Transcript

Marine Corps Band

New Orleans

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Ever wonder what it would be like to march in a Marine Band? https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P-u_eEu4N24Marine Bandsmen are still held to the rigorous physical fitness standards of the Marine Corps:https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RMXzTlFGBEY

Officer in Charge/Principal Conductor BiographyChief Warrant Officer 3, Michael J. Smith

Chief Warrant Officer 3, Michael J. Smith, originally from Terre Haute, Indiana, enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1987. Upon completing Recruit Training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, he was meritoriously promoted to Private First Class and transferred to the Armed Forces School of Music at the Naval Amphibious Base in Little Creek, Virginia for the six-month basic musician’s course as drummer with the Drum and Bugle Corps.

After completing the Basic Musician’s Course at the Armed Forces School of Music and receiving his next promotion, Lance Corporal Smith reported to the U.S. Marine Drum and Bugle Corps in Albany, Georgia. At the conclusion of 1989, by a decision of the Commandant of the Marine Corps, the Albany Drum and Bugle Corps was replaced with a band. Lance Corporal Smith was promoted to Corporal when the Albany Marine Band stood-up in January of 1990. Later that same year during Operation Desert Shield when ground combat was determined eminent, Corporal Smith was sent to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. There he trained with Combat Replacement Regiment Six and deployed to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Desert Shield with perimeter security platoons for Naval Fleet Hospital 15 in Al Jubail, and 1st Medical Battalion in Al Khanjar. At the conclusion of Desert Storm, Corporal Smith returned and resumed his duties as a percussionist with the Albany Marine Band.

After Corporal Smith was promoted to Sergeant, he was transferred to Okinawa Japan in 1994 for duty with the III Marine Expeditionary Force Band, where he served as the Percussion Section Leader and Platoon Sergeant. Highlights of that tour included several the 50th Anniversaries of several WW II battles in the Pacific to include the Battle of Iwo Jima, where Sergeant Smith reenlisted once again, but this time at the top of Mount Surabachi at the location where the famous flag raising took place. After Japan, and completion of the six-month intermediate course at the Armed Forces School of Music, Sergeant Smith transferred to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Band in Parris Island, South Carolina. There Sergeant Smith was promoted to Staff Sergeant and served as the Percussion Section Commander and Public Affairs Chief. Staff Sergeant Smith once again returned to the Armed Forces School of Music for six-months to attend the Advanced Course, then transferred to the Marine Corps Band in Quantico, Virginia, as the Operations Chief and Enlisted Band Leader. In 2000, Staff Sergeant Smith was selected for

Warrant Officer and reported to the 2nd Marine Division Band in June 2001 for his first assignment as a Marine Corps Band Officer.

In 2004, the 2nd Marine Division Band was augmented with an additional 100 Marines and in 2005 they deployed to Iraq as the primary Guard Force for the 2nd Marine Division Headquarters Forward at Camp Blue Diamond, Al Ramadi, Iraq with 142 Marines. Returning to Camp Lejeune with 142 after the mission was complete; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Smith was transferred to Marine Corps Forces Reserve Headquarters in 2006 for duty as the Band Officer of the New Orleans Marine Band in Louisiana.

The Band and Command was very much involved with the recovery of post-Katrina, New Orleans, and the Gulf Coast. On the 4th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the Band culminated all of the physical and musical recovery efforts by presenting the ultimate gift of music to the people of New Orleans, a commission composed by Robert W. Smith entitled “Promising Skies”, inspired by their “Spirit of Rebirth” and dedicated to the people of New Orleans. The piece was debuted to a standing-room-only audience inside the iconic Saint Louis Cathedral in the heart of the French Quarter, receiving a seven-minute standing ovation. Chief Warrant Officer 3 Smith was then selected for the Officer College Degree (Completion) Program. Remaining in New Orleans, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Smith attended and graduated from Tulane University with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre.

In June of 2011, Chief Warrant Officer Smith reported for duty assignment as Officer in Charge and Principle Conductor of the Marine Forces Pacific Band where he and the band represented our Country and Corps in 70th Anniversary ceremonies commemorating historic events and battles of World War II. Chief Warrant Officer 3 Smith and his wife Toni returned to Marine Corps Forces Reserve Headquarters in June 2015 and once again resumed his duties as Officer in Charge and Principle Conductor of the Marine Corps Band New Orleans.

Enlisted Conductor Biography: Enlisted Conductor, Gunnery Sergeant Justin A. Hauser A native of Albany, New York, Gunnery Sergeant Justin Hauser attended recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., in May of 2002 after attending the State University of New York at Fredonia.

Following Marine Combat Training, Gunnery Sergeant Hauser reported to the Armed Forces School of Music in September of 2002. Upon graduation of the Basic Musician Course, he reported to the III Marine Aircraft Wing Band in Miramar, California. While a member of this unit, Gunnery Sergeant Hauser served as a clarinet instrumentalist, Public Affairs NCOIC, Assistant Enlisted

Conductor, Supply NCOIC, and Sergeant of the Guard. He also deployed to Iraq for two tours of duty in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, where he served as Sentry and Sergeant of the Guard. In August of 2007, Gunnery Sergeant Hauser transferred to the Parris Island Marine Band in South Carolina, serving as clarinet instrumentalist, Operations Chief, and the band’s Acting Enlisted Conductor. He was selected to attend the Unit Leader Course at the Naval School of Music in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in December 2010. Upon graduation, Gunnery Sergeant Hauser remained on staff where he taught in the Basic Academics and Rehearsal Division departments. He also served as the Equal Opportunity Officer for the Marine Detachment and in September of 2014 attended the Senior Musician Course, graduating in May of 2015. Gunnery Sergeant Hauser assumed his current position as the Enlisted Conductor of Marine Corps Band New Orleans in June of 2015.

Associate Conductor Biography:Associate Conductor, Gunnery Sergeant Michael J. Maschmeier After five years of teaching in Missouri Public Schools, Gunnery Sergeant (GySgt) Maschmeier wanted to serve his country playing music. The pride and performance opportunities the Marine Corps Bands offered appealed to him. He enlisted after his fifth year of teaching music and attended recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, California graduating Series Honor Man with a meritorious promotion to PFC in June of 1997.

GySgt Maschmeier has enjoyed a varied career and has traveled and performed in 26 countries throughout the world. He has served as euphonium instrumentalist with the Quantico Marine Band at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia; Albany Marine Band at Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, Georgia; 1st Marine Division Band at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in California; the Commander Naval Forces Europe Band, Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy; the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Band, Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point in North Carolina and most recently the Marine Corps Band New Orleans, U.S. Marine Forces Reserve, New Orleans, Louisiana.

GySgt Maschmeier began serving as acting Enlisted Conductor with the 1st Marine Division Band in late 2005. He then deployed to Camp Fallujah Iraq with Headquarters Company, Regimental Combat Team 5, I MEF (Fwd) in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 05-07, in July 2006. There he assumed duties as Platoon Sergeant and Convey Commander of Hades Mobile, a multi-purpose security convey conducting 143 missions throughout the Al Anbar Provence. Following redeployment and training at the School of Music, he became the 12th Marine to serve with the Navy Band in Naples, Italy. He was selected as Enlisted Conductor in February of 2009.

