Commonwealth Fanfare

Grade Level: 4

Commission Info: Written for the 2022 All-Virginia Concert Band, T. Andre Feagin, conductor

Duration: 2:30

Audio: YouTube

Published by C. Alan Publications

Program Note

In December of 2021, over a dinner conversation at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago with good friend and conductor, T. André Feagin, he asked me if I had written a fanfare, as he was looking for a piece to open a concert with the 2022 All-Virginia Concert Band. Sadly, my response was “no.” But then I thought for a second and told him about my piece titled "Commonwealth," written for the band, orchestra, and choir of Sandburg Middle School (Alexandria, VA), that set a poem that I wrote that was inspired by the land and history of the Commonwealth of Virginia. André asked me to sing the tune, so I did, and he said, “well, we have our fanfare!”

I immediately got to work adapting the piece into a bold and brilliant fanfare for concert band. In under three minutes, the ensemble will come alive with a fanfare that’s got a country backbeat, exploring the peaks and valleys of the Blue Ridge mountains through sound. The poem, whose verses inspire each section of the fanfare, is as follows…

Commonwealth

Commonwealth, uncommon land,
Solid ground on which we stand,
With mountains high and valleys deep,
Your beauty in our souls we keep.

Commonwealth, uncommon past,
Where echoes of old wars still last
From battles waged so long ago.
They challenge us to learn and grow.

Commonwealth, uncommon dream,
Not as distant as may seem.
If peace, goodwill, and love abide,
We’ll walk together unified.

Commonwealth, uncommon home,
Far away though we may roam,
We’ll not forget the warm embrace
Of Commonwealth’s uncommon grace.

– C. H.