
To listen while following along with the score, click here: Dragon's Breath │ Brass Quintet │ Dr. Daniel Thrower (youtube.com)
Dragon’s Breath, Op. 139 for brass quintet was composed to celebrate Giddings Mouthpieces' 20th anniversary of making stainless steel mouthpieces, on which I played for much of my Air Force career. The piece is fiery, not terribly long, colorful, rhythmic, spontaneous while still being musical, and heroic—a “presentation letter” to be the first piece of a concert. The evocative title "Dragon’s Breath" comes from a heat treatment that Giddings uses on some of his mouthpieces. It is a title fitting of a fiery piece! Especially in light of my family moving to Japan during the compositional process, the title is also autobiographical with dragons being a prevalent theme throughout Asian countries. Parts for trumpets in C and B-flat are available, though the parts lay much more comfortably on C trumpets than on B-flat. The technical requirements of all five parts present delightful challenges and weave a complex furor throughout the piece, even when underlying the lyrical, albeit turbulent, melodies. Story line and imagery are left to the hearer’s imagination based on everything the title may invoke.
Gilded Music Press specializes in brass music and pedagogical materials composed and crafted by Dr. Daniel Thrower. His expertise and experience in the music world are now available in printed or PDF format for the music world's benefit.
For questions, specific requests, or to commission a new work from Dr. Thrower, please contact us via email or phone, below.
"You and your compositions deserve first rate ensembles, they’re that good! It’s an honor to know you and, from time to time, celebrate your wonderful accomplishments."
Dr. Daniel N. Thrower
Owner
"Gilded Music Press" was created specifically to make Dr. Daniel Thrower's high-quality music available. Dr. Thrower has been composing music and writing educational supplements for decades. He describes his music as a "personal musical journal". From his work with military ensembles to faculty and students of all ages, his music and teaching materials are created to edify audiences, professional colleagues, students, and himself. Through "Gilded Music Press" the global music community benefits from his excellent research, experience, and creative output. Many have enjoyed and benefited from his work throughout the world, and you will too once you discover his phenomenal products!