While stationed with the Navy Band, GySgt Maschmeier also served as Command Drum Major. He led the ceremonial band in several high profile commitments including Memorial Day services in the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in Nettuno, Italy, and nationally televised parades in Udine, Italy as well as

several in Germany. His daily duties with the Navy band included conducting, scheduling and operations, Unit Fire and HAZMAT Chief, Building Manager overseeing three construction projects of new rehearsal facilities and euphonium instrumentalist. He furthermore deployed as the Music Operations Coordinator aboard the Dutch ship HNLMS Johan de Witt (L801), the first non-American platform for the Africa Partnership Station missions spearheaded by the United States Navy. In this capacity, GySgt Maschmeier coordinated with embassies of five African nations scheduling over 40 performances and spearheaded several musical and drum majoring workshops with African military and civilian musicians. Following advanced training at the School of Music, GySgt Maschmeier began his first assignment as Enlisted Conductor with the 2D Marine Aircraft Wing Band at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina in June of 2012. He has served as Enlisted Conductor and currently serves as Public Affairs Chief for the Marine Corps Band New Orleans.

GySgt Maschmeier's musical training includes receiving his Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Central Methodist College, Sweeney Conservatory of Music, Fayette Missouri in 1992. His military musical training includes the Unit Leader's Course and the Senior Musician Course at the Armed Forces School of Music in Norfolk, Virginia. His military training includes Staff Noncommissioned Officer Academy Career and Advanced Courses, Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear Monitors/Survey and Decon Operations Course and Counter IED Level III Train the Trainers Course.

GySgt Maschmeier's military decorations and service awards include the Navy Achievement Medal with 4 Gold Stars and Combat Distinguishing Device, Combat Action Ribbon, Navy Unit Commendation with Bronze Star, Meritorious Unit Commendation with four Bronze Stars, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal with Silver Star, National Defense Service Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal with Bronze Star, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon and the Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon with Bronze Star.

Guest PercussionistsHorn Instrumentalist, Corporal Dalton M. GuinHailing from Erwin, NC, Corporal Dalton Guin began his musical career on trumpet in 2003. He began playing horn in 2004, and has since never looked back. Corporal Guin enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2010 as a horn instrumentalist, graduating from Basic Training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island on 2 July 2011. He then attended Marine Combat Training at Camp Geiger, NC, and went on to graduate from the Naval School of Music Musician Basic Course in March 2012.

Upon completion of the Basic Course at NavSOM, Corporal Guin was stationed with the Marine Forces Pacific Band in Kaneohe Bay, HI. While there, he served as a horn instrumentalist, Librarian, Transportation Assistant Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge and dispatcher, Mail Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge, and as a bus driver.

Corporal Guin was reassigned to Marine Corps Band New Orleans in March 2015. He currently serves with that unit as a horn instrumentalist, Public Affairs Historian and Liaison, and bus driver.

Corporal Guin has performed in Amerika Samoa, New Zealand, Palau, and Canada; and has performed with the Kamuela Philharmonic, Oahu Civic Orchestra, and JALPAC Chorus Without Borders. His military awards include Meritorious Unit Citation with bronze star in lieu of second award, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Medal, and Global War on Terror Medal.

Oboe Instrumentalist, Corporal Nate BernikComing from San Antonio, TX, Corporal Nate Bernik began his musical career on oboe in 2004.During his time in high school, 2007-2011, Corporal Bernik played with various ensembles such as YOSA (Youth Orchestra of San Antonio), HoTXCB (Heart of Texas Concert Band), Municipal Band of San Antonio, and various gigs around the city, as well as teaching privately. After completion of high school, Corporal Bernik continued his studies at the University of North Texas. In 2014 Corporal Bernik resumed teaching privately and auditioned for the Marine Corps Field Band Program. After acceptance into the Marine Corps, Corporal Bernik left for basic training in San Diego, CA, on 14 July 2014. He then attended Marine Combat Training at Camp Pendleton, CA, and excelled out of the Naval School of Music in Virginia Beach, VA, graduating at the top of his class.

After the completion of the Basic Musician Course, Corporal Bernik was stationed in New Orleans, LA. He currently serves there as the oboe instrumentalist, the assistant instrument repair technician, and DTS clerk.

Marine Corps Band New Orleans 2016 Spring Concert Tour will consist of two different programs being performed at different venues.

Program “A” will be performed at the following venues: Indiana University – Purdue University, Sunday 17 April at 7:30 PM

Valparaiso University, Thursday 21 April at 7:30 PM Indiana State University, Tuesday 26 April at 7:30 PM

Program “B” will be performed at the following venues:

Saint Mary’s College, Tuesday 19 April at 7:30 PM University of Indianapolis, Friday, 22 April at 7:30 PM

Carterville High School, Wednesday, 27 April at 7:30 PM

Concert Program “A”Concert Fanfare(Marine’s Hymn)

Charles MekealianCharles Mekealian is a Sergeant currently serving as a trumpet instrumentalist with Marine Corps Band New Orleans. Born on 13 May in Sanger, California, Mekealian performs routinely in the Marine Corps Band New Orleans Concert Band and Brass Quintet, and has arranged several works for those and various other ensembles within the Band.

Concert Fanfare was written in 2015, and premiered by Marine Corps Band New Orleans. It is a bold and powerful fanfare for brass, perfect for the opening selection of a Marine Band concert, and incorporates themes from the Marine’s Hymn.

United States of America National AnthemThe Star Spangled Banner

Lyrics: Francis Scott KeyComposer: John Stafford SmithEstablished as America’s National Anthem in 1931, lyrics for “The Star-Spangled Banner” were penned as a poem by Francis Scott Key, originally entitled “The Defence of Fort McHenry.”Key was born on August 1st, 1779 in Frederick County, Maryland. He became a successful lawyer, and was eventually appointed U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. After a series of trade agreements, America declared war on Great Britain on June 18 th, 1812. After British troops invaded Washington, D.C., and burned the White House, Capitol Building, and Library of Congress, they set their sights on Baltimore. When British ships bombarded Fort McHenry, Key was aboard a British ship, negotiating the release of prisoners. We watched the bombing campaign take place approximately 8 miles from his location. When the British gave up their attack and withdrew, leaving behind a battered – but still standing – Fort McHenry, the sunrise illuminating the tattered American flag atop the fort was Key’s inspiration for the poem.

Francis Scott Key

John Philip Sousa

Joseph Willcox Jenkins

Circulating by way of newspapers, and set to the music of an English tune entitled “To Anacreon in Heaven” by John Stafford Smith, people began to call the song “The Star-Spangled Banner”. In 1916, 28th President Woodrow Wilson directed it to be played at all official events, and it was adopted as the national anthem of the United States of America on March 3rd, 1931.

