Giroux’s work, “An Epic Fanfare,” comes from a group of works called Three Fanfares. This specific piece is the first of the three, scored for full band. The second is also scored for full band, while the final fanfare is scored for brass and percussion. It is a brief, yet intense, and rousing piece, with big, open chords, powerful melody lines, and striking percussion, and the listener can expect to feel moved by its intensity.

“Twilight in the Wilderness” is a musical impression of the body of works created by Hudson River school and landscape painter Frederick Edwin Church. Living around the time of the Civil War, this American painter covered his oil canvas with beautiful sunsets of the American landscape.

My main inspiration for this commission was Frederick Edwin Church’s painting “Twilight in the Wilderness,” a work of magnificence with a dark red sunset encompassing the lush mountains below. A bright clearing in the center of the painting creates a connecting boundary, of which a Hill Country Middle School student termed a “ray of hope.”

The work is in two main sections connected by an interlude, possibly a bright and clear interlude. The first main section describes the painting from a “macro” point of view, very spacious and serene. The second main section represents the vibrancy of each individual color and how they create a harmonious interplay, the “micro” point of view. The term “ray of hope” became my final inspiration for the end of the piece when both sections come together … the “macro” and “micro” are seen simultaneously.”

“Twilight in the Wilderness” was commissioned jointly by the Hill Country Middle School Bands in Austin, Texas, Cheryl Floyd, Kevin Jedele, and Chuck Fishers, directors, and the University of Texas at Austin Symphony Band, Dr. Robert Carnochan, conductor.

– Program Note by composer

This simple, chorale-like work captures the reflective calm of dusk, paradoxically illuminated by the fiery hues of sunset. I’m always struck by the dual nature of this experience, as if witnessing an event of epic proportions silently occurring in slow motion. “Dusk” is intended as a short, passionate evocation of this moment of dramatic stillness. “Dusk” is part of a three-work “night cycle,” continuing with “The Marbled Midnight Mile” and concluding with “First Light.”

“Dusk” was commissioned by the Langley High School Wind Symphony, Andrew Gekoskie, conductor, and was premiered in April 2004 at the MENC National Convention by the commissioning ensemble.

– Program Note by composer

The overture was written during the end of 1953 and the beginning of 1954 and is intended as a gesture from an inhabitant of the Old World to those of the New.

The introductory fanfare and the slow section which follows it recalls the sacrifices made by your country in both world wars in the struggle with dark forces of destruction. The allegro is prompted by thoughts of the energy, vitality, and cheerfulness of the American people – young, optimistic, and full of their faith in their destiny. The second subject in 3/4 time might perhaps suggest a sort of national song and right at the end there is a brief quotation from the “Star Spangled Banner.” But apart from any extra-musical meaning the work is constructed solidly on classical formal lines though its musical language is that of the 20th century (though not of an extreme type).

– Program Note by composer

“Shimmering Sunshine” is a composition that depicts the sun whenever it is positioned at high noon, at its brightest point during the day. Throughout the piece, there are different “shimmers” of bright light that bounce around from instrument to instrument, depicting moments of sunshine both beautiful and, at the same time, powerful.

This work was written in conjunction with the M.O.T.I.F triptych consortium, including “Across a Golden Sky” by Quinn Mason and “Midnight Skyline” by Josh Trentadue.

– Program Note by composer

“Here’s That Rainy Day” was the favorite song of Principal Conductor Tommy Guilbert, who led the band from 2000 to 2014. His favorite recording was done by pianist Oscar Peterson. After Tommy passed away, his wife Denise (oboe) asked fellow band member, Buddy Mattei (tenor saxophone), to arrange the song for the band, so he did. (As an aside, Buddy was the person who encouraged Tommy to apply for the principal conductor’s position.) Buddy has been called upon many times to arrange and compose various pieces for the band.

Buddy is a graduate of the University of North Texas School of Music and has continued to teach, write and perform as a highly respected professional musician. He enjoyed a very successful twenty-one-year career as a public school band director in Princeton (TX) and Allen (TX). Buddy and wife Marilyn (clarinet and music instructor then principal in Princeton ISD) had such a great impact on the music programs and the school district that in 2023 Mattei Middle School opened in the Princeton ISD. (Fun fact, PCB musician Samantha Humphreys (flute) is the head band director and Jason Tucker (horn) is the assistant band director at Mattei Middle School.)

We think Tommy would have loved this version of his favorite song.

Saint-Saëns wrote several pieces for solo instrument and orchestral accompaniment that bear the title “Morceau de concert”—literally translated as “concert piece”—and which act as small-scale concertos. In this piece the three contrasting movements of the standard nineteenth-century instrumental concerto are present but consolidated into a single movement and more concise. The original scoring, which features a string orchestra augmented by three trombones, is rarely performed today. More frequently performed are arrangements for a modern concert band, which consist entirely of winds, brass, percussion, and double bass.

American Hymnsong Suite is firmly rooted in my family history as church musicians. I grew up singing and playing many different hymns, including the four tunes featured in this work. The final impetus to compose this particular treatment came during the course of an organ concert in Atlanta, Georgia. One section of the program featured innovative settings of three hymns. With the gracious consent of composers Joe Utterback and Brooks Kukendall, I adapted their settings to act as the inner movements of the suite, bracketed with my own original treatments of favorite hymns.

The “Prelude on ‘Wondrous Love’” (“What Wondrous Love is This”) opens with a chant-like statement of this Southern tune before proceeding to a more kinetic retelling. “Ballad on ‘Balm in Gilead’” features a rich jazz harmonization of this familiar spiritual. The “Scherzo on ‘Nettleton’” (“Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing”) contains all the rhythmic playfulness inherent in the best orchestral third movements.

While audience members will certainly make various connections to this piece, the ongoing goal is to introduce all listeners to the richness of our American musical heritage.

– Program Note by composer

“Wingspan” is a portrayal of the magic, majesty, and beauty of flight by American composer Gary Kuo. A winner of six Emmy awards for his work in television, Gary was commissioned to produce a new work for horn and wind band after the debut of “Mountain Spires,” described by music educators as “phenomenally beautiful” and “a staple in the horn choir repertoire.” Since receiving its world premiere performance by Canadian Brass member Jeffrey Nelsen at the 47^th International Horn Symposium in Los Angeles, “Wingspan” has established itself as a favorite among many horn players, with performances across the globe by notable soloists and ensembles including the United States Army Field Band, the Osakan Philharmonic Winds, and the United States Air Force Heritage of America Band.

“Silverado” is the title theme to the 1985 American-Western film, Silverado. The soundtrack to the movie was nominated for an Oscar at the Academy Awards that year. 

The piece opens with a “martial and majestic” horn fanfare. In traditional symphonic overture form, the middle section features several solos before the trombone signals the return for the closing section. The original melody is reprised by brass choir in augmentation as the woodwinds and keyboard percussion drive the energy to the finale.