Fanfare for Tomorrow

Last updated

Fanfare for Tomorrow is a musical composition written by the American composer Peter Boyer. It was originally composed in 2020 as a short fanfare for solo horn on a commission from the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops Orchestra and was given its premiere by the horn player Elizabeth Freimuth on YouTube on May 29, 2020. A version for concert band was later commissioned by "The President's Own" United States Marine Band in honor of the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States; this version of the piece was given its world premiere by the United States Marine Band (to which this version is dedicated) under the direction of Colonel Jason Fettig at the inaugural ceremony of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington, D.C., on January 20, 2021. Boyer also arranged a version of Fanfare for Tomorrow for orchestra; this version was premiered by the Eastern Festival Orchestra conducted by Gerard Schwarz on July 3, 2021. [1]

Contents

Composition

Background

Fanfare for Tomorrow lasts about two-and-a-half minutes in performance. The original solo horn version was commissioned as part of Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra's Fanfare Project—an initiative to stream new music for solo instruments while much of the United States was in COVID-19 lockdowns. [1]

After the 2020 United States presidential election was called for Joe Biden, Boyer sent an email to Col. Jason Fettig, with whom he had previously collaborated, offering to compose a piece for the inauguration. Boyer did not receive an official commission request until January 1, 2021, however, giving the composer only 12 days to complete the work. [2] Boyer was unable to attend the inaugural ceremony due to heightened security following the January 6 United States Capitol attack, but streamed the premiere on both CNN and C-SPAN from his home in Altadena, California. [3]

Instrumentation

The concert band version of the piece is scored for piccolo, three flutes (3rd optionally doubling piccolo), two oboes, E-flat clarinet (optional), three clarinets, two bass clarinets, two bassoons, two alto saxophones, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, four horns, five trumpets, four trombones, two euphoniums, three tubas, timpani, and five or six percussionists. [1]

The orchestral version of the piece is scored for piccolo, three flutes (3rd optional), three oboes (3rd optional), two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, four or five percussionists, and strings. [1]

Recording

A recording of the orchestral version of Fanfare for Tomorrow, in addition to several other Boyer works, was released on album through Naxos in July 2022. [3] [4]

Related Research Articles

Armenian Dances is a musical piece for concert band, written by Alfred Reed (1921–2005). It is a four-movement suite of which Part I comprises the first movement and Part II comprises the remaining three. The two parts comprise a full-length symphony. Each part consists of a number of Armenian folk songs from the collection of Komitas Vardapet (1869–1935), an Armenian ethnomusicologist.

English Folk Song Suite is one of English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams' most famous works. It was first published for the military band as Folk Song Suite and its premiere was given at Kneller Hall on 4 July 1923, conducted by Lt Hector Adkins. The piece was then arranged for full orchestra in 1924 by Vaughan Williams' student Gordon Jacob and published as English Folk Song Suite. The piece was later arranged for British-style brass band in 1956 by Frank Wright and published as English Folk Songs Suite. All three versions were published by Boosey & Hawkes; note the use of three different titles for the three different versions. The suite uses the melodies of nine English folk songs, six of which were drawn from the collection made by Vaughan Williams' friend and colleague Cecil Sharp.

Walter Sinclair Hartley was an American composer of contemporary classical music.

Music for Prague 1968 is a programmatic work written by Czech-born composer Karel Husa for symphonic band and later transcribed for full orchestra, written shortly after the Soviet Union crushed the Prague Spring reform movement in Czechoslovakia in 1968. Karel Husa was sitting on the dock at his cottage in America at the time, listening to the BBC broadcast of the events on the radio. He was deeply moved, and wrote Music for Prague 1968 to memorialize the events. This piece is a standard among wind ensemble repertoire.

The Sacrifice is an opera in three acts composed by James MacMillan with a libretto by the poet Michael Symmons Roberts based on the Branwen story of the Welsh mythology collection, the Mabinogion. The world premiere took place on 22 September 2007 at the Donald Gordon Theatre of the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff. The production was staged by Welsh National Opera, directed by Katie Mitchell and conducted by the composer.