American Overture for BandComposer: Joseph Willcox JenkinsJoseph Willcox Jenkins was born on 15 February 1928 in Wawa, Pennsylvania. By the age of six, he had begun taking piano lessons, and began composing small works in elementary school. By the time he entered high school, Jenkins arranged numerous pieces and composed several original works for orchestra. While studying pre-law at St. Joseph’s College in Philadelphia, he studied composition and counterpoint with Vincent Persichetti. Upon completing his law degree, Jenkins attended the Eastman School of Music, where he graduated with a Masters of Music in 1951, during the Korean War. He was subsequently drafted into the Army, where he became the arranger for The United States Army Field

Band, and the Armed Forces Radio Network. In 1953, Jenkins took an interim teaching position at Catholic University, and decided to complete his doctorate there using G.I. Bill funding. After he reenlisted in 1956, and the United States Army Chorus was formed that same year, he became the USAC’s assistant conductor and first arranger. During his time with the Army Chorus, he arranged over 270 works for voice, along with several compositions of his own. Jenkins died on 31 January 2014, his career as an educator ending as Professor Emeritus at the Mary Pappert School of Music, Duquesne University.

American Overture for Band was written while Jenkins served as the Army Field Band’s arranger. A 50th Anniversary version was published in collaboration with Jenkins, updating the original score to include revisions to dynamics, articulations, and pitches. The work became Jenkins’ most successful; he stated that he would be “hard-pressed to duplicate its success.” The work features demanding horn lines, soaring above busy rhythmic motifs and counter-lines. The bright, bold character of American Overture for Band is musically representative of just that: America. The melody flies between sections in the ensemble, bouncing around excitedly, at one moment sitting atop the band’s sound in a majestic horn unison, and in the very next playfully echoed by the cornets. The woodwinds add their playful countermelodies, all while the trombones and euphoniums interject the crisp motric motif that is found in the percussion section, driving this work from its joyous start to its frantically exuberant close.

Black Horse TroopComposer: John Philip SousaJohn Philip Sousa was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era, known best for American military and patriotic marches. Born on 6 November

1854 in Washington, D.C., Sousa’s father enlisted him as an apprentice in the United States Marine Band in 1868. Sousa served with the Marine Band until 1875, and learned to conduct. He focused exclusively on conducting and composition until his death on 6 March 1932. Sousa eventually rejoined the Marine Band, serving as its director for 12 years. Once he left the Marine Band again, he formed his own band. With this band, Sousa toured Europe and Australia, performing 15,623 concerts. Upon the start of World War I, he was commissioned as a lieutenant and led the Naval Reserve Band in Illinois. Sousa became known as “The March King”, as he wrote 137 marches. Not content with marches alone, he also wrote over 400 other works, including operettas, overtures, suites, dances, fantasies, and arrangements of nineteenth-century western European symphonic works.

Black Horse Troop was composed in 1924, in honor of Troop A, 107th Cavalry, Ohio National Guard.

Lux AurumqueLight and Gold

Composer: Eric WhitacreBorn on 2 January, 1970, Eric Whitacre is one of the most prolific, grammy-winning composers and conductors of today. He is also renowned for bring together vocalists from around the world in his online “Virtual Choir” projects. Born in Reno, Nevada, Whitacre studied piano at a young age, joined his high school marching band program, and later played synthesizer in a techno-pop band. He obtained his BA in musical education while an undergraduate at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and earned his Master’s degree in composition at the Julliard School. He has composed over 60 works for everything from choral music and solos, to orchestral works, to musical theatre productions. He also collaborated on the Mermaid theme from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, with legendary film composer Hans Zimmer.

Lux Aurumque is Latin for “Light and Gold”. The piece was commissioned by the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay in 2000 for 8-part mixed choir a cappella. The Wind Symphony transcription was commissioned by the Texas All State Band. In its composition, Whitacre chose a poem by Edward Esch, stating that he (Whitacre) was “immediately struck by its genuine, elegant simplicity.” He then had the poem translated into Latin by celebrated American poet Charles Anthony Silvestri. Dedicated to the piece’s simplistic elegance, Whitacre says, “I waited patiently for the tight harmonies to shimmer and glow.”

Lux,Calida gravisque pura velut aurum

Et canunt angeli mollitermodo natum.

Light,warm and heavy as pure gold

Eric Whitacre

Arthur Pryor

and angels sing softlyto the new-born babe.

~ Edward Esch

The UnsettlingComposer: Charles MekealianThe Unsettling is a wind ensemble work composed by Charles Mekealian in 2015, depicting the uncertainty of “Destination.” Life and time are constantly moving forward, with nothing but pure speculation on what the future may hold. The piece starts softly, but continuously swells and ebbs, always moving forward. The melodies are never quite complete, sometimes ending too high for resolution, sometimes not quite reaching high enough. As the work picks up steam, the rhythms and major dynamic swells seemingly entreat the struggling melodic fragments to resolve, though it would seem their pleas go unnoticed. The tempo begins to accelerate again, gaining both speed and volume, the melody feverishly searching for completion and resolution in its development, before a striking and sudden ending that can only be described as “unsettling.”

Blue Bells of ScotlandFor Solo Trombone and Band

Composer: Arthur Pryor Featuring: Corporal Nathan SchefflerEditor: Les SaundersArthur Pryor, a trombone virtuoso and soloist with the Sousa Band, was born on 22

September 1870, on the second floor of the Lyceum Theater in Saint Joseph, Missouri. Pryor’s father, Samuel Pryor, was the bandmaster and founder of the original Pryor Band. Arthur began playing valve trombone by age 11, and would go on to direct the Stanley Opera Company in Denver, Colorado, until joining the Sousa Band in 1892. He played his first solo with the band at age 22, during the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Pryor performed with the Sousa Band for 12 years, and was

the assistant conductor from 1895 to 1903. Upon retiring from full-time conducting in 1933, after leading the Pryor Band after his father’s death in 1902, Pryor dedicated his time to being actively involved in politics as a Democrat.

Corporal Nathan Scheffler received his Music Education degree from Southeast Missouri State University in December of 2013. He attended Basic Training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego in the spring of 2014. In July 2014, Corporal Scheffler attended the Naval School of Music in Virginia Beach, VA, where he completed the Musician Basic Course. Upon graduation, he was assigned as a trombone instrumentalist with Marine Corps Band New Orleans in December 2014. Corporal Scheffler also serves as a Supply Clerk with Marine Corps Band New Orleans. His military awards include the National Defense Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Medal.

James Horner

Henry Fillmore

Blue Bells of Scotland is the common modern name for a Scottish folk song, first published by English actress and writer Dora Jordan in 1801. Pryor’s arrangement is most commonly played with piano accompaniment or accompanied by military band, but has also been performed with orchestra and brass band. The exact date of its composition has been disputed, but it is thought Pryor composed it around 1899. This arrangement is technically challenging, allowing the soloist to showcase a flowing legato while, at times, requiring difficult jumps in the range. It is in theme and variation form, demanding a large volume of notes at high speeds from the soloist. The final variation, Vivace, demands all of these things, rushing to an exciting and dramatic finish.

Lassus TromboneComposer: Henry FillmoreBorn James Henry Fillmore, Jr., on 3 December 1881 in Cincinnati, Ohio; Henry

Fillmore was an American musician, composer, publisher, and bandleader. In his youth, Fillmore mastered piano, guitar, violin, flute, and slide trombone. He kept his trombone capabilities a secret in his youth, as his father was a composer of gospel music, and believed the trombone to be an uncouth and sinful instrument (it was often associated with street-corner musicians whom were known to drink alcohol). He began composing at the age of 18, writing vocal music for church choir. Fillmore entered the Cincinnati

Conservatory of Music in 1901. Upon graduating, he toured the United States as a circus bandmaster with his wife, an exotic dancer named Mabel May Jones.

