The National Anthems of the United States of America and Ukraine

Sun Valley Flourish – Steven Reinek/Arr. David Shaffer

Many Moons – Peter Schiano

Helios: Dawn of a New Day – Jordan Sterk

Half Moon on the Hudson – Michael Sweeney

The House of the Rising Sun – Bill Holcomb

Bright As the Shining Sun (Amazing Grace) – John Newton/Arr. John Prescott

Moon River – Henry Mancini

Pilatus: Moutain of Dragons – Steven Reineke

Swingin’ on the Moon – Arranged Michael Kamuf

Conductor Ted M. Hope has served as the conductor of the Fanfare Winds and Hillsborough Community College for the past 10 year.  He was affiliated with the Hillsborough County School District for 39 years and retired as the Supervisor of Middle and Secondary Music after 19 years of service in March of 2023.  He received his Associates Degree from Hillsborough Community College, Bachelor of Music Education from Florida State University, and his Master of Music Education and Education Specialist from the University of Southern Mississippi.   He subsequently taught in the public schools for twenty years as band director at Hillsborough High School (1984-1987) and Bloomingdale High School (1987-2004).  He is a member of the Florida Bandmasters Association where he served as chairman and secretary. Mr. Hope’s professional affiliations include Music Educators National Conference, Hillsborough County Secondary Music Council, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the Bay Area Saxophone Quartet and the Hillsborough Association of School Administrators . Mr. Hope is an active clinician and adjudicator in concert band, jazz ensemble, and marching band.

Star Spangled Banner

O say, can you see
By the dawn’s early light
What so proudly we hail’d
At the twilight’s last gleaming?

Whose broad stripes and bright stars
Through the perilous fight
O’er the ramparts we watch’d
Were so gallantly streaming?

And the rocket’s red glare
The bombs bursting in air
Gave proof through the night
That our flag was still there

O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free
And the home of the brave?

National Anthem of Ukraine

The invasion has upended every aspect of life in that country, including the music community. To raise awareness and promote solidarity, the Association of Concert Bands have provided the music for the Ukrainian National Anthem to concert bands across the nation. The anthem was adopted after Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The music was written by Mykhailo Verbytsky and the words by Ukrainian poet Pavlo Chubynsky.

Ukraine is not yet dead, nor its glory and freedom,
Luck will still smile on us brother Ukrainians.

Our enemies will die, as the dew does in the sunshine,
And we, too, brothers, we’ll live happily in our land

We’ll not spare either our souls or bodies to get freedom
And we’ll prove that we brothers are of Kozak kin

Sun Valley Flourish – Steven Reinek/Arr. David Shaffer

This piece was originally composed for orchestra in 2008 as the opening piece for the Erich Kunzel’s Sun Valley Festival Orchestra during the commemoration of the Sun Valley Summer Symphony’s new pavilion. Steven Reineke is a conductor, composer, and arranger from Cincinnati, Ohio. He is the Music Director of The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, Principal Pops Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Principal Pops Conductor of the Houston Symphony and Toronto Symphony Orchestra. He is one of North America’s leading conductors of popular music.

Many Moons – Peter Schiano

Many Moons was composed by Peter Sciaino, a passionate music educator, author and composer of band and orchestra music. Mr. Sciaino was inspired by a moment when he witnessed the kind of unforgettable images that “can often provide humor, comfort, or inspire us to new heights.” Traveling with friends as a young adult, and according to him, ironically, “many moons” ago, he witnessed a New Mexico night sky for the very first time. Mr. Sciaino relates: “We were so taken with the view, that we pulled our rental car to the side of the highway just to stand and stare skyward. The clarity and size of the stars redefined my understanding of our place in this vast universe. To my eye, I was staring at hundreds of little moons. In writing this piece, I wanted to capture this feeling of beauty, wonder, and humility.” A euphonium solo presents the theme as a wistful offering to things beyond our understanding. (Publisher’s Notes; Composer’s Notes & Bio)

Helios: Dawn of a New Day – Jordan Sterk

In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Helios is the god and personification of the Sun and brother to Selene, goddess of the moon, and Eos, goddess of the Dawn. Helios’ most notable role in Greek mythology is the story of his mortal son Phaethon who asked his father for a favor; Helios agreed, but then Phaethon asked for the privilege to drive his four-horse fiery chariot across the skies for a single day. Although Helios warned his son again and again against this choice, explaining to him the dangers of such a journey that no other god but him was capable to bring about, Phaethon was hard to deter, and thus Helios was forced to hand him the reins. As expected, the ride was disastrous, and Zeus struck the youth with one of his lightning bolts to stop him from burning or freezing the earth beyond salvation.

