CSP

CLASS of 68 Fanfare and Processional Project

 

The Class of 68 summer meeting of July 11, 2020 agreed to sponsor a three-year musical invitational, that is 3 composers over 3 consecutive years will be invited to compose a fanfare and processional to be used at the College’s Commencement ceremonies. The composer’s fee will be $5,000 and the College will have unrestricted rights to use the composition in the future. The compositions will also be played for our class reunion in 3 years.  At that time, we can perhaps get some sense if any of the compositions might become Commencement standards, that is, used every year or often.

 

The first composer to be invited to compose a fanfare and processional will be Noah Luna, composer of the Orozco Cello Concerto played by the Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra in May, 2019, and whose melodic sensibilities were well-received by the audience and the 68’s in the audience. The next two composers will be nominated by Brian Messier, the current music director of the Dartmouth College Band and Wind Ensemble. Those nominations will be subject to a discussion and vote at a Class Committee meeting.

 

The idea for an original Dartmouth Fanfare and Processional came out of a discussion between Roger Arvid Anderson and Cedric Kam after our 50th Class Reunion. Both felt the Commencement music was perfunctory and lackluster, leading to the question, why shouldn’t an institution with Dartmouth’s long history not have its own fanfare and processional to use at Commencement or other College proceedings? Cedric had played trombone with the College Band and remembered playing in the endowed Class of 1879 Trumpeters from the top of Baker Library during commencement weekend in a small brass ensemble with Bernie Simmons and Jim Tonkovich. That tradition was lost a few years ago, devolved into a short, simple fanfare adapted from a College song by the then band director, played over and over during Commencement. The College has since appointed a new band director Brian Messier. Cedric has had the opportunity to both meet and play with Brian. He came away impressed by Brian’s podium skills as well as his outreach to alumni who were once band members.

 

Following up on Cedric’s positive experience with Messier, Roger dutifully asked the powers that be at Hopkin’s Center and the music department to let us know if such a novel project would be welcomed. Brian Messier and Joshua Kol of the Hop loved the idea. It was Brian Messier who suggested that we invite more than one composer as new music is always a gamble as to whether it will have the potential to become a standard. There is also the potential that after 3 years, we could add a few more years if the project proves to be well-received by all involved.

 

Ron Weiss, an attorney and violinist who is active with the Springfield Symphony, is currently drawing up a contract for the Class to use on engaging a composer, with the first being Noah Luna.

Cedric Kam's Testimonial

 

50 years later Cedric Kam is still playing the trombone; now with the Metropolitan Wind Symphony of Boston. Knowing of his long ties to music and to the College Roger Anderson asked Cedric for a written testimonial on what a Dartmouth fanfare and processional could be. It’s sentiments bear sharing with the Class.

 

A Dartmouth Fanfare and Processional should “sound” like Dartmouth, that is, bring to mind the College community’s shared goals and values. (Yes, I was a cultural anthropology major.) So, what is Dartmouth?

 

Start with the motto, Vox clamantis in deserto, “a voice crying in the wilderness.” This is Isaiah 40:3, referenced many times in the New Testament, and continues, “prepare ye the way of the Lord.” This alludes to the College’s founding in the woods of New Hampshire, but since President Ernest Martin Hopkins (1916-1945), it has meant preparing leaders for the outside world, building on our heritage to create a better future for all people. As the first Baby Boomers, our cohort has certainly experienced this.

 

The College’s Mission Statement, Core Values and Legacy explain what the College is all about today: “The College provides a comprehensive out-of-classroom experience, including service opportunities, engagement in the arts, and competitive athletic, recreational, and outdoor programs. Pioneering programs in computation and international education are hallmarks of the College. Dartmouth graduates are marked by an understanding of the importance of teamwork, a capacity for leadership, and their keen enjoyment of a vibrant community. Their loyalty to Dartmouth and to each other is legendary and is a sustaining quality of the College.”

 

This is prose, of course. Dartmouth’s most beloved songs describe the same goals and values (and emotions) in poetry. Our 50th Reunion Commencement program included Dartmouth Undying and Alma Mater.

 

The second verse of Alma Mater is especially descriptive: “Dear old Dartmouth set a watch, Lest the old traditions fail.  Stand as sister stands by brother. Dare a deed for the old mother. Greet the world from the hills with a hail! … They have the still North in their soul, The hill winds in their hearts, And the granite of New Hampshire Is made part of them ‘til death.”

 

Dartmouth Undying asks, “Who can forget …?” and ends, “Dartmouth, Miraculously builded in our hearts.”

 

And I have never forgotten this from Twilight Song: “We will make our lives successful, We will keep our hands from shame For the sake of dear old Dartmouth And the honor of her name.”

 

So, what is Dartmouth?  Dartmouth is community. For many of us, Dartmouth began at Freshman Trip. In retrospect, Freshman Trip is the rite of passage that makes one a member of the Dartmouth community, not unlike Marine Corps basic training. In a group experience in the wilderness, you learn from elders the history and traditions of the institution and accept its goals and values. You come out a different person. To ensure the continuation of this legacy, our class endowed the Freshman Trip, and the Class of 1879 endowed the Trumpeters at their 50th reunion in 1929.

 

It’s up to the composer, of course, but a “Dartmouth Vox Fanfare“ might open with a lone trumpet as the “voice crying in the wilderness,” then build by adding voices to represent the Dartmouth community into a closing chorale (like Aaron Copeland’s Fanfare for the Common Man). A “Dartmouth Academic Processional” might include themes representing the various academic disciplines, all being woven together to celebrate “community.”