Centennial Fanfare (2018)

For Wind Symphony


Grade: 5Duration: 3:15(Picc, 2 Fl, 2 Ob, 2 Bsn, 3 Cl, B. Cl) (2 A. Sax, T. Sax, B. Sax) (3 Tpt, 4 Hn, 3 Tbn, Eu, Tba) (Timp + 4 Perc)

Score sample here.

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During my sophomore year of school at Wayne State University, our marching band director, Dr. Matthew Younglove, had been talking about the possibility of securing funding for the band to buy new uniforms the following year to coincide with the centennial of the music department. Dr. Younglove’s speech was forgotten in my head for awhile, as this topic had come up during our band banquet, which happened relatively close to the whirlwind that was finals week.

During that year, I also found myself facing quite the block when it came to my composing; try as I might, I just couldn’t seem to get any of my sketches to turn into pieces that I could run with and really flesh out. However, around the beginning of April that year, I remembered that Dr. Younglove had mentioned that the centennial of our music department was coming up, and decided to write a piece to celebrate the event. I wrote out some sketches and approached the director of our Wind Symphony, Douglas Bianchi, about taking on the project. He told me to go for it, and the piece was born, also finally breaking me out of the block that I had been experiencing for most of the year.

Centennial Fanfare ended up being my first work for wind symphony, and received its premiere on October 29, 2018 during the opening concert of the WSU Music Department’s centennial year. Featuring flashy woodwind runs, strong brass melodies, and solos for horn and baritone saxophone, this concert opener is a great piece for mature wind ensembles who really want a challenge to sink their teeth into.


Premiere performance by the Wayne State University Wind Symphony during the opening concert of their 2018-2019 centennial season.