JOE MARTA MUSICIAN, COMPOSER, & ARRANGER
Wind Ensemble Music
A Night in the WoodsDeath is one of the few things in life that is certain, but it is also one of the things that we are unsure about. A Night in the Woods aims at capturing the journey of an individual's passing. This piece follows the journey of a spirit from the first steps in life after death, to the realization, all the way to acceptance of one of life's few certainties.
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Soar!Soar! is the story of a young eagle learning to fly for the first time. In the beginning, there is a majestic trumpet solo, accompanied by a full array of winds, depicting the awakening of the morning sun and the valley where the eagle lives. As the piece enters a faster section, featuring the clarinet, a new lively energy takes over. There are softer sections, and loud, triumphant sections, all symbolic of the eagles first flight.
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ShenandoahThe inspiration for this piece came to me when I was on a hiking adventure this past summer. I unfortunately read a map wrong, and wound up being lost deep into woods. I knew that many of the streams in the mountains ran into the lake near where I was staying. As I was following the stream, it lead into bigger and wider sections, and some smaller and softer parts. I wanted the traditional Shenandoah theme to represent the stream, and the variations be each part of the river, until we finally end back up at home.
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A Little DreamI originally wrote this piece for a friend (who would like to stay anonymous) back in high school, who was struggling with what they wanted to do in life. They had always thought practically and wanted to please their parents and everyone else, but never thought about what they wanted. One day we stopped and instead of talking about the future, we talked about dreams. We went on for hours, starting off with a little dream, growing it out into a path that they could follow in life and call their own, and most importantly, be happy with. This friend was a pianist, so I wrote them a short piece trying to encapsulate this small idea, transforming it into something bigger and something more; a short piece they could come back to at any point and remember that big things in life start out small.
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Summer AirSummer Air was written during the first summer of the Covid-19 lockdown. I spent a lot of time enjoying the outdoors in parks and forests near my house, and one of the best feelings I felt after being cooped up was the fresh air. The warm breeze combined with the golden rays of sun left a warm tingling sensation on my body. This piece's aim is to capture that moment in time where the warm air and sun rays envelop your body.
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NorthNorth has a different meaning depending on who you are and where you are from. Throughout time, the term north has become synonymous with other words, and has even become a symbol in some people's eyes. To some, north may just be a cardinal direction, pointing to the cold, desolate, yet hauntingly beautiful land of the arctic. In the mid 1800’s, to a slave, the north meant a dangerous journey to a land where they could become free of their bondages. In certain religious contexts, the north is where their enemies or other dangers came from. The piece, North, is meant to embody these various stories, archetypes, and beliefs, and designed to take the listeners and performers on a journey of their own version of what north means.
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DerinkuyuThe city of Derinkuyu, located in Turkey, was rediscovered in 1969, after a Turkish man knocked down a wall in his basement. The city was suspected to have been built sometime between the 8th and 7th centuries BCE. The underground city, barricaded with massive 1,000 pound stone doors, included waterways, ventilation shafts, farms, food storage and places to live. Believed to have been originally built by the Phrygians, Derinkuyu was home to many cultures over time, but flourished during the Byzantine era. It was used as a place of refuge during the Arab-Byzantine war, and was greatly expanded upon during this time. Today, you can go and visit the first 8 of the 18 levels present in the city. Derinkuyu tells a story of war, love, discovery, and triumph. Each section is featured in different areas of the piece. There are several solo opportunities for trumpet, horn (alto cue), and oboe (tpt. or fl. cue). Derinkuyu has slower lyrical sections, as well as faster paced rhythmic sections. Throughout the piece, you can hear motifs inspired by traditional Byzantine chants, traditional Anatolian folk music, as well as other melodies based off the Byzantine scale.
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