For Concert Band
Duration Approximately 6:00
Grade 5

FULL SCORE / 3 1 1 3 (+Bass) Alto (2), Tenor, Bari / 3 2 3 1 1 1 / Timp Perc (3)

FINALIST - 2018 NBA Revelli Composition Contest
FINALIST - 2018-19 American Prize Composition Contest
SEMI-FINALIST - 2017 Ravel International Composition Prize

Dr. James Decker Munson was a firm believer in the "beauty is therapy" philosophy regarding the treatment of the mentally ill. Patients at the Traverse City State Hospital (previously known as the Northern Michigan Asylum) were treated through kindness, comfort, pleasure, and beautiful flowers provided year-round by the Asylum's own greenhouses on the grounds. Completed in 1885, many progressive and compassionate practices were implemented there, and restraints such as the straitjacket were forbidden. The Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1985.

ASYLUM is a tone poem that that attempts to reflect the complex beauty, pain, and healing of both the people who lived and worked here, as well as the incredible architectural achievement of the Kirkbride building itself.

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