Trois Impressions En Laiton (Three Impressions in Brass) came out of a desire to hone my chamber music writing. I had attended a festival in New York the previous summer and discovered that I was approaching the medium with too symphonic style. The idea was to capture paintings from one of my favorite museums as works in a suite for Brass. Upon visiting the Art Institute of Chicago, I found myself, as usual, admiring the impressionists. There is much to glean musically from their work--overt use of gesture, patterns of texture, contrast of lighting, and intense color. That trip left me with ideas for several collections of chamber works. The pieces for brass centered around paintings I admired that contained human subjects. In order they are Vincent van Gogh's The Drinkers, Gustave Caillebotte's Paris Street; Rainy Day, and Georges Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. The first piece captures the experience of witnessing the painting as well as the art itself. It seems jovial at first and then get progressively darker. The ostinati become more drunken as the drinkers enjoy their absinthe. The second piece captures the ambience of city sounds interwoven with disembodied jazz solos that hearken to a rainy ballad. The third piece is a relaxing waltz that changes color and texture frequently--inhabiting every activity you might do on a warm Sunday whether it be sprawled out reading or sailing a boat.