To See Behind Walls

Windermere Preparatory School’s High School Wind Ensemble and nationally renowned composer Craig Fitzpatrick to world premiere “To See Behind Walls” 

On April 26th, 2022, Windermere Prep’s High School Wind Ensemble and nationally renowned composer Craig Fitzpatrick will collaborate to premiere “To See Behind Walls”. Windermere Preparatory students are no strangers to premiering music, as the last world premiere was in 2018 for the Grand Opening of the Cypress Center for the Arts. 

            It started with Jason King, Director of Fine Arts at Windermere Preparatory School, looking to commission a new piece, specifically for their wind ensemble. King approached Craig Fitzpatrick of Craig Fitzpatrick Music (https://www.fitzpatrickmusic.net/), and they began to work together and shuffle around ideas for this one-of-a-kind opportunity. At the forefront of this partnership were the principles of D.E.I. (diversity, equity, and inclusion).

The team at Windermere wanted the piece to somehow be connected to these ideas in some way. The students also shared what these words meant to them. From there, Fitzpatrick started to formulate some ideas and options that would reflect all of the contributions made during the brainstorming session. 

It is at this point Fitzpatrick coined the title and idea for the piece “To See Behind Walls”.  “The piece is about how we are all different and the struggles that sometimes our differences cause for us.  However, in the end those differences are our greatest asset. Each part of the piece is about a different angle on this” said Fitzpatrick. 

Fitzpatrick explains the composition of the piece, “The first part is about the walls we build around ourselves, whether physical or emotional. The second part is about allowing ourselves to be vulnerable.  We only start to see who others really are if we also allow ourselves to be seen,” he explains. “The last section is about tearing down our walls and celebrating our differences” states Fitzpatrick. 

Mr. Craig Fitzpatrick is a full-time composer and arranger. He writes new pieces as well as arrangements on a regular basis. He maintains that the springtime is especially busy with competitive marching band arrangements as well several other concert commissions.

While he has never premiered a piece with Windermere Prep before, he is excited for every premiere, as it is music coming to life. “The bonus is getting to meet the students to see them read and understand the music as it was meant to be played, go through rehearsals, and finally conduct during the performance. It's truly fascinating each and every time” states Fitzpatrick.

In a final statement, Fitzpatrick states “It is fitting that with every school I visit the students are more similar than different despite being in different states.”