“Sueños de la Sirena” translates to “Dreams of the Mermaid” and is the second of a 3-piece series of works for young band that are based on the dreams that have inspired much of the writing throughout my life.

Water is the theme of this piece, and students are encouraged to find as many sounds available to them to depict any sounds that water (or the ocean) can make. This can be through woodwinds key-clicking, brass blowing air through their instruments, tapping on metal, crinkling paper, or anything else they come up with! The woodblocks can represent the sounds you might hear of a boat out at sea.

Knowing that this was a piece for young musicians, I wanted them to have the opportunity to work on a beautiful chorale, but also incorporate elements of improvisation. The chorale will need to be performed at all times, but the improvisations come and go as the students see fit.

This way, no two performances will ever sound quite the same!