Monolith for Tuba and Fixed Media

Monolith for Tuba and Fixed Media Description From the composer: Monolith was composed during the most tempestuous year in my lifetime. Daily headlines were something out of a dystopian or science fiction movie. One such headline addressed Monoliths mysteriously appearing around the world. Some speculated aliens and others, vigilante artists. Either way, it was the rare headline that brought a bit of wonder and brevity to a emotionally draining year of pandemics and social unrest. My former colleague and friend, Kyle Millsap approached me in the fall of 2020 about writing a piece for an upcoming album of his that would feature music for solo trumpet with fixed media. Because of the pandemic, I had spent many more hours than usual in front of a computer with new, to me, software like Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro so I thought, “sure, why not?” The result of that collaboration was “Monolith.” Kyle is a towering figure in his own right standing at an impressive 6 feet 8 inches tall and a fan of popular science fiction shows like Dr. Who and Star Trek. Monolith is programmatic in nature and meant to depict towering Monoliths falling from the sky and crash landing on Earth and asking the age-old question: does extraterrestrial life exist? If so, can it co-exist with humanity? Matt Hightower Score and parts included: Euphonium (BC) An audio CD of performance backing and rehearsal backing is included