Part of On Track, UYMP's Education Volume for Key Stage 4.

I have been interested in writing a piece, or a melody, to be performed by multiple players in unison. Of course, a solo song can be interesting by itself. But, it seems to me that when the same melody is sung by many singers in unison the musical nature of the melody itself changes, and it becomes something very different. Birthday Toast is an instrumental song to celebrate a vivid, high-spirited life, or a musical birthday present. Fragments of the popular birthday tune are inwrought in the quasi-modal (almost atonal) background; it’s a musically inlaid work, so to speak.