Due to his position as the sun, Helios was believed to be an all-seeing witness, and thus was often invoked in oaths. He also played a significant part in ancient magic and spells. As patron god of Rhodes, Helios was commemorated in a gigantic statue, the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, towering over the port of Rhodes until it was destroyed in an earthquake. In the poem, “The New Colossus,” that Emma Lazarus wrote for the Statue of Liberty, she contrasts it as “[t]he brazen giant of Greek fame with conquering limbs astride from land to land.”

Helios, often depicted with a radiant crown, is said to ride in his chariot pulled by fiery steeds as he brings the sun across the sky each day. Composed by Jordan Sterk, a band director in Owosso, Michigan, this piece seeks to capture the energy and spirit of his magnificent journey with powerful fanfares depicting the moment the sun breaks over the horizon. (Wikipedia/Publisher’s Notes)

Half Moon on the Hudson – Michael Sweeney

In 1609, Henry Hudson, an Englishman sailing for the Dutch East India Company, and his ship, the Half Moon, explored the majestic river that was later to bear his name. The Hudson River runs through the Munsee/Lenape, Mohican, and Mohawk, Haudenosaunee homelands. Prior to European exploration, the river was known as the Mahicannittuk by the Mohicans, Ka’nón:no by the Mohawks, and Muhheakantuck by the Lenape. The river valley (once described by Life magazine as America’s “Rhine”) and its inhabitants later would inspire writers (such as Washington Irving), painters and painting styles (including the Hudson River school of landscape painting), as well as concepts of environmentalism and wilderness. Composed by Michael Sweeney, an ASCAP award-winning American composer and musician, Half Moon on the Hudson pays tribute to the Hudson River region of New York and the spirit of exploration and adventure. Mr. Sweeney is the long-time Director of Band Publications for Hal Leonard Corporation. (Publisher’s Notes, Wind Repertory project, Wikipedia entry on the Hudson River)

The House of the Rising Sun – Bill Holcomb

The House of the Rising Sun is a traditional folk song, sometimes called Rising Sun Blues. It tells of a life gone wrong in New Orleans; many versions also urge a sibling to avoid the same fate. The most successful commercial version, recorded in 1964 by the British rock group The Animals, was a number one hit on the UK Singles Chart, and also in the United States, Canada and Australia. The song has been described as the “first folk-rock hit”.

Various places in New Orleans, Louisiana, have been proposed as the inspiration for the song, with varying plausibility. The phrase “House of the Rising Sun” is often understood as a euphemism for a brothel, but it is not known whether or not the house described in the lyrics was an actual or fictitious place. It is also possible that the “House of the Rising Sun” is a metaphor for either the slave pens of the plantation, the plantation house, or the plantation itself, which were the subjects and themes of many traditional blues songs. (Wikipedia)

Bright As the Shining Sun (Amazing Grace) – John Newton/Arr. John Prescott

Bright Shining As The Sun was commissioned by the Poplar Bluff, Missouri High School Band in honor of Kyle Dicken who perished while trying to save his younger brother from a tragic house fire. As a band member Kyle played the tuba and trombone and was a dedicated and popular member of the Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band, and Marching Band. The hymn tune Amazing Grace is used throughout the work, both as a motive during the fast sections and in its entirety during the expressive middle section. As a tribute to his memory this work was played by members of the Poplar Bluff Band at Kyle’s memorial service. (Publisher’s website)

Amazing Grace Lyrics
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.

’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures;
He will my Shield and Portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who called me here below,
Will be forever mine.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’d first begun.

Moon River – Henry Mancini

Featuring our own Kathryn Thorson on vocals!

Moon River is a song composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It received an Academy Award for Best Original Song for its performance by Audrey Hepburn in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961). It also won Mancini the 1962 Grammy Award for Record of the Year and won Mancini and Mercer the Grammy Award for Song of the Year.

