I was commissioned by Director Tony Brown and the Mehlville High School Band to write a piece for band in honor of Don Kinnison's retirement as Mehlville High School Band Director. Dedicating his professional life to both his love for music and his students, Mr. Kinnison spent twenty-four years of his thirty-year career as a music teacher at Mehlville High School.

The title, A Song of Loudest Praise, is derived from words found in the first verse of the traditional hymn "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" (NETTLETON), and the music uses many of the motives and melodies found in that hymn.

Many of the ideas used in this piece were inspired by a two-hour phone conversation with Mr. Kinnison regarding his background in music. Thus, I chose to prominently feature the two instruments of Mr. Kinnison's young performance days: the piano and the trumpet.

The composition opens with a quiet piano and percussion "music box" playing. This introductory statement represents

Mr. Kinnison's earliest musical memories of sitting on the piano bench with his grandmother. While she would play standard show tunes, hymns, and folk songs, three year old Mr. Kinnison would sing along and try to "plunk out" the melodies that "Granny" would play using the upper register of the old upright piano. Mr. Kinnison's parents could not afford the expense of a real piano at that time, so his first piano lessons began on a little toy piano. This instrument produced a thin, tinny music box sound, represented by the instrumentation used in the opening statement.

As the piece continues, parts of the hymn's melody with the full band are quoted. The musical ideas are developed further by using various solo instruments including the "special effect" of the trumpet playing directly into the piano. Using alternating meters and rhythmic variety that hint at Mr. Kinnison's jazz background, lively themes are added with exuberance. After another quiet interplay between trumpet and various instruments, the composition grows into a powerful (4/4) statement of the original (3/4) hymn with many of the rhythmic motives interjected as well. The full ensemble builds to a climax - stopping at the third line of the verse, just one line short of completion.

The quiet conclusion of the last line once again fades quietly away, retiring to its simple beginnings and the peaceful sounds of the music box.