An ever-obsessed Bach lover, I turned to Bach's Musical Offering, or more precisely, the royal theme highlighted in BWV 1079, as a fugue subject for a piece I understood my senior year of college.
It was a piece I wrote for wind ensemble (some of you might call that band), and debuted at school a year after I'd graduated. I went up to Rochester to sit in the audience and then also participated in a reunion, of sorts, with the Stingers.
However, the piece was first performed in my rendition for 6 trombones. There's an opening set of chords, followed by a section with more movement, then comes the fugue on a theme of Bach (or, Frederick the Great). The video, presented below, was taken by Rod Bugarin in the bottom floor of Wilson Commons in February 1996, if one is to believe the date stamp from my RCA-branded camcorder. And yes, it's me conducting.
It's not ideal sound at all. But this concert inspired by senior thesis project, The Mayan Ballcourt specifically for that space, designed by I.M. Pei. The opening starts with trombones positioned in different spaces with the first movement. Then players were to come together for some more cohesive, integrated sound.
Needless to say, this is a very imperfect performance, but it reamins a fond memory, especially with the inclusion of my friends Orlando Quiroz (bass) and Robert Hunter Greene. Paul Marini led on first trombone.
