premiered at the
2009 Early Brass Festival
Amherst Early Music Festival

Sunday, 2:00 p.m.; July 19th, 2009
Evans Concert Hall, Cummings Arts Center
Connecticut College

EBF Fanfare, revised
by Simon Proctor
Ralph Dudgeon, keyed bugle; Jeffrey Snedeker, horn;
David Loucky, trombone; Douglas Yeo, ophicleide

EBF Fanfare revised by Simon Proctor

Comments from the composer: “Craig Kridel, on behalf of Berlioz Historical Brass, approached me in the spring of 2007 to see if I would be interested in composing a new fanfare to be premiered and performed in the future by members of the Historic Brass Society at the Early Brass Festival. I immediately agreed to this proposal as I have always enjoyed and been inspired by various historical instruments—particularly brass . . . . I decided to explore the idea of using themes from my historical brass concerti. These had to be suitable for fanfares and have a convenient range, even if transposed to fit the parameters of the various instruments. Thus, I took themes from my Serpent Concerto, one from my Keyed Bugle Concerto, plus material from the as-yet-unwritten two movements of my Ophicleide Concerto (of which only the slow un-fanfare-like middle movement then existed!). The various quoted themes are interwoven, sometimes in complex counterpoint and elsewhere in full homophonic glory. The piece doesn't remain in F major as a sprinkling of accidentals allows other implied keys to be passed through. I hope those players familiar with my concerti will appreciate the thematic quotes; otherwise the piece is intended to be enjoyed for what it is—a full, rich sonorous fanfare.”

Simon Proctor, British composer and pianist, is best known for his compositions for “unusual instruments.” He graduated from the Royal Academy of Music with studies in piano and received several prizes for composition, orchestration and piano, including the Eric Coates Prize, the Academy's top award for orchestral composition. His works have been performed throughout Europe, Japan , Hong Kong, Australia, Canada, and in the United States. He has written for a wide range of instruments and ensembles but has specialized particularly in concertos. These include the Serpent Concerto written for Alan Lumsden and later performed by Douglas Yeo and the Boston Pops with John Williams conducting; the Trumpet Concerto written for and premiered by John Wallace; the Keyed Bugle Concerto written for and premiered by Ralph Dudgeon; other concerti include works for tuba, horn, and trombone. The English Chamber Orchestra commissioned his Asprey Fanfare and Bassoon Concerto, and clarinetist Emma Johnson recently premiered his Clarinet Concerto. Simon attended the organizational meeting of the Historic Brass Society and wrote the Amherst Suite for Eight Serpents for Christopher Monk who, at the 1986 Amherst Early Music Festival, taught the first serpent class of the 20th century.

members of Berlioz Historical Brass rehearsing the
Proctor fanfare at the 2009 Early Brass Festival;
l-r: Jeff Snedeker, Dave Loucky, Ralph Dudgeon, Doug Yeo