I performed with the Ontario Provincial Honour Band, conducted by Dr. Donald McKinney, who is the Director of Bands and an Associate Professor at the University of Colorado Boulder. We premiered Charon’s Dance, a piece by Kevin Lau, currently the RBC Affiliate Composer for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, which we performed with TorQ. Kevin Lau explained that he drew inspiration from the NASA expedition to Pluto, and used the interaction between the band and percussion ensemble as a metaphor for the interaction between Pluto, and its largest moon, Charon – since Charon is so proportionately large, its gravitational force causes Pluto and it to somewhat orbit each other. He also used techniques to evoke Charon, the boatman who carries deceased souls across the River Styx in Greek mythology, and to create a “dark elegance”. We also played Bloom, Morning Alleluias, Puszta, and the third movement of Tichelli’s symphony, Apollo Unleashed. Overall, it was an amazing experience.