The song’s success was responsible for relaunching Mercer’s career as a songwriter, which had stalled in the mid-1950s because rock and roll had replaced jazz standards as the popular music of the time. Comments about the lyrics have noted that they are particularly reminiscent of Mercer’s youth in the southern United States and his longing to expand his horizons. Robert Wright wrote in The Atlantic Monthly, “This is a love sung to wanderlust. Or a romantic song in which the romantic partner is the idea of romance.” An inlet near Savannah, Georgia, Johnny Mercer’s hometown, was named Moon River in honor of him and this song. (Wikipedia)

Pilatus: Mountain of Dragons – Steven Reineke

Composed in 2002, this depicts travelers climbing up the iconic mountain of Pilatus in Switzerland, in hopes of finding dragons. Mount Pilatus is a “mountain massif” overlooks Lucerne in Central Switzerland and is composed of several peaks, of which the highest is named Tomlishorn. According to medieval legend, dragons with healing powers had lived on Mount Pilatus since the summer of 1421, when one encountered a farmer, Stempflin, and caused him to faint, after which he discovered a lump of coagulated blood and a dragon stone with healing powers. According to the chronicle of Petermann Etterlin, Regional Governor Winkelried killed one of the Mount Pilatus dragons with a spear and sword. Drops of the dragon’s poisonous blood spurted on to his hand and, along with the drying dragon’s poisonous breath, froze the blood in Winkelried’s veins, killing him. In 1499, “a wondrous spectacle was seen in Lucerne: after a terrible thunderstorm, an enormous, wingless dragon rose out of the wild waters of the River Reuss at the Spreuer bridge.” It was believed that dragon was surprised by the thunderstorm and washed down from Mount Pilatus in the Krienbach, which flows into the Reuss beneath the Jesuit church. One day, a young cooper climbed Mount Pilatus while searching for rods to make barrel hoops for winter and at dusk found himself just beneath the summit of the “forbidden mountain.” Terrified, he rushed to descend but stumbled and lost his footing, tumbling down into a deep black void. When he regained consciousness, he found himself trapped in a cave deep inside the mountain with a painful swelling on his forehead. He peered into the “deeper into the darkness of the cave and his blood froze in his veins” when he encountered two “gigantic beasts with scaly bodies and fiery breath” staring at him. Thinking death was at hand, he was astonished when the enormous creatures approached him and “sniffed him all over, curiously but gently, before again turning to lick at the moon-milk, welling rich and thick from the cave walls.” The young cooper remained in the dragons’ den for the next few months, “quite snug and warm in the cave, eating the moon-milk and at night nestling like a baby into the warmth of the dragons’ huge bodies.” When spring arrived, the “dragons lifted their great horny heads and unfurled their mighty wings.” One flew out of the cave and the cooper grabbed the other dragon’s tail and was carried high above the cave and then carefully lowered him onto a flower-carpeted meadow, where he bid farewell to the dragon and returned to the valley. The incredible story of his rescue on the “dreaded mountain” was embroidered on a silken tunicle, which remained in the possession of the Church of St. Leodegar in Lucerne. Since then, the Pilatus dragons have been revered as good-natured, helpful creatures. On some dark nights, when the moon is playing hide and seek behind ragged clouds, a giant shadow passes across its face and visitors to Mount Pilatus may just catch the faint sound of the beating of leather wings and feel the trace of the beneficial powers dust lightly over them, bringing them luck. A chronicle from 1619 reads: “as I was contemplating the serene sky by night, I saw a very bright dragon with flapping wings go from a cave in a great rock in the mount called Pilatus toward another cave, known as Flue, on the opposite side of the lake.” (Wikipedia, Dragon Legends – Pilatus Bahnen, Dragons in Switzerland)

Swingin’ on the Moon – Arranged Michael Kamuf

Mike Kamuf is an educator, computer arranger and trumpeter. His jazz ensemble/octet, the Mike Kamuf Little Big Band, includes musicians from the Washington DC/Baltimore region. This piece is a medley of three American “Big Band” standards in the “swing” style: Blue Moon, Moonlight Serenade, and How High the Moon.

Blue Moon was an example of the familiar “50s progression” in a popular song, and it has become a standard ballad. Early recordings included those by Connee Boswell and by Al Bowlly in 1935. The song was a hit twice in 1949, with successful recordings in the U.S. by Billy Eckstine and Mel Tormé. In 1961, “Blue Moon” became an international number-one hit for the doo-wop group The Marcels, on the Billboard 100 chart and in the UK Singles Chart. Over the years, “Blue Moon” has been covered by various artists, including versions by Frank Sinatra, Jo Stafford, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Stevens, Billie Holiday, Amália Rodrigues, Elvis Presley, Bobby Vinton, Sam Cooke, The Platters, The Mavericks, Dean Martin, Yvonne De Carlo, The Supremes, Cyndi Lauper, New Edition, Bob Dylan, Beck, Chromatics, and Rod Stewart

Moonlight Serenade was an American swing ballad composed by Glenn Miller with subsequent lyrics by Mitchell Parish. It was an immediate phenomenon when released in May 1939 as an instrumental arrangement, though it had been adopted and performed as Miller’s signature tune as early as 1938, even before it had been given the name “Moonlight Serenade.” In 1991, Miller’s recording of “Moonlight Serenade” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In a 2004 New Yorker piece, jazz critic Gary Giddins wrote about the song’s impact and legacy; “Miller exuded little warmth on or off the bandstand, but once the band struck up its theme, audiences were done for: throats clutched, eyes softened. Can any other record match ‘Moonlight Serenade’ for its ability to induce a Pavlovian slobber in so many for so long?”

