R E A L M  OF  A S P I R A T I O N  was written for the living memory and dedication to one of my closest friends — Miles Jones — oboe player, and member of the James Martin High School Wind Ensemble, who has always shown tremendous trust and care towards me and helped through the lightest and darkest moments of my life. I have portrayed moments of my life and the help he has brought me throughout with music, with each motion driving towards satisfaction and completion, that is now achieved. 

The title, “Realm of Aspiration”, was formed from looking up to, or aspiring to be something. The use of the words “Realm of” helps illustrate the image of a separated existence, that is formed by friendship, and loyalty. I have portrayed all of the moments in this piece to represent that with these 2 qualities, all can be completed and preserved forever, and each quality of the piece illuminates the aspiring character of Miles.

The piece opens with a soft, calming solo from the English Horn, with a harmonic structure in the key of Db, which represents grief and rapture to bring out unusual or uncommon characteristics. The English Horn begins with a repeated pickup that is reflected throughout the piece, and these ascensions are intertwined into every melody of the work, beginning transitional and complete musical statements and introducing new melodic variations of the original English Horn Melody, to represent the change that happens from friendship, but how the change can always be progressing towards higher quality, healthier, and stronger.

The melody is extremely virtuous and is layered in such a fashion that represents growth, and sustainability. The counter-melodies, harmonies, and interjections underneath represent the endless possibilities of what can happen, but it ends tied into the melody to show these changes will only further increase friendship in strength. These interjections create the hope and aspiration to be something more, something greater, something stronger.

The melody shifts each time, increasing in instrumentation from calm, arising into hopeful, lining up into loss, falling into the same cycle, only this time, aspiring to be something more, something greater, something stronger.

The final duet between the Oboe and English Horn, with each entrance a perfect fifth away from the original, descending into a soft, complete feeling, that is found when happiness is true and continues into a complete sensation from the final chord, that represents the most thoroughgoing feelings of all: friendship, loyalty, and love.