A Hymn for Our Times

Commissioned by the Bartholomew Consolidated School Foundation, Inc. with the support of the Edgar B. Redman Memorial Fund for the School Band Festival, May 11, 1968, Columbus, Indiana, the notion was to create a single work made up of the total band enrollment in the school system ranging from elementary to the most advanced. The piece underlines how in successive stages the student musicians progress from simple to complex technical and conceptual competence. The work is based on the traditional Welsh tune, “Tony Botel” - better known as the hymn “Once to every man and nation.” Each band plays the hymn successively, with connecting materials performed by the other available bands after each of the hymn sections, with the final playing of the hymn open for singing by the audience. The work does require the inclusion of all of the bands (Elementary/Beginner, Intermediate, Junior High School, High School Concert, and High School Symphonic) for it to work, so parts for performance are available via rental only. Individual scores for each band are included in the rental set only and the master score for the entire ensemble is available for retail.