"Into the Skies Above" was commissioned by the Daini Junior High School Band in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of their annual concert.

I composed "As Spring Arrives" in 2013, and it was premiered by the commissioning junior high school band. Ten years after the premiere, a student from the band became a music teacher and contacted me to compose a new piece for her students. This is a private affair, but as a composer, this story filled me with deep emotion....