The Gorham High School band recently performed an original piece never before played in concert. The composer was Samuel Martel, a graduating senior at GHS who has played trumpet for many years and has been musically active in the community throughout high school. Martel began writing this piece over two years ago, and has worked closely with fellow band members and teacher Tim Ebersold to develop the music for the various instruments and parts.

The piece is called “Hero’s Journey,” and was inspired by the soundtracks to superhero movies. Martel is looking to write more in the future, especially after the positive reception to “Hero’s Journey.”

“One of the most rewarding things to me about writing music is seeing the creativity pay off,” said Martel. “Taking musical ideas, mixing them together, twisting them around, seeing what instruments sound best with what parts; though hard work, it’s immensely fun. And it’s extremely fulfilling to present it, and have people tell me they loved it and that it affected them. I find that so gratifying and humbling, to know I’m not just creating for myself.”

Martel plans on studying film production at Ithaca College next year, and would like to work on movie production in the future with the possibility of incorporating his composition experience into film scores.