Lassus Trombone is a trombone rag written in 1915. It is features, quite evidently, the trombone section, and is a moderate tempo tune. Skip-like trombone jumps abound, punctuated by mischievous glissandos, leaping out over the band’s light, upbeat drive.

Mask of ZorroComposer: James HornerArranger: Jay Bocook, Will RappJames Horner, born on 14 August 1953, was an American composer, conductor, and film score orchestrator. He was best known for his integration of choral and electronic elements in his film scores, and for his use of themes associated with Celtic music. Beginning his career scoring for films in 1979 with The Lady in Red, Horner did not establish himself until he worked on the 1982 Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. The score for Titanic is the best-selling orchestral film soundtrack of all time, and along with Avatar, contributed to their being the first two films to bring in $2 billion in the box office. Horner died in a single-fatality crash of his turboprop aircraft at the age of 61 on 22 June 2015.

Jay Dawson is a popular contemporary composer and arranger, best known for his arrangements of pieces intended for marching and pep bands, as well as concert band arrangements of popular film scores such as “Star Trek: Into Darkness.”

John Williams

The Mask of Zorro features themes from the soundtrack of a 1998 German-American swashbuckler film of the same name. The film stars Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Stuart Wilson. The soundtrack features the distinctive Spanish flair that is associated with the film and its storyline.

The Imperial March(Darth Vader’s Theme)

Composer: John WilliamsArranger: Donald Hunsberger

John Williams has composed music and served as music director for nearly eighty films, and is one of the most successful and popular orchestral composers of the modern age. He is the winner of five Academy Awards, 17 Grammys, three Golden Globes, two Emmys and five BAFTA Awards from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.Williams was born in New York and moved to Los Angeles with his family in 1948. There he attended UCLA and studied composition privately with Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. After service in the Air Force, Mr. Williams returned to New York to attend the Juilliard School, where he studied piano with Madame Rosina Lhevinne. While in New York, he also worked as a jazz pianist,

both in clubs and on recordings. He then returned to Los Angeles, where he began his career in the film industry, working with such composers as Bernard Herrmann, Alfred Newman, and Franz Waxman. He went on to write music for many television programs in the 1960s, winning two Emmy Awards for his work.

The Imperial March is the theme in the Star Wars original trilogy that accompanies the Sith Lord, Darth Vader, and his Imperial Forces. The piece was premiered on 29 April 1980, three weeks before the opening of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, for which it was composed. The premiere of the piece was at Williams’ first concert as the official conductor-in-residence of the Boston Pops Orchestra. It is one of the best known symphonic movie themes, and is an example of a leitmotif, a recurrent theme associated with characters in a drama.

SupermanSuite for Concert Band

Composer: John WilliamsArranger: Bob LowdenJohn Williams followed his success with mid-1970s film scores for Jaws and Star Wars with yet another iconic movie them in 1978’s Superman. During the initial recording session for the film, the music struck director Richard Donner so much that, unable to contain his amazement, he exclaimed “Genius! Fantastic!” and ruined the first take. The Superman theme consists of three main component themes: a fanfare, a march, and a love theme. These different themes come together and develop each other in a way that contributes to the iconic association of Williams’ music with the “Man of Steel,” and brings listeners to wonder what other theme could ever so completely depict America’s favorite super hero.

Robert Jager

Percy Aldridge Grainger

The Immovable DoComposer: Percy Aldridge GraingerPercy Aldridge Grainger was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on 8 July

1882. He left his home at the age of 13 to attend the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt, Germany. Grainger lived in London between 1901 and 1914, before permanently moving to America in 1914. He served as a bandsman in the United States Army in 1917 and 1918, at which point he took American citizenship. As he aged, Grainger became increasingly involved in educational work. He experimented with music machines, which he hoped

would someday supersede human interpretation, and established the Grainger Museum in Melbourne in the 1930s, as a monument to the works of his life and a future research archive. Grainger was a zealous collector of folk melodies, and played a prominent role in the revival in interest of British folk music. He died on 20 February 1961 at the age of 78 in White Plains, New York, believing that his career had been a failure. He performed his final concert in 1960, less than a year before his death.

The Immovable Do was composed by Grainger between 1933 and 1939. The title references one of two types of Tonic Sol-fa musical notations. In one, referred to as ‘Movable Do’, ‘Do’ corresponds to the tonic pitch of the piece. In the other type, ‘Immovable Do’, ‘Do’ always designates the note ‘C’. The piece was composed when Grainger, seated at his harmonium, discovered that the mechanics of his instrument had broken, causing a high C to cipher through any part he was playing. Turning this failure to his compositional benefit, he began to play around the drone. The Immovable Do uses what Grainger referred to as ‘elastic scoring’, causing the piece to be playable by many different instrumental combinations through the use of cross-cueing. Throughout the entire work, a sustained high ‘C’ can be heard, with melodic lines and counter lines moving underneath.

Esprit de CorpsComposer: Robert JagerRobert Jager, American composer, music theorist, and conductor, was born in Binghamton, New York, on 25 August 1939. From 1962 until 1965 he was the arranger/composer for the US-Navy Armed Forces School of Music. Jager has been a guest conductor internationally, and been a lecturer and professor at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia; and at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tennessee. He has received numerous honors for his works, including being the only three-time winner of the American Bandmasters Association’s Ostwald Composition Award in 1964, 1968, and 1972.

Ian Fraser

Esprit de Corps was written for wind ensemble in 1984, and written for orchestra in 2010. The score to the piece states: “Based on The Marines’ Hymn, this work is a kind of fantasy-march, as well as a tribute to the United States Marine Band. Full of energy and drama, the composition has its solemn moments and its lighter moments (for example, the quasi-waltz in the middle of the piece). The composer intends that this work should display the fervor and virtuosity of the Marine Band and the musical spirit and integrity of its conductor, Colonel John R. Bourgeois, for whom the initial tempo marking, “Tempo di Bourgeois,” is named. Colonel John Bourgeois is a dramatic, spirited conductor, who reflects the excitement of the music being played. When a tempo is supposed to be “bright” he makes sure it is exactly that. Because the tempo of Esprit de Corps is to be very bright, the marking just had to be “Tempo di Bourgeois.”

The Last Full Measure of DevotionComposer: Ian Fraser Soloist: Chief Warrant Officer 3 Michael J. SmithArranger: Michael Davis

Born on 23 August 1933 in Hove, England, Ian Fraser was a composer, conductor, orchestrator, arranger, and music director. In a career spanning over 50 years, he was nominated for thirty-two Emmy Awards, of which he received eleven. This won Fraser the honor of being the most-

honored musician in television history. His first twenty-three Emmy nominations were consecutive, which is the longest stint of individual nominations in the history of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Fraser served in the British Armed Forces for five years, and performed as a solo pianist, harpist, and percussionist with the Royal Artillery Band. He died at the age of 81 of cancer, at his home in Los Angeles, California, on 31 October 2014.

