Category 4 (2021)
Commissioned by the Kingwood Park High School Symphonic Band,
Robbie T. Sitka, Bryan Hess, and Danielle Dewees, directors
Robbie T. Sitka, Bryan Hess, and Danielle Dewees, directors
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Concert band, Grade 3.
Category 4 was commissioned in 2019 by Kingwood Park High School Symphonic Band located near Houston, Texas. The ensemble requested a piece that utilized technology, specifically requesting an amplified tablet or iPad part that could be performed by a member of the ensemble. Additionally, Hurricane Harvey caused devastating floods in the community two years prior to the commission, affecting many people in the Kingwood community. The ensemble requested that the memory of this event be tied into the theme of the piece. The title “Category 4” is a way to refer to Hurricane Harvey, classified as a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. This title also sounded like it might come from a science fiction story about computers and technology, which tied in the synthesized sounds of the tablet. With this title and concept in mind, the composition incorporates several instances of the number 4, including use of 4/4 time, utilizing groups of four notes rhythmically, four notes traveling up melodically, as well as extensive use of the melodic interval of a perfect 4th. Additionally, several of the sounds utilized in the tablet part have water adjacent names such as “fluid motions” and “warming waves” that refer to the flooding that caused so much devastation. The piece was completed in April of 2020, during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. It felt strange to me writing a piece about one disaster as we were living through another, and this affected me as I wrote the final measures. The ending of the piece attempts to end on a note of hope and optimism, reflecting that we can survive and persevere through difficult challenges and come out stronger on the other side. (Erika Svanoe) This title is also available at JW Pepper.
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