Ghost Train was a total fluke.

In the fall of 1993, while an undergrad at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, I happened to hear the wind symphony rehearsing through closed doors. I snuck into the band room and sat entranced for 50 minutes, transported by what was, hands down, the single loudest music I had ever heard. 6 percussionists! 8 trumpets! I was in love.

After the rehearsal I approached Thomas Leslie, the conductor, and asked if I could write a piece for their group. He said (wit...