested in ruling. But as it happens Prospero was enraged—and has become only moreso in the dozen years since. Deposed, deported, deprived of his wealth, power, and home, he has survived on a diet of vengeful scheming. As those designs spiral into the tempest for which Shakespeare’s play is named, we begin.

I. The enchanter's plot

From the island of his exile, Prospero summons all his magic. Decades of single-minded study have yielded enormous and devastating power: he weaves weather, loss, betrayal, and the tide into a brutal braid, a storm that shipwrecks the men who conspired in his downfall.

II. Suffer a sea change

The atmosphere is calmed, but interior tempests surge. With the instruments of his exile at his mercy at last, Prospero toys with his captives. He channels each one’s worst fears and fatal weaknesses into torrents of torment and temptation. The sorcerer’s manipulations transform them all, not least Prospero himself, as vengeance scars the avenger.

III. Rough magic

His return secured and his rule regained, Prospero relinquishes his magic in a final flourish—only to find that the fruits of his plot are not enough. A hunger remains: He pleads for, then demands, our adoration as well. As the depth of this need is revealed, his desperation grows. In the end, the things we feed may swallow us.

(note by A. E. Jaques)