Escape

Duration: 3' 36"

Composed: May 2002

Susie Benchasil Seiter, orchestrator

Instrumentation

2 Flutes (1st doubles piccolo)

2 Oboes

Bb Clarinet

Bb Bass Clarinet

Bassoon

Contrabassoon

4 Horns in F

3 Trumpets in Bb

2 Trombones

Bass Trombone

Tuba

Timpani

Percussion (4 players)

Harp

SATB Choir (9)

Violin I (10)

Violin II (8)

Viola (6)

Cello (6)

Contrabass (3)

Composition Notes

This piece was composed as a demo for a space-based game. The production team asked me to create music that was in line with their vision of the game, so they could be inspired by it during development. I had artwork and the concept of the game to work off of.

When creating Escape, I kept in mind these goals: 1. An energetic opening that could accompany an action sequence; 2. A section building up tension and expressing a struggle; 3. A hero theme which could represent victory; 4. A more lyrical part featuring variations of the hero theme, leading into a secondary theme symbolizing relationships between characters or a sense of honor.

Performance Video

Melvin Tay, conductor

First performed on November 15, 2021 by the Northern Film Orchestra

Behind-the-Scenes

This video gives you a unique "fly on the wall" perspective of the recording session for Escape. You get to experience how the conductor works with the orchestra from viewing the music for the first time until the final performance.

Original Mockup

Here's the original mockup I made using sounds from a Roland XP-80 synthesizer.