Mount Krakatoa, a volcano located in Indonesia, is most infamous for its violent eruption in August of 1883. A series of 4 explosions triggered a series of tsunamis, pyroclastic flows, and ash falls that devastated the island chain and killed thousands, while around the world temperatures plummeted due to the high amounts of ash and sulfur in the air. Part of me has always been fascinated by natural disasters, the powerful nature-driven events that bring the fragility of human existence to the forefront of our collective consciousness, and the ability of a single cataclysmic event to alter the lives of millions the world over.             

              Krakatoa Unleashed portrays these feelings through the narrative of the 1883 eruption of Mount Krakatoa – a dormant beginning with a quiet flugelhorn solo, the growing tremors as the dynamics grow, a sudden flashpoint where the music erupts into frenzied motion while the wrath of the mountain destroys everything in its path, and the eventual return to a dormant mountain and a cold sense of unease as winter comes.

              This piece was commissioned by Dr. J. Peyden Shelton and the University of Utah Trumpet Studio for performance at the 2019 National Trumpet Competition.