Like a number of musicians during WWII, the legendary Glenn Miller volunteered to join the US military and toured with USO troupes at the front to boost morale. He lost his life in 1944 when his aircraft disappeared ruing bad weather over the English Channel while traveling between shows. He was posthumously awarded a bronze star.

How High the Moon is a jazz standard with lyrics by Nancy Hamilton and music by Morgan Lewis that was first featured in the 1940 Broadway revue Two for the Show, where it was sung by Alfred Drake and Frances Comstock. The earliest recorded hit version was by Benny Goodman & His Orchestra, featuring vocalist Helen Forrest. The song was sung in various recordings by Ella Fitzgerald, becoming (with the Gershwins’ “Oh, Lady Be Good!”) Ella’s signature tune. She first performed the song at Carnegie Hall on September 29, 1947. Her most celebrated recording of “How High the Moon” is on her 1960 album Ella in Berlin, and her version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002.

Swing music began appearing in the early 1930s and was distinguished by a more supple feel than early jazz. This type of music flourished through the early 1930s, although there was little mass audience for it until around 1936. Up until that time, it was viewed with ridicule and looked upon as a curiosity. After 1935, big bands rose to prominence playing swing music and held a major role in defining swing as a distinctive style. There was a considerable range of styles among the hundreds of popular bands. Many of the better known bands reflected the individuality of the bandleader, the lead arranger, and the personnel. Think Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Artie Show and others. The popularity of many of the major bands was amplified by star vocalists, such as Frank Sinatra with Tommy Dorsey, Helen O’Connell and Bob Eberly with Jimmy Dorsey, Ella Fitzgerald with Chick Webb, Billie Holiday and Jimmy Rushing with Count Basie, Dick Haymes and Helen Forrest with Harry James, Doris Day with Les Brown, and Peggy Lee with Benny Goodman. Bands ranged from “society bands,” like Guy Lombardo, “hard bands,” like Count Basie, and “sweet bands,” like Glenn Miller. The big band became a dominant force in jazz.

Many bands toured the country in grueling one-night stands. Traveling conditions and lodging were difficult, in part due to segregation in most parts of the United States, and the personnel often had to perform having had little sleep and food. Apart from the star soloists, many musicians received low wages and would abandon the tour if bookings disappeared. Sometimes bandstands were too small, public address systems inadequate, pianos out of tune. Bandleaders dealt with these obstacles through rigid discipline (Glenn Miller) and canny psychology (Duke Ellington).

Notably, big bands uplifted morale during World War II. Many musicians (like Glenn Miller above) served in the military and toured with USO troupes at the front. Back at home, many bands suffered from the loss of personnel and quality declined at home during the war years. The 1942–44 musicians’ strike worsened the situation. Vocalists began to strike out on their own. By the end of the war, swing was giving way to less danceable music, such as bebop. Many of the great swing bands broke up, as the times and tastes changed.

Many bands from the swing era continued for decades after the death or departure of their founders and namesakes, and some are still active in the 21st century, often referred to as “ghost bands”, a term attributed to Woody Herman, referring to orchestras that persist in the absence of their original leaders. (Publisher’s notes; Arranger’s website; various Wikipedia entries)

Fanfare Concert Winds is a “Not for Profit” Organization. That means that all donations to our organization are 100% tax deductible.

Please consider a donation to Fanfare Concert Winds to help defray the cost of music.

Our tax number is 47-49031478.

You can give a check tonight (see Dana or Ted) OR:

You can mail a check to:
Fanfare Concert Winds
9465 Forest Hills Place
Tampa, FL 33612

Thank you for attending tonight’s concert!

VISION
The Fanfare Concert Winds will contribute to the musical culture and community throughout Hillsborough County by providing quality music performance and educational experiences for the young and the young at heart.

MISSION
• To facilitate a venue for music educators, professional and community musicians and Hillsborough Community College students to come together in a professional-level ensemble.
• To supplement the music education of the Hillsborough County Public Schools and Hillsborough Community College through clinics, side-by-side concerts, festivals and scholarships.
• To expose our members and audiences to quality musical literature.