Fanfare to Sound the Call

instrumentation:

2 piccolo trumpets, 5 C trumpets, 1 flugelhorn 4 french horns, 4 trombones, 1 bass trombone, euphonium, 3 tubas, timpani, 4 percussion: glockenspiel, chimes cymb. a2, B.D., S.D. tam-tam, sus. cymb. triangle

Program notes – by the composer:

In 2007, conductor Michael Krajewski approached me about composing a highly spirited and patriotic symphonic overture with a somewhat unique twist: that it would somehow combine the “sounds” of John Williams and John Philip Sousa, yet be an original piece of music. Always one to love a challenge, the resulting 4 minute work has hints of each of the two composers, the latter of which being ‘Stars and Stripes Forever’. These hints are not meant to be overt, but only suggestions which might be caught by the keen observer.

The concert band version of this score was created June 10, 2018.

In 2019, I was asked to create a fanfare for the Interlochen Center for the Arts, to help celebrate the opening of their new music building. Having recently seen a video of John Phillip Sousa visiting Interlochen in the early days of the camp (quite an amazing occurrence), it occurred to me that this piece could still well-represent the opportunities Interlochen presents as a gathering place for both those ho have achieved a bit of fame/status in their careers and those students who are just beginning their journeys.

Therefore, in this version for brass ensemble, I inserted a bit of the famous “O Sound the Call” that all of us alums remember so well, and married that with a bit of the aforementioned Sousa march. Hopefully the result will still embody the spirit embedded at Interlochen: excitement, partnerships, new beginnings, and music-making of the highest caliber.

~Jim Stephenson