A vendetta is typically thought of as an act of revenge, but with a few distinctions that make it more horrific. Vendettas are usually prolonged acts or patterns of revenge that involve plotting or especially brutal acts, and are often inspired by politics or religion. A lot of the violence, devastation, and human tragedy that plagues our world today seems to be inspired by blindly inherited anger of this kind: older generations pass on their distrust or downright hatred of a group or country to their children, who learn to experience the world through these prejudices and then continue the horrific cycle through their own children. With Vendetta, I want to depict this cycle of violence through a programmatic work that imagines one person’s experience with it.

Beginning with aggressive fanfares in the brass and percussion that gradually lead to violent outbursts from the full ensemble, the opening section portrays a young person’s indoctrination into a culture of violence and revenge. The longer middle section—which includes the rhythmic pulsations from the opening measures—evokes the plotting of a vengeful act. The work culminates in an altered and more aggressive return to some of the opening gestures, suggesting that the vendetta has been carried out, and that the revenge taken far exceeds the severity of its motivation.

Premiered 2019, Hope College Wind Ensemble. Contact for parts and score.