The Last Full Measure of Devotion comes in part from the lines of Abraham Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address:

“It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us – that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion – that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain…” President Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address, November 1863

The lyrics are as follows:

Last Full Measure of Devotion

In the long and honored history of AmericaThere are names that shine like beacons in the night

The Patriots whose vision gave us meaningWho kept the lamp of freedom burning bright

In the long and honored history of AmericaThere are those that paid the last and final price

Who were called upon by chance, or desperate circumstanceTo make the ultimate sacrifice

A grateful nation bows its head in sorrowAnd in thanks for guaranteeing our tomorrow

The last full measure of devotionThat’s what they gave to the cause

The last full measure of devotionAnd though they cannot hear our applause

We honor them forever and keep alive their storyPay tribute to their lives and give them all the glory

The last full measure of devotionBeyond the call of duty were their deeds

The last full measure of devotionThey gave themselves to serve the greater need

And for those who did surviveAnd came back home alive

They join in praise of comrades who were slainAnd highly resolved, most highly resolved

That these dead shall not have died in vain

Armed Forces MedleyThe Army Goes Rolling Along, before it became the official tune of the US Army, was the proud anthem of the U.S. Field Artillery Corps written by Lieutenant Edmund L. Gruber. During the final days of WWI, senior artillery leaders wanted to make the tune official and, mistaking is as having been composed during the American Civil War, allowed John Phillip Sousa to incorporate most of the tune into his composition “The U.S. Field Artillery March.” When the song topped the charts, selling over 750,000 copies, and embarrassed but innocent Sousa discovered that the songs author was in fact Lt. Gruber. He ensured Gruber received royalties for the tune, and the Army decided to recycle what was now known as “The Caisson Song”. H.W. Arberg arranged what we know today as “The Army Goes Rolling Along,” and the Army copyrighted the song in 1956.

Anchors Aweigh was composed by Lieutenant Charles A. Zimmerman, the U.S. Navy bandmaster from 1887 to 1916, as a catchy tune to rally the Naval Academy’s football team. Midshipman Alfred Hart Miles approached Lt. Zimmerman to compose a piece that would inspire, could be used as a football marching song, and would live forever. Together, the two composed the tune and lyrics that would become “Anchors Aweigh,” dedicated to the Naval Academy Class of 1907.

Semper Paratus was penned in 1922 by Captain Francis S. Van Boskerck. After the Coast Guard motto “Semper Paratus” or “Always Ready” was officially recognized in 1910, Boskerck wanted a song that would rival “Anchors Aweigh” and “The Caisson Song.” He penned the lyrics while stationed in Savannah, Georgia, and the music five years later while stationed in the Aleutian Islands. The geographic

Alfred Reed

diversity of Boskerck’s location while composing this piece are referenced in the lines “From Aztec shore to Arctic Zone, To Europe and Far East.”

U.S. Air Force, composed by Robert Crawford, was selected in 1939 as the song of the Air Force. The piece was one of 757 submissions to Liberty Magazine, which sponsored a contest for a song for the service branch in 1938, and was selected by a committee of Air Corps wives. Since that time, the line “Nothing’ll stop the U.S. Air Force” became a motto and tradition.

The Marines’ Hymn is believed to be set to the tune of an aria in Jacques Offenbach’s opera “Genevieve de Brabant.” The tune was reshaped to fit the now-famous lines “From the Halls of Montezuma, To the Shores of Tripoli.” Tradition has that an unknown officer wrote the first verse to the Hymn while serving in the Mexican War (1846-1848). The tune was meant to highlight the various campaigns of the Marines. Continuing this custom, every campaign Marines participate in gives birth to a new, unofficial verse. Although the U.S. Marine Corps did not have copyright ownership of the Marines’ Hymn until 1991, the first use of the Hymn as the Marines’ official anthem was in 1929.

Russian Christmas MusicComposer: Alfred ReedAlfred Reed was born on 25 January 1921 in New York, and was an American neo-classical composer. He composed for wind ensemble, chorus, orchestra, and chamber ensembles, with over two hundred published works before his death on 17 September 2005. Reed began his musical training at the age of ten, before serving in the 529 th Army Air Force Band during World War II. He attended Juilliard School of Music upon the completion of his military service, and then was staff composer and arranger for

NBC and then ABC. During his life, he traveled extensively as a guest conductor, conducting in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Many of his pieces have been performed and recorded by the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra.

Russian Christmas Music is a popular piece of concert band literature composed in 1944. For a concert directed at improving Soviet-American relations in Denver, Colorado, Reed was commissioned to write a piece of “Russian music.” Sergei Prokofiev’s March, Op. 99 was intended to be the Russian piece performed, however, it was realized that piece had already been performed in the United States, and a new piece was desired. Reed was tasked with writing this piece a mere sixteen days before the concert. The work premiered on 12 December 1944. Although the piece was written as one continuous work, it can be clearly divided into four distinct sections: Carol of the Little Russian Children, Antiphonal Chant, Village Song, and Cathedral Chorus. The piece takes themes true to traditional Russian Christmas music, and is written to convey the sounds of Eastern Orthodox liturgical music, which exclusively uses voice. The result is a grandiose piece that is lyrical, with emphasis on chord progressions and the building of voices, from a soft and wandering whisper to the powerful brass chorale and horn counter lines found in the final section.

Samuel Augustus Ward

America the BeautifulComposer: Samuel Augustus WardArranger: Carmen DragonSamuel Augustus Ward was born in Newark, New Jersey, on 28 December 1847. An American organist and composer, he was the founder and first director of the Orpheus Club of Newark, where he died on 28 September 1903, leaving no descendants. Ward was the last in an unbroken line of Samuel Wards, beginning with the Rhode Island Governor and Representative to the Continental Congress. Ward was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.

Ward is best remembered for the 1882 tune “Materna,” which he intended as a setting for “Oh Mother Dear, Jerusalem,” published in 1892. In 1910, after Ward’s death, the tune was combined with the Katharine Lee Bates poem, “America,” which itself was published in 1895. This led to the birth of the patriotic song “America, the Beautiful.”

Stars and Stripes Forever Composer: John Philip SousaWith the possible exception of the Star Spangled Banner, no musical has done more to arouse the patriotic spirit of America than the Stars and Stripes Forever, John Philip Sousa’s most beloved march. Used in almost any wind band/ensemble patriotic line-up, Stars and Stripes Forever has stirred American’s sense of nationalism and pride since its premiere in Philadelphia on May 14 th, 1897, where the state Public Ledger reported: “…it is stirring enough to rouse the American eagle from his crag, and set him to shriek exultantly while he hurls his arrows at the aurora borealis.” Received whole-heartedly wherever and whenever it was performed, audiences began to rise for its playing, much like for the National Anthem. This became tradition at Sousa Band concerts. It was Sousa’s practice to have the cornets, trumpets, trombones, and piccolos line up on the front of the stage for the final trio of the march, building excitement through the brassy stinger at the end. Since its debut it has come to symbolize America abroad, and is the most popular march ever written, thanks to Sousa’s skill at the art of march composition and the sense of patriotism that is associated with Stars and Stripes Forever. It is the official national march of the United States of America.

