"Desperate Pursuit" is a driving and dramatic overture from the pen of award-winning composer, James Barnes. Based on the D Phrygian scale, the piece gets its name from the rapid, rhythmic motion of the piece. The intensity of Phrygian mode, colorful low woodwind and wispy percussion writing in the contrasting lyrical section of the work, and the dramatic, pulsating timpani part throughout the piece combine to bring a frantic quality to the music.