BRASS SEXTET MUSIC

Program Notes:

Not far from where I live, there’s a T-intersection with a curious design: cars can turn right without a traffic light—unless their path is blocked by a vehicle waiting to turn left. It’s a small urban quirk, but one that seems to stir a particular kind of impatience. Drivers, poised to move, often find themselves stuck behind that one car, and the tension builds. It’s a bit like standing at the edge of something long-awaited, only to be held back—perhaps not unlike Moses, gazing at the Promised Land after years of wandering.
 

That tension often finds its voice in honking. And in this neighborhood, where learner drivers are plentiful, the honks multiply. With my window open, I hear the full spectrum: brief, polite nudges; rhythmic pulses; sharp bursts of irritation; and occasionally, a honk that sounds almost like a cry for help. It’s a daily symphony of urban emotion.

So, I’ve decided to dedicate Desperado Stoplight to these moments—and to the drivers caught in them.

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