Metropolis Symphony for Orchestra (1988–93) by American composer Michael Daugherty is a five-movement symphony inspired by Superman comics. The entire piece was created over the span of five years with separate commissions for each movement. Individual movements may be performed separately; however, it is preferred that the 41 minute symphony be performed in its entirety. MetropolisSymphony was premiered by the New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra, James Bolle conducting, in November 1993, at the Palace Theater in Manchester, New Hampshire. A connective narrative between movements was written and read by Jack Larson, who had played Jimmy Olsen on television in The Adventures of Superman. The orchestral version without narration was premiered by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, David Zinman conducting, in January 1994, at the Meyerhoff Concert Hall in Baltimore, Maryland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trumpet repertoire</span> Set of available musical works for trumpet

The trumpet repertoire consists of solo literature and orchestral or, more commonly, band parts written for the trumpet. Tracings its origins to 1500 BC, the trumpet is a musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family.

Color Music is a suite of five different compositions for orchestra by American composer Michael Torke. The suite is well known for its association with the composer's synesthesia.

Raise the Roof is a one-movement concerto for timpani and orchestra by the American composer Michael Daugherty. The work was commissioned by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for the opening of the Max M. Fisher Music Center. It was premiered in Detroit, October 16, 2003, with conductor Neeme Järvi leading the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and timpanist Brian Jones. Daugherty later arranged the piece for concert band in 2007; this arrangement was commissioned by the University of Michigan Symphony Band and was premiered under conductor Michael Haithcock at the National Conference of the College Band Directors National Association on March 30, 2007. Raise the Roof is one of Daugherty's most-programmed pieces and has been frequently performed as a concert opener since its publication.

Mothership is a single-movement composition for orchestra and electronica by the American composer Mason Bates. The piece received its world premiere March 20, 2011 at the Sydney Opera House by the YouTube Symphony Orchestra under Michael Tilson Thomas, with featured improvisatorial soloists Paulo Calligopoulos on electric guitar, Ali Bello on violin, Su Chang on zheng, and John Burgess on bass guitar. The premiere was broadcast live on YouTube and garnered nearly two million viewers.

Rusty Air in Carolina is a symphonic poem for electronica and orchestra by the American composer Mason Bates. The work was commissioned by conductor Robert Moody, a longtime friend and collaborator of Bates. It was premiered in 2006 by Robert Moody and the Winston-Salem Symphony. The piece was composed as a homage to the culture and climate of the Carolinas.

Fanfare Ritmico is a single-movement orchestral composition by the American composer Jennifer Higdon. The work was commissioned by The Women's Philharmonic as part of The Fanfares Project. It was given its world premiere in March 2000 by conductor Apo Hsu and the Women's Philharmonic.

Loco is an orchestral composition in one movement by the American composer Jennifer Higdon. The work was commissioned by the Ravinia Festival of Highland Park, Illinois to commemorate the Ravinia train as part of the Train Commission Project. It was first performed on July 31, 2004, at the Ravinia Festival by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Letter from Home is a 1944 orchestral composition by Aaron Copland. The piece was commissioned as a patriotic work by Paul Whiteman for his Radio Hall of Fame Orchestra, and suggests the emotions of a soldier reading a letter from home. The music has been described as Copland's "most sentimental" and reflects his own homesickness in Mexico.

The Oboe Concerto is a composition for solo oboe and orchestra by the American composer John Harbison. The work was commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony for its principal oboist William Bennett. It was completed on October 18, 1991, and was given its world premiere by Bennett and the San Francisco Symphony under the conductor Herbert Blomstedt in 1992.

Jérôme Naulais is a French trombonist and composer.

William Walton's Sinfonia Concertante is a three-movement piece for piano and orchestra, first performed in 1928. The composer revised it extensively in 1943. It is an early work, in the anti-romantic style favoured by Walton before the 1930s. There have been several recordings of the piece, featuring both the original and the revised versions.

Elegy – for those we lost is a musical composition written in May 2020 by the American composer Aaron Jay Kernis. The piece was written during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States shortly after the composer had recovered from a mild case of the illness himself and is thus dedicated "to beloved victims of COVID-19, and their families, in mourning." It was originally composed for solo piano and was virtually premiered by the composer on YouTube on May 15, 2020. However, Kernis later made arrangements of the work for various other ensembles, including harp and trumpet duet, string orchestra, and orchestra, among others. The piece is cast in a single movement and lasts about six minutes.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Boyer, Peter. Fanfare for Tomorrow: Concert Music. 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  2. Gelt, Jessica (January 20, 2021). "How an Altadena composer came to score music for Biden inauguration festivities". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Jacobs, Tom (April 11, 2023). "Composer Peter Boyer, the New Voice of Americana". San Francisco Classical Voice. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  4. "Video of the Day: Peter Boyer's Fanfare for Tomorrow". Gramophone . July 8, 2022. Retrieved July 23, 2023.