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The impetus behind Way of Light arrived in a dream, after weeks of contemplation on shamanic approaches to the transformative power of music. The player embarks on a mythical journey, accompanied by spirit guides. There are obstacles to confront, to transcend, and to conquer. The performer moves through six main ritualistic sections: The Call, Migration, Chaos, Turning Point, Vision, Greeting. Embedded within these sections are five archetypal emotions—fear, compassion, joy, anger, and sadness.

The video created by Austin Switser confers a potent and vast visual dimension. A multitude of hybridized trumpets that beckon to, intertwine with, and hover around the performer permeate the audio accompanying the flute player. Grounded in the pentatonic scale, the compositional material expands into greater complexity and contracts back into simplicity as the work draws to a close.

I’m grateful to the International Trumpet Guild for the commission to write this new work for trumpet, with electronics and video. Thanks to Ed Carroll for encouraging me to undertake this project, to Daniel Rosenboom for recording some of the electronic files that I used for raw material in the audio component, and to Phil Curtis for assistance with sound design. I would like to extend my gratitude to Camilla Hoitenga, who inspired the version of Way of Light for flute and later premiered it in Germany.

---Anne LeBaron