Gilded Fanfare

“Gilded Fanfare” was written for James Olcott, in honor of his retirement, and to be premiered at the Ohio International Trumpet Guild (OITG) conference in March of 2012. I feel fortunate to have been included amongst 9 other composers, all hand-selected by Jim for the occasion. “Gilded” has a double-meaning in this case. The title is a pun on “Guild” (from International Trumpet Guild), but also refers to being “covered in gold” – i.e. one’s retirement years being the “golden years”. Musically, the pedal B-flat (concert-pitch) – passed around to all players – remains constant until roughly the point where the “golden-mean” occurs. Spiky jazz chords and crunchy harmonies are interspersed among a rather cheerful melody, and a driving 7/8 rhythm is the moving force behind this short fanfare. The groove is paramount, and I would suggest careful rehearsal to ensure that the eighth note pulse never waivers.

There is an optional upper octave for Trumpet 1, measures 65-68. If piccolo trumpet is used for this (which would be fine) – then an option is to give measure 53 to trumpet 6, to allow time for the instrument switch.

Jim Stephenson – December, 2011.