Concert Program “B”Concert Fanfare

Charles MekealianCharles Mekealian is a Sergeant currently serving as a trumpet instrumentalist with Marine Corps Band New Orleans. Born on 13 May in Sanger, California, Mekealian performs routinely in the Marine Corps Band New Orleans Concert Band and Brass Quintet, and has arranged several works for those and various other ensembles within the Band.

Concert Fanfare was written in 2015, and premiered by Marine Corps Band New Orleans. It is a bold and powerful fanfare for brass, perfect for the opening selection of a Marine Band concert, and incorporates themes from the Marine’s Hymn.

United States of America National AnthemThe Star Spangled Banner

Lyrics: Francis Scott Key (1 August 1779 – 11 January 1843)Composer: John Stafford Smith (30 March 1750 – 21 September 1836)Established as America’s National Anthem in 1931, lyrics for “The Star-Spangled Banner” were penned as a poem by Francis Scott Key, originally entitled “The Defence of Fort McHenry.”Key was born on August 1st, 1779 in Frederick County, Maryland. He became a successful lawyer, and was eventually appointed U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. After a series of trade agreements, America declared war on Great Britain on June 18 th, 1812. After British troops invaded Washington, D.C., and burned the White House, Capitol Building, and Library of Congress, they set their sights on Baltimore. When British ships bombarded Fort McHenry, Key was aboard a British ship, negotiating the release of prisoners. We watched the bombing campaign take place approximately 8 miles from his location. When the British gave up their attack and withdrew, leaving behind a battered – but still standing – Fort McHenry, the sunrise illuminating the tattered American flag atop the fort was Key’s inspiration for the poem.Circulating by way of newspapers, and set to the music of an English tune entitled “To Anacreon in Heaven” by John Stafford Smith, people began to call the song “The Star-Spangled Banner”. In 1916, 28th President Woodrow Wilson directed it to be played at all official events, and it was adopted as the national anthem of the United States of America on March 3rd, 1931.

Francis Scott Key

Joseph Willcox Jenkins

John Philip Sousa

American Overture for BandComposer: Joseph Wilcox JenkinsJoseph Wilcox Jenkins was born on 15 February 1928 in Wawa, Pennsylvania. By the age of six, he had begun taking piano lessons, and began composing small works in elementary school. By the time he entered high school, Jenkins arranged numerous pieces and composed several original works for orchestra. While studying pre-law at St. Joseph’s College in Philadelphia, he studied composition and counterpoint with Vincent Persichetti. Upon completing his law degree, Jenkins attended the Eastman School of Music, where he graduated with a Masters of Music in 1951, during the Korean War. He was subsequently drafted into the Army, where he became the arranger for The United States Army Field Band, and the Armed Forces Radio Network. In 1953,

Jenkins took an interim teaching position at Catholic University, and decided to complete his doctorate there using G.I. Bill funding. After he reenlisted in 1956, and the United States Army Chorus was formed that same year, he became the USAC’s assistant conductor and first arranger. During his time with the Army Chorus, he arranged over 270 works for voice, along with several compositions of his own. Jenkins died on 31 January 2014, his career as an educator ending as Professor Emeritus at the Mary Pappert School of Music, Duquesne University.

American Overture for Band was written while Jenkins served as the Army Field Band’s arranger. A 50th Anniversary version was published in collaboration with Jenkins, updating the original score to include revisions to dynamics, articulations, and pitches. The work became Jenkins’ most successful; he stated that he would be “hard-pressed to duplicate its success.” The work features demanding horn lines, soaring above busy rhythmic motifs and counter-lines. The bright, bold character of American Overture for Band is musically representative of just that: America. The melody flies between sections in the ensemble, bouncing around excitedly, at one moment sitting atop the band’s sound in a majestic horn unison, and in the very next playfully echoed by the cornets. The woodwinds add their playful countermelodies, all while the trombones and euphoniums interject the crisp motric motif that is found in the percussion section, driving this work from its joyous start to its frantically exuberant close.

Black Horse TroopComposer: John Philip SousaJohn Philip Sousa was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era, known best for American military and patriotic marches. Born on 6 November 1854 in Washington, D.C., Sousa’s father enlisted him as an apprentice in the United States Marine Band in 1868. Sousa served with the Marine Band until 1875, and learned to conduct. He focused exclusively on conducting and composition until his death on 6 March 1932. Sousa eventually rejoined the Marine Band, serving as its

director for 12 years. Once he left the Marine Band again, he formed his own band. With this band, Sousa toured Europe and Australia, performing 15,623 concerts. Upon the start of World War I, he was commissioned as a lieutenant and led the Naval Reserve Band in Illinois. Sousa became known as “The March King”, as he wrote 137 marches. Not content with marches alone, he also wrote over 400 other works, including operettas, overtures, suites, dances, fantasies, and arrangements of nineteenth-century western European symphonic works.

Black Horse Troop was composed in 1924, in honor of Troop A, 107th Cavalry, Ohio National Guard.

Lux AurumqueLight and Gold

Composer: Eric WhitacreBorn on 2 January, 1970, Eric Whitacre is one of the most prolific, grammy-winning composers and conductors of today. He is also renowned for bring together vocalists from around the world in his online “Virtual Choir” projects. Born in Reno, Nevada, Whitacre studied piano at a young age, joined his high school marching band program, and later played synthesizer in a techno-pop band. He obtained his BA in musical education while an undergraduate at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and earned his Master’s degree in composition at the Julliard School. He has composed over 60 works for everything from choral music and solos, to orchestral works, to musical theatre productions. He also collaborated on the Mermaid theme from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, with legendary film composer Hans Zimmer.

Lux Aurumque is Latin for “Light and Gold”. The piece was commissioned by the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay in 2000 for 8-part mixed choir a cappella. The Wind Symphony transcription was commissioned by the Texas All State Band. In its composition, Whitacre chose a poem by Edward Esch, stating that he (Whitacre) was “immediately struck by its genuine, elegant simplicity.” He then had the poem translated into Latin by celebrated American poet Charles Anthony Silvestri. Dedicated to the piece’s simplistic elegance, Whitacre says, “I waited patiently for the tight harmonies to shimmer and glow.”

Lux,Calida gravisque pura velut aurum

Et canunt angeli mollitermodo natum.

Light,warm and heavy as pure gold

and angels sing softlyto the new-born babe.

~ Edward Esch

Eric Whitacre

Gustav Holst

Second Suite in F for BandComposer: Gustav HolstGustav Holst was born on 21 September 1874 and died 25 May 1934. He was an English composer, arranger, and teacher. Holst’s personal composition style was heavily influenced by Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss, though with the early 20 th century revival of English folk music by composers such as Maurice Ravel and Percy Aldridge Grainger led to a refining and development of his earlier style. His most successful work is the orchestral suite The Planets. Although he composed many successful works, none ever met with such enthusiastic reception and popularity as that work.

Second Suite in F for Band is Holst’s second and final concert band suite. Written in 1911, the work was first published in 1922. It is based on several English folk songs, as a result of the early 20 th century revival of English folk music. The work is similar to its sister piece, First Suite in E-flat for Military Band, and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ later work Folk Song Suite.

