(Level III) Union - An original composition inspired by the wedding of Romeo and Juliet (part of the University of Northern Colorado's Romeo and Juliet Project). The wedding of Romeo and Juliet had to be a secretive and intimate one because of the long-standing feud between their families. The repetitive 8th-note figure that recurs throughout the piece gives the feeling of excitement that young lovers experience on their wedding day — the butterflies in the stomach. The Friar, stable and grounded, is represented by the bass melody that sings underneath the constant motion above. The star-crossed lovers are too blinded by their love for each other to heed the Friar’s warnings of what might come. Romeo (voiced in this piece by the solo trombone) and Juliet (voiced by the solo alto saxophone) each profess their love, and the music builds to a climax as they are united in marriage. The powerful chords in the trombones and the rhythm section burst forth with joy against the backdrop of the repetitive figure. In that moment, nothing else on earth matters to Romeo and Juliet, and nothing could possibly change the way they feel. The music returns to a place of intimacy, and the piece ends with the newlyweds celebrating their marriage, oblivious of the trouble that awaits them. Solos for trombone 1 and alto 1. The wordless vocals really make this chart extra special. 8 Brass

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Mike's website https://colossusjazz.bandcamp.com/track/west-point

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MIKE CONRAD is a composer, improviser, and teacher from Iowa. He graduated with a Master’s degree in Jazz Composition and Arranging from the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with Bill Dobbins and played lead trombone in the Eastman Jazz Ensemble. Conrad has been recognized for his arranging and composing with four ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Awards and five Downbeat Student Music Awards, as well as awards from the American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers and Ithaca College’s Jazz Composition Contest. He has been commissioned by several organizations such as the West Point Army Jazz Knights, Excelsior Charter Schools, and the New York Youth Symphony Jazz Band. His string quartet version of The Genesee was performed as part of Barack Obama’s Inauguration in Washington, D.C. in January 2013. Recently, Conrad was invited to Trossingen, Germany for the premiere of a piece he wrote for the BuJazzO’s 2016 Jazz Composition Contest.

From 2013 to 2015, Conrad was the Head Band Director at West High School in Waterloo, IA where he directed the Wind Symphony and Jazz Ensembles and taught Music Theory and Jazz Improvisation. He also led his own large jazz ensemble called COLOSSUS and is currently leading and writing for a unique 15-piece group called the All Angles Orchestra. A highly sought-after performer, Conrad enjoys playing creative improvised music on both trombone and piano, and continues to come up with fresh and exciting works for a wide variety of ensembles. Conrad is happy to be a Teaching Assistant at the University of Northern Colorado where he is in the process of completing his Doctorate in Jazz Studies.