"Eye of the Tiger" was premiered by The Linden Avenue Middle School Band, Red Hook, NY, directed by Andy Van Ness in The Sosnoff Theater, The Fisher Center, Bard College, June 1, 2015. "Eye of the Hawk" was inspired by the beautiful and majestic Hudson Valley. I wanted to base the piece on something what would resonate with the band who would be premiering it - my local, exceptional, middle school band. The hawk became our spirit animal, and represented to me many of the qualities that are inherent in a young person of that age - bold, instinctive, elegant - a fierce creature who "owns the sky." The music conveys power, freedom, and confindence - just like the students. Aleotoric moments with a large battery of percussion. The groove is otherwise slow yet strongly driven.