As part of the TBA/KHS America Academic Student Melody Competition, the winning theme, titled ”Devil’s Perspective,” was composed by Quinton Porter, currently a senior at Timber Creek High School near Dallas, and was premiered by the U.S. Air Force Band of the West at the recent Texas Bandmasters Association Conference.
Porter, his mother Lorianne and his band director Darla McBryde were in attendance for the premiere. After the performance, Quinton was presented with an award and a professionally printed copy of the score.
“Hearing the Air Force Band play a piece using my melody was an incredible experience,” said Porter. “When an ensemble performs something that you wrote, it brings a feeling of great satisfaction. It’s a motivation for me to try composing on a larger scale to recapture that feeling.”
The wind-ensemble piece was composed by Rick DeJonge, artist and education relations manager for KHS America. The score and all individual parts are available online for free download at www.jupiermusic.com. A downloadable MP3 recording of the premiere is also available.
“Quinton’s melody was so skillfully created that it was a real joy to develop into a full score,” said DeJonge. “There were plenty of interesting motifs within the melody that helped add to the overall creation of the work.”
“It was truly a treat to hear the U.S. Air Force Band of the West play this beautiful composition,” stated Lorianne Porter. “It was simply magical. Quinton chose not to see the score in advance, so it would be like Christmas morning when he heard the band perform. From the look on his face, it really was.”