Desert Winds Freedom Band Turns 10 with JSEF Support!

On March 26, 2011, the Desert Winds Freedom Band of Palm Springs, CA celebrated its historic 10th anniversary with a performance entitled "Journey: Don't Stop Believing." This sold out concert took place at the Palm Springs High School Auditorium and was sold out.

A major highlight of this 10th anniversary concert was the world premiere of a piece called “Journey” composed Charlie Creasy (photo at left). It was commissioned by the Desert Winds Freedom Band with the financial assistance from JSEF. A grant was given to allow this new piece to be written and performed at this event.

"Journey" is a symphonic tone poem in the tradition of Richard Strauss. Mr. Creasy was inspired by Joseph Campbell’s "The Hero with a Thousand Faces," in which he examined the commonalities of myths throughout centuries and across cultures. Synthesizing styles from the Romantic Era with the languages of 20th century concert music and contemporary film scoring, the composer set out to tell the story of a hero’s journey through music alone. "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" has become a staple of screenwriting classes, and the structure of the hero’s journey as outlined by Campbell has been applied to countless film scripts. For "Journey," Mr. Creasy focused on 6 key steps while alluding to others in minor passages and transitions:

“The Call to Adventure” – The hero is called to leave behind the known world to embark on a journey into excitement and danger.

“Crossing of the First Threshold” – Leaving the known limits of his or her world, the hero ventures into an unknown and dangerous realm where the rules and limits are not known.

“The Belly of the Whale” – Finally separated from everything in the known world, the hero reaches the lowest point of the adventure and would appear to have died.

“Road of Trials” - To find success, the hero must survive a series of ordeals and tasks. Along the way, new friends are made who serve as allies against the dark forces encountered.

“Meeting with the Goddess” – The hero encounters a love that transcends anything the hero has experienced before, a perfect, all-encompassing love that is utterly transformative.

“The Return” – The triumphant hero returns to the world he or she left behind, changed forever by the journey.

About Charlie Creasy - Charlie studied at Swarthmore College and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and holds a master’s degree in music composition from Eastern Washington University. His first professional job as pianist and musical director was for the legendary Hildegarde in the late 1970s. Since then he has performed in cabarets, regional theatres and on cruise ships and composed the scores for several original musicals which have been per-formed in Texas, California and Washington. He and his husband of 30 years, Scott Davis, made the Palm Springs desert their home in 2005.

The JSEF is honored to have helped contribute to the composing and performing of this new musical work. A DVD of the world premiere performance of "Journey" is pending.