Program Note

Carnival of Masks is intended to be a virtuosic showpiece filled with theatrics and excitement. It starts with a powerful entrance filled with dovetailing lines and rhythmic fun, contrasted with a more reflective flugelhorn section. If the performers choose to memorize this for competitions, optional stage directions are provided for a theatrical aspect (stepping around the stage). The middle section features a “TV Remote Battle” section - Trumpet 2 and 4 tap on their mouthpiece, and every time they do so, the “TV Channel” (played by the other trumpets) changes. Rapid-fire quotations are thrown around in quick succession including Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag, Offenbach's Can Can, Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries, Stravinsky's Petrushka, Haydn's Trumpet Concerto, Dvorak's Symphony 9, Ravel's Bolero, and many more. This cumulates in a rhythmic mouthpiece tapping section, before gradually turning into a more energetic section to finish with a flamboyant ending.