Dragons at the Drawbridge was written for Beginner Band Blitz, a city-wide workshop for first year concert band students in Brisbane. It is reminiscent of the many conflicts along the Welsh-English border during the middle ages, inspired by Mr Kucharski’s visit to Cardiff in 2010, where he was impressed with the architecture of many of the famous castles in the area and the prominence of the red dragon in the heraldic pennants and flags. The modal melodies hint at the medieval nature of the music, and the clashing sounds of the percussion instruments are meant to remind the listener of swords, shields and suits of armour. The perfect tempo will be achieved if one imagines marching off to battle in such a suit of armour.
