Midnight Escape, for trumpet sextet

Instrumentation: trumpet sextet

Year Composed: 2023

Duration: 4’14”

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Available on Palisade Trumpet Collective album, Sojourn (released March 15, 2024) - Mark Records

Program Notes:

Commissioned by the Palisade Trumpet Collective, the piece Midnight Escape was composed in February 2023. In the piece, elements of fanfare and fugue combine to follow a character’s escape. It opens with a call, like alarm bells, signaling the beginning of the journey. Then, the rhythmic accompaniment simulates the steadiness of running. In the middle, the energy slows, symbolizing the character’s inner turmoil as tiredness sets in. However, the character regains the energy to power through and resume running until they reach safety.

In Daddy’s Shoes, for chamber duo

Instrumentation: soprano saxophone and tuba or tuba and euphonium

Year Composed: 2021

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Premiered April 2021 by Jazzie Pigott and Kaylee Bernard

Program Notes:

My father, Gregson H. Pigott, has been my musical role model from an early age. Growing up, I watched him excell as a church musician playing sax, flute, clarinet, piano, and singing his heart out. Out of the many instruments he does play, I have specifically admired the rich tone he gets on the soprano sax, his usual instrument of choice. Now, I want to clarify that my father is not dead, rather, I wrote this for my Master’s recital to signify the impact he had on me in my path. I followed in his footsteps until I was strong enough to go on my own, demonstrated by the echoing melodies throughout. Included in the middle of the piece is a quote from one of the pieces my dad wrote and recorded back in his earlier days. 

I adapted this work for tuba and euphonium in 2023 to perform it with my husband, Andre Thacker, in our Dre-Z Duo. Both versions are available for purchase.