9 Miniatures for Clarinet Trio Inspired by the Images from the Artemis II Lunar Flyby

Artemis II was the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis program, and the first crewed flyby of the moon since the last Apollo mission in 1972. The mission marked the beginning of a new era of space exploration, a key step toward a long-term return to the Moon and future missions to Mars.

I had been following the mission closely and my eyes were glued to the livestreams since the launch on April 1st. I watched the earth get smaller and the moon bigger with each passing hour together with millions of other spectators, and I got excited about each high resolution photograph sent down by the astronauts through the deep-space network.

Then, on the 6th of April 2026, it was finally time for the lunar flyby – The first time humans have seen the far side of the moon with their own eyes in over 50 years. During the flyby, the four astronauts took many photographs of the moon’s surface and any views they found interesting. I listened to their calls on the radio, and got excited just at the thought of the images they described taking. On the next day, those images finally came pouring in on NASA’s image gallery – each one more breathtaking than the last. I was immeditaely overcome with emotions, inspiration, and deep thought, which I translated into music as quickly as I could.

On the same evening, most of the piece was done, and with a few additions and adjustments on the next day, just two days after the flyby, the piece was complete on the 8th of April 2026.

These nine impressions, inspired by the images of the Artemis II lunar flyby, are dedicated to everyone at the NASA and ESA, and to the four astronauts of the Artemis II mission: Victor Glover, Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen, and Reid Wiseman.

Instrumentation

• Clarinet in Bb I
• Clarinet in Bb II & Alto Clarinet in Eb (Optionally Basset horn or Clarinet in A)
• Bass clarinet (With low C mechanism)

The print edition of “On the Far Side” is printed on high quality 100-GSM paper at a fine 600dpi print resolution and is bound with a thick outer cover. You will also receive a download code for the PDF version.

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