Onwards, upwards

For soprano sax and piano (6:40)

Programme note

‘Onwards, upwards’ is a direct reaction to receiving negative judgment and rejection as a musician, and is about dealing with this idea of having your musical voice questioned with resilience and determination. At first, a light and rhythmic motif that is delicate and vulnerable is explored by the saxophone and piano as a single unit, as the fragments bounce off one another. As the piece progresses, a more definite and robust melodic idea becomes maintained by the saxophone, and the central section allows this voice to soar ever higher as the melody rises through a series of ‘upward’ harmonic shifts. This eventually breaks away into a more contemplative and reflective moment, before the original, more disjointed idea returns and the motif becomes thinner and more fragmented until the end.