| Fanfare for the Voice of A-M-E-R-I-C-A, commissioned by the Voice of America for its 60th anniversary, takes its title from one of the three motives on which the piece is based, the letters A-M-E-R-C-A (I have omitted the letter I), in which M represents Mi or E, R represents Re or D, and C is both C natural and C sharp. The other two motives in the piece are U-S-A (U represents Ut, which is C in French, and S stands for Eb in German) and the first few notes of "Yankee Doodle," which has been VOA's theme song for over fifty years. Both in incorporating these motives in the piece and in considering the character of the piece itself, I was intent upon writing something consonant with the national spirit after September 11, a time of grim determination and unity, as well as of tragedy and ominousness. |
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Fanfare for the Voice of A-M-E-R-I-C-A
The University of Maryland Brass and Percussion Ensemble
Milton Stevens, conductor
VOA Auditorium
9/11 Memorial Concert 2003
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