Mountain Legends was written for the Metropolitan Wind Symphony to honor its Artistic Director, clarinetist David Martins. To do justice to both the MWS and the soloist, I wanted to write a work with a lot of musical flair to showcase the solo clarinet, but also with challenging parts for the many members of this highly capable ensemble. A rather free-wheeling structure seemed most likely to accomplish both these ends, and thus the piece evolved as something akin to a narrative. The solo clarinet plays the role of the storyteller, like a figure of legend recounting adventures and exploits, while the ensemble shares in the tales, initiating material, commenting, or reacting.

The ensemble begins the piece with several rather brief lyrical statements, but the soloist soon enters and clearly takes control. The several episodes of the narrative are related in terms of basic musical material, but are varied in mood, sometimes suggesting energetic feats of daring, and other times implying brooding or mystery. Also variable are the dimension of the soloist's role and the nature of the ensemble's participation: sometimes there is dialogue, sometimes the ensemble or the soloist go off on their own (including an extended cadenza), and gradually the collaboration becomes more heated and intense. After the last climactic episode, the soloist suddenly changes direction for a last time. Recalling the lyrical feeling of the opening, the clarinet leads the ensemble to a gentle conclusion full of tenderness and sentiment.