Ballade is dedicated to Dr. Andy Wen, professor of saxophone at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

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Heavily influenced by the French school of saxophone, this pieces has echoes of Pierre Max Dubois and Karel Husa. It begins with a slow introduction that contains the vast majority of the motivic and harmonic ideas that make up the rest of the piece. A fast section follows, displaying the saxophone's capabilities and the various sonorities it can produce. After an interlude, the tempo resumes its frenetic pace and comes to a crashing finale.