The impetus for this piece came when Simon Desbruslais asked if I would write? an ?tude for piccolo trumpet, as part of a project aimed at gathering new repertoire for the instrument. Inspired by Simon?s dazzling playing, the original idea of writing a short ?tude quickly gave way to plans for a longer, more ambitions work, exploring? the character and virtuosity of this wonderful and exciting instrument.

The piece moves through several different sections, each one exploring a different aspect of the instrument?s colour and technique, from the hushed, sonorous opening set in the instrument?s lowest range, to the bright and radiant flourishes of the final bars. The title Ascent refers to several aspects of the piece, firstly the gradual movement from low to high tessitura as the piece progresses, secondly the steady increase in tempo, motion and energy of the music, and also to the prominent use of ascending phrases throughout the piece.