The main theme for this piece was derived from a young man with autism, thebrother of a friend of mine. Unlike most people, when he is upset, or feeling pain, rather than crying, he sings a melody (which can be heard in its entirety in the first trumpet part starting in measure 14). Upon hearing this melody, I immediately began thinking of ways to develop it into a work for wind ensemble. The result is the piece of music presented here.
The piece ends on an open 5th on the major 7th scale degree of G minor and does not satisfy the desire for a return to tonic as a cadence. Since there is usually no satisfaction in pain and suffering, I felt that there should not be an ending that would normally satisfy an audience.