A Centennial Celebration (1997)
for brass ensemble
In 1998, the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America (known as Phi Mu Alpha, or simply Sinfonia) was celebrating its centennial (100 years of service). A call for pieces in the form of a competition was made by the fraternity organization previous to this event in order to feature these at their Centennial Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1998. Ten pieces were chosen, including the one heard here, for a featured performance at the conference with the stipulation of being for a brass ensemble, and including musical quotations of themes found in other Phi Mu Alpha fraternity songs (from the official songbook).
Besides using a number of quotation of Sinfonian song melodies in this short piece, I decided to add an original linear melody (inspired somewhat by composer Aaron Copland) as a main thematic idea that dominates throughout. Unifying all of these elements together resulted in one of my most favorite compositions.