The March of the Steel MenComposer: Charles S. BelsterlingCharles S. Belsterling was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1874. He spent much of his time at school at the piano, and with composition, during which time he wrote a series of marches and an Easter cantata. Belsterling became a lawyer, practicing before the Supreme Court, and eventually became vice-president of United States Steel Corporation.

The March of the Steel Men began as a procession piece commissioned by a youth political club during Belsterling’s time at school. The piece was entitled “The Ambassador,” and was later published as a piano tune. In his adulthood, as he was advocating for the importance of music education in schools, Belsterling was asked for a copy of “The Ambassador.” With the assistance of symphonic band arranger Harry L. Alford, the work was harmonized and rescored, creating The March of the Steel Men.

As From WarComposer: Michael Aaron CookSergeant (Sgt) Michael A. Cook attended Recruit Training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, in October of 2011.Following Boot Camp and Marine Combat Training, Sgt Cook reported to the Naval School of Music, Virginia Beach, Virginia, in February of 2012. Upon graduating the Basic Musician Course in August of 2012, he reported to Marine Corps Band New Orleans. As a member of this unit, Sgt Cook has served as a tuba instrumentalist, Squad Leader, Audio/Visual Engineer, and Audio/Visual NCOIC. He has also utilized his talents as a vocalist, arranger, videographer/editor and live audio engineer for several ensembles within the band. Sgt Cook’s military training also includes Corporal’s Course at Marine Forces

John Williams

Reserve, New Orleans, LA, in January 2015. His musical training includes the Sound Reinforcement Course at the Naval School of Music. He assumed his current position as the Acting Small Ensemble Leader in June of 2015. Sgt Cook's military decorations and service awards include the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

As From War was composed in 2015, and premiered during Marine Corps Band New Orleans’ 2016 Spring Concert Tour. It is the musical depiction of an army, returning victorious from battle. The piece starts off mysteriously, questioningly almost, conveying the sense of peering out into the morning fog, and the impatient waiting that always presages the revelation of a previously unknown fate. This misty morning setting is pierced by the clear, clarion call of a war horn – distant, but familiar. From the distance, and drawing ever closer, a militant marching cadence emerges, methodically and rhythmically punctuating a victorious brass melody. The army becomes visible in the poor-but-strengthening morning light, first as a mass of shifting shadows, slowly resolving into clear ranks and files. As the force draws nearer, the music assumes a more somber tone, as the war-weary ranks show the toll of battle. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” And the presented troops know this all too well; every step that brings them nearer to their destination is heavy, poignant with the remembrance of fallen comrades. Then, as the dawn sheds its first new light on the world, it illuminates their goal: Home. The majestic melody returns as a grandiose victor’s march, now underscored by a darker reminder of the cost of such victory. The troops, with backs straight and heads held high, return triumphant, bearing with them the memory of their fallen.

The Imperial March(Darth Vader’s Theme)

Composer: John WilliamsArranger: Donald Hunsberger

John Williams has composed music and served as music director for nearly eighty films, and is one of the most successful and popular orchestral composers of the modern age. He is the winner of five Academy Awards, 17 Grammys, three Golden Globes, two Emmys and five BAFTA Awards from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.Williams was born in New York and moved to Los Angeles with his family in 1948. There he attended UCLA and studied composition privately with Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. After service in the Air Force, Mr. Williams returned to New York to attend the Juilliard School, where he studied piano with Madame Rosina Lhevinne. While in New York, he also worked as a jazz pianist,

both in clubs and on recordings. He then returned to Los Angeles, where he began his career in the film industry, working with such composers as Bernard Herrmann, Alfred Newman, and Franz Waxman. He went on to write music for many television programs in the 1960s, winning two Emmy Awards for his work.

The Imperial March is the theme in the Star Wars original trilogy that accompanies the Sith Lord, Darth Vader, and his Imperial Forces. The piece was premiered on 29 April 1980, three weeks before the opening of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, for which it was composed. The premiere of the piece was at Williams’ first concert as the official conductor-in-residence of the Boston Pops Orchestra. It is

David R. Holsinger

Robert Jager

one of the best known symphonic movie themes, and is an example of a leitmotif, a recurrent theme associated with characters in a drama.

SupermanSuite for Concert Band

Composer: John WilliamsArranger: Bob LowdenJohn Williams followed his success with mid-1970s film scores for Jaws and Star Wars with yet another iconic movie them in 1978’s Superman. During the initial recording session for the film, the music struck director Richard Donner so much that, unable to contain his amazement, he exclaimed “Genius! Fantastic!” and ruined the first take. The Superman theme consists of three main component themes: a fanfare, a march, and a love theme. These different themes come together and develop each other in a way that contributes to the iconic association of Williams’ music with the “Man of Steel,” and brings listeners to wonder what other theme could ever so completely depict America’s favorite super hero.

On a Hymnsong of Philip BlissComposer: David R. HolsingerAmerican composer and conductor Dr. David R. Holsinger was born in Hardin, Missouri, on 26 December 1945. Writing primarily for concert band, Holsinger is well known internationally for his use of differentiating time signatures in his music.

On a Hymnsong of Philip Bliss was written in 1989, and is Holsinger’s translation of the hymn “It Is Well With My Soul.” This is Holsinger’s best-selling work, and has

been used in recent years for numerous televised memorial and commemorative services, including for the Challenger astronauts, former president Ronald Reagan, and the fallen heroes of the American Armed Services. The work was written in honor of Reverend Steve Edel, the retiring principal of Shady Grove Christian Academy, and was presented to him as a gift by the academy’s concert band.

Esprit de CorpsComposer: Robert JagerRobert Jager, American composer, music theorist, and conductor, was born in Binghamton, New York, on 25 August 1939. From 1962 until 1965 he was the arranger/composer for the US-Navy Armed Forces School of Music. Jager has been a guest conductor internationally, and been a lecturer and professor at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia; and at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tennessee. He has received numerous honors for his works, including being the only three-time winner of the American Bandmasters Association’s Ostwald Composition Award in 1964, 1968, and 1972.

Ian Fraser

Esprit de Corps was written for wind ensemble in 1984, and written for orchestra in 2010. The score to the piece states: “Based on The Marines’ Hymn, this work is a kind of fantasy-march, as well as a tribute to the United States Marine Band. Full of energy and drama, the composition has its solemn moments and its lighter moments (for example, the quasi-waltz in the middle of the piece). The composer intends that this work should display the fervor and virtuosity of the Marine Band and the musical spirit and integrity of its conductor, Colonel John R. Bourgeois, for whom the initial tempo marking, “Tempo di Bourgeois,” is named. Colonel John Bourgeois is a dramatic, spirited conductor, who reflects the excitement of the music being played. When a tempo is supposed to be “bright” he makes sure it is exactly that. Because the tempo of Esprit de Corps is to be very bright, the marking just had to be “Tempo di Bourgeois.”

