Chamber Music Organ,
Trumpet
SKU:
PR.114419810
Composed
by Stacy Garrop. Set of
Score and Parts. 33+12
pages. Duration 21
minutes. Theodore Presser
Company #114-41981.
Published by Theodore
Presser Company
(PR.114419810).
ISBN
9781491136638. UPC:
680160681921.
Stacy
Garrop’s ROAD
WARRIOR is music of
real-life tragedy,
expressed through the
power of a trumpet/organ
duo. Drawing inspiration
from Neil Peart’s
autobiographical book,
“Ghost Rider:
Travels on the Healing
Road,â€
Garrop’s work
grieves the loss of a
friend’s young son
and the journey to
healing. ROAD
WARRIOR’s
evocative movement titles
are drawn from passages
in Peart’s book:1.
I Am the Ghost Rider2. My
Little Baby Soul3. Are
You With Me
Here?.
When Clarion
members Keith Benjamin
(trumpet), Melody Steed
(organ), and I initially
discussed possible topics
for a new piece, Keith
brought up his son
Cameron, who had passed
away at the age of seven
from leukemia. While
Cameron’s life
ended too soon, he left
an indelible and lasting
mark on his those
surrounding him. Keith
asked if I could
commemorate Cameron
musically.In talking over
possible ways to do this,
Keith mentioned the book
Ghost Rider: Travels on
the Healing Road. The
book was written by Neil
Peart, who is well-known
as the longtime drummer
and lyricist of the band
Rush. Peart suffered the
heartbreaking loss of his
daughter in 1997,
followed by his wife 10
months later. In an
effort to work through
the grieving process,
Peart did what his wife
suggested before she
passed: he got onto his
motorcycle and hit the
open road. Ghost Rider
chronicles a year of
Peart’s life in
which he drove for 55,000
miles, zigzagging his way
across Canada, the
western portion of the
United States, Mexico,
and Belize.
Peart’s powerful
story illustrates how he
coped with immense loss
and eventually emerged on
the other side to once
again embrace life. Keith
had found Peart’s
book helpful in dealing
with Cameron’s
death; moreover, Mr.
Peart sent Cameron a
signed cymbal while he
was in the hospital
undergoing treatment.
This unexpected gesture
of compassion and
generosity meant the
world to both Cameron and
Keith.I chose three
phrases from
Peart’s book to
serve as the inspiration
for the movements in Road
Warrior. In the first
movement, I am the ghost
rider, I imagined the
performers to be howling
phantoms that are
haunting drivers on a
nearly deserted highway.
Peart often mentioned
that he felt haunted by
ghosts from the past
while on his journey, and
sometimes felt like a
ghost himself, moving
through an immaterial
world as he rode from
town to town. The second
movement, My little baby
soul, references
Peart’s wording to
define his own inner
essence that he was
trying to protect and
nurture while on his
journey. In this gentle
movement, I capture the
innocence and simplicity
of a newborn soul. The
piece concludes with Are
you with me here? In this
movement, I depict the
performers as they search
to find connections to
those they have lost, and
to those still
living.Over the course of
his travels, Peart kept
up a steady letter
correspondence with his
close friend Brutus. In
one of his first letters,
he repeatedly asks Brutus
if he is with him in
spirit. I found it to be
very poignant that while
in his self-imposed
exile, Peart discovered
that he still needed
connections to humanity.I
wish to thank Mr. Peart
for granting me
permission to use his
phrases as the movement
titles, and for serving
as the inspiration for
Road Warrior. Rarely do
any of us make it through
our lives without being
touched by the loss of
someone dear to us. I
found Peart’s
insights into his
grieving and recovery
process to be insightful,
eloquent, and
surprisingly comforting.
His journey is a touching
reminder that with enough
fortitude and time, we
can work through what
fate deals us and
continue down our own
road of life.
