Fanfare: In Memoriam was commissioned by the Terre Haute (IN) South High School Band, Tim Murphy, director, in loving memory of Jason Rundel, an alto saxophone player in the band who passed away in the fall of 200 I.

As I began work on the piece, I spoke at length with both Tim Murphy and Jason's father, Steve, about what Jason was like as a person in hopes that I might somehow create a strong relationship between Jason and the piece. The inspiration for the work came through the words of his father, who told me that Jason had two passions in life: band and scouting. My challenge, then, was to compose something that would include references to scouting in a piece for band.

After talking to a friend of mine who has a great deal of experience as a scout leader, I learned that the song that scouts usually sing at the end of the night on a camp-out uses original text set to the tune O Tannenbaum. This tune is the melodic basis for Fanfare: In Memoriam and is present in somewhat hidden form throughout the work. There are two basic rhythmic elements in the piece. The first is the morse code translation for the name Jason. Morse code is, of course, one of the skills that is learned and used by scouts. The second rhythmic element is a hint at rock and popular music, something that Jason loved, according to both his band director and father. This element also hints at Jason's love for the pep band portion of the program at Terre Haute South. The final reference to Jason in the piece is through the alto saxophone, Jason's instrument. The alto saxophone is the only instrument with a solo in the piece and the saxophone family as a whole is featured briefly in the middle of the work.

Above all, I tried to communicate some of what I felt to be Jason's spirit in this work. Both his father and band director stressed that the work should be fast and exciting ... that Jason was a happy, upbeat. helpful, and friendly person who was quick with a joke or a smile. I hope that he would have liked this piece.