The Last Full Measure of DevotionComposer: Ian Fraser Soloist: Chief Warrant Officer 3 Michael J. SmithArranger: Michael DavisBorn on 23 August 1933 in Hove, England, Ian Fraser was a composer, conductor, orchestrator, arranger, and music director. In a career spanning over 50 years, he was nominated for thirty-two Emmy Awards, of which he received eleven. This won Fraser

the honor of being the most-honored musician in television history. His first twenty-three Emmy nominations were consecutive, which is the longest stint of individual nominations in the history of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Fraser served in the British Armed Forces for five years, and performed as a solo pianist, harpist, and percussionist with the Royal Artillery Band. He died at the age of 81 of cancer, at his home in Los Angeles, California, on 31 October 2014.

The Last Full Measure of Devotion comes in part from the lines of Abraham Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address:

“It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us – that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion – that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain…” President Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address, November 1863

The lyrics are as follows:

Last Full Measure of Devotion

In the long and honored history of AmericaThere are names that shine like beacons in the night

The Patriots whose vision gave us meaningWho kept the lamp of freedom burning bright

In the long and honored history of AmericaThere are those that paid the last and final price

Who were called upon by chance, or desperate circumstanceTo make the ultimate sacrifice

A grateful nation bows its head in sorrowAnd in thanks for guaranteeing our tomorrow

The last full measure of devotionThat’s what they gave to the cause

The last full measure of devotionAnd though they cannot hear our applause

We honor them forever and keep alive their storyPay tribute to their lives and give them all the glory

The last full measure of devotionBeyond the call of duty were their deeds

The last full measure of devotionThey gave themselves to serve the greater need

And for those who did surviveAnd came back home alive

They join in praise of comrades who were slainAnd highly resolved, most highly resolved

That these dead shall not have died in vain

Armed Forces MedleyThe Army Goes Rolling Along, before it became the official tune of the US Army, was the proud anthem of the U.S. Field Artillery Corps written by Lieutenant Edmund L. Gruber. During the final days of WWI, senior artillery leaders wanted to make the tune official and, mistaking is as having been composed during the American Civil War, allowed John Phillip Sousa to incorporate most of the tune into his composition “The U.S. Field Artillery March.” When the song topped the charts, selling over 750,000 copies, and embarrassed but innocent Sousa discovered that the songs author was in fact Lt. Gruber. He ensured Gruber received royalties for the tune, and the Army decided to recycle what was now known as “The Caisson Song”. H.W. Arberg arranged what we know today as “The Army Goes Rolling Along,” and the Army copyrighted the song in 1956.

Anchors Aweigh was composed by Lieutenant Charles A. Zimmerman, the U.S. Navy bandmaster from 1887 to 1916, as a catchy tune to rally the Naval Academy’s football team. Midshipman Alfred Hart Miles approached Lt. Zimmerman to compose a piece that would inspire, could be used as a football marching song, and would live forever. Together, the two composed the tune and lyrics that would become “Anchors Aweigh,” dedicated to the Naval Academy Class of 1907.

Semper Paratus was penned in 1922 by Captain Francis S. Van Boskerck. After the Coast Guard motto “Semper Paratus” or “Always Ready” was officially recognized in 1910, Boskerck wanted a song that would rival “Anchors Aweigh” and “The Caisson Song.” He penned the lyrics while stationed in Savannah, Georgia, and the music five years later while stationed in the Aleutian Islands. The geographic

Alfred Reed

diversity of Boskerck’s location while composing this piece are referenced in the lines “From Aztec shore to Arctic Zone, To Europe and Far East.”

U.S. Air Force, composed by Robert Crawford, was selected in 1939 as the song of the Air Force. The piece was one of 757 submissions to Liberty Magazine, which sponsored a contest for a song for the service branch in 1938, and was selected by a committee of Air Corps wives. Since that time, the line “Nothing’ll stop the U.S. Air Force” became a motto and tradition.

The Marines’ Hymn is believed to be set to the tune of an aria in Jacques Offenbach’s opera “Genevieve de Brabant.” The tune was reshaped to fit the now-famous lines “From the Halls of Montezuma, To the Shores of Tripoli.” Tradition has that an unknown officer wrote the first verse to the Hymn while serving in the Mexican War (1846-1848). The tune was meant to highlight the various campaigns of the Marines. Continuing this custom, every campaign Marines participate in gives birth to a new, unofficial verse. Although the U.S. Marine Corps did not have copyright ownership of the Marines’ Hymn until 1991, the first use of the Hymn as the Marines’ official anthem was in 1929.

The Hounds of SpringComposer: Alfred ReedAlfred Reed was born on 25 January 1921 in New York, and was an American neo-classical composer. He composed for wind ensemble, chorus, orchestra, and chamber ensembles, with over two hundred published works before his death on 17 September 2005. Reed began his musical training at the age of ten, before serving in the 529 th Army Air Force Band during World War II. He attended Juilliard School of Music upon the completion of his military service, and then was staff composer and arranger for

NBC and then ABC. During his life, he traveled extensively as a guest conductor, conducting in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Many of his pieces have been performed and recorded by the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra.

The Hounds of Spring was composed in 1980 as a concert overture for winds. The piece was inspired by the line “When the hounds of spring are on winter’s traces” from the poem Atalanta in Calydon, an 1865 poem by Victorian era English poet Algernon Charles Swinburne. The poem is a recreation in modern English of an ancient Greek tragedy. In its composition, Reed desired to capture the duality of the poem’s themes- high-spirited and youthful jauntiness, and the tender innocence of love. The piece was premiered in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, on 8 May 1980.

America the Beautiful

Samuel Augustus Ward

Composer: Samuel Augustus WardArranger: Carmen DragonSamuel Augustus Ward was born in Newark, New Jersey, on 28 December 1847. An American organist and composer, he was the founder and first director of the Orpheus Club of Newark, where he died on 28 September 1903, leaving no descendants. Ward was the last in an unbroken line of Samuel Wards, beginning with the Rhode Island Governor and Representative to the Continental Congress. Ward was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.

Ward is best remembered for the 1882 tune “Materna,” which he intended as a setting for “Oh Mother Dear, Jerusalem,” published in 1892. In 1910, after Ward’s death, the tune was combined with the Katharine Lee Bates poem, “America,” which itself was published in 1895. This led to the birth of the patriotic song “America, the Beautiful.”

Stars and Stripes ForeverComposer: John Philip SousaWith the possible exception of the Star Spangled Banner, no musical has done more to arouse the patriotic spirit of America than the Stars and Stripes Forever, John Philip Sousa’s most beloved march. Used in almost any wind band/ensemble patriotic line-up, Stars and Stripes Forever has stirred American’s sense of nationalism and pride since its premiere in Philadelphia on May 14 th, 1897, where the state Public Ledger reported: “…it is stirring enough to rouse the American eagle from his crag, and set him to shriek exultantly while he hurls his arrows at the aurora borealis.” Received whole-heartedly wherever and whenever it was performed, audiences began to rise for its playing, much like for the National Anthem. This became tradition at Sousa Band concerts. It was Sousa’s practice to have the cornets, trumpets, trombones, and piccolos line up on the front of the stage for the final trio of the march, building excitement through the brassy stinger at the end. Since its debut it has come to symbolize America abroad, and is the most popular march ever written, thanks to Sousa’s skill at the art of march composition and the sense of patriotism that is associated with Stars and Stripes Forever. It is the official national march of the United States of America.