Apples was commissioned for Randy Atkinson and the Taft Middle School 7th-8th Grade Band (Cedar Rapids, IA) upon the occasion of Randy's retirement after 30 years of teaching, including 15 years at Taft and 15 years at neighboring Linn-Mar High School. After discussion with Randy's daughter, herself a local music teacher, and Bob Manson, a former colleague and friend at Taft, the piece is intended to focus on Randy's energetic personality, one which endeared him to his students. The piece is minimalist in nature, using the number 15 as a generating force and structured using a process in which repeating layers enter and leave after playing their passage three times. Each of these layers is 5 measures long with 3 beats to the measure (15 beats per passage). The basic melodic cell for the piece begins with a harmonic 3rd moving to a harmonic 5th.