X1 - Erik Morales

I hope you enjoy!

This piece is special to me. I was part of the trumpet ensemble that it was commissioned for and premiered it at the 2012 National Trumpet Competition. It was the first year of my Undergrad at Grand Valley State University - I was 17, turning 18 and everyone else in the ensemble were finishing their degrees. Everything that routine for the other members was completely new for me… group warmups, tone and articulation matching exercises, everything like that. Thankfully, everyone was supportive and I picked up on things pretty quickly (or at least I think I did…) I couldn’t be more thankful for that experience. Diving in like that was a big part of my development as a trumpeter and musician.

Before X1 was written, as an ensemble we had tried out a few other pieces to bring to NTC. None of them really fit the bill. But after our first read through the day this came in, it was pretty clear that this was the one. I’ll be honest, it’s been a few years since I’ve worked on this one but everything came back to me pretty quickly. All those hours working on that one lick right near the beginning really paid off nearly 10 years later!

The story behind this piece is pretty cool. Here’s Erik’s program notes:
“The Bell X-1 (originally designated XS-1) was the first of a series of secret experimental aircraft (or X-planes) designed to break the sound barrier. On October 14th, 1947 Air Force Captain Charles “Chuck” Yeager piloted the X-1 to the first supersonic flight. This historic flight was the first to go 807.2 miles per hour (or Mach 1.06). The X-1, named “Glamorous Glennis” by Captain Yeager in honor of his wife, achieved the supersonic speed on its fiftieth flight.

This music work, entitled “X1”, draws its inspiration from this great historical achievement. Some of the melodic material is based off whole tone scales and diminished fifth intervals. This is to mimic the beauty of the symmetrical design of the X-1. The whole tone scale offers both symmetry and a distinctly mechanical sound to the music. Many examples of whole tone scales and diminished fifths can be located throughout the piece.”

This is the original, first edition that was performed at NTC 2012. Erik has updated this piece a little bit since then! If, somehow you're not familiar with Erik's music, do yourself a favor and check him out, all of his music is great!