“Nightmare Variations” will be an 11-12 minute composition for wind ensemble of Grade 5 difficulty. This composition will be in the form of a theme and variations, and the motivic material will be derived from Gustav Holst's First Suite in Eb and Second Suite in F. The general mood of the variations will be eerie, psychedelic, spooky, exciting, dreamlike, and surreal. The variations will certainly be heavily based on Holst's original melodies from the First Suite, but they will also incorporate several other elements such as Holst's rhythmic motifs, memorable accompaniment patterns, melodic contours, aspects of Holst's harmonic language, and the iconic chord voicing at the end of the passcaglia.