Apollo by William Newton

“Apollo is a remnant of my time during the beginning of COVID-19. Not being able to express myself through performing or practicing, led me to pursue composition more seriously, with this piece being one of the first projects to come to fruition. This piece was originally conceived as a quartet with all four members utilizing four mallets. After a long series of discussions with some of my colleagues who teach at the high school level, I wanted to rework this piece into a septet for high schoolers with only two mallets.
I want to dedicate this piece to Chris Amick and his students at River Bluff High School. He is a lifelong friend and collaborator and I am endlessly thankful for our many rehearsals and talks together.” - William Newton
Apollo was premiered at the RBHS Winter Band Concert on December 10th, 2024 by the River Bluff Percussion Ensemble.
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[@treybarker1023]

Well done! Wonderful players and a great piece. I love the oppositional rhythmic figures playing against each other. Very cool. And the B section where the unpitched percussion comes in is fabulous and reminds me ever so slightly of Spryo Gyra's "Heliopolis," one of my all time fav tunes. So this brought me joy on a number of levels. Thanks for the hearing, the playing, the composing, and the smile. Keep on truckin', all of you.