SPARKE Jubilee Overture - "The President's Own" United States Marine Band

Happy 70th birthday to Philip Sparke! Please enjoy the Marine Band's performance of Sparke's Jubilee Overture on Aug. 19, 2021, in John Philip Sousa Band Hall at Marine Barracks Washington, D.C., as part of the Summer Concert Season.

London-born composer Philip Sparke studied trumpet, piano, and composition at the
Royal College of Music. His first major commission was for the Centennial Brass Band
Championships in New Zealand, and the subsequent international recognition resulted in
commissions from ensembles throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, and the United States.
Sparke’s compositions have earned several awards, including the prestigious Sudler Prize in
1997, and top prizes at the National Band Association Composition Contest in 2005 and 2016.
Additionally, he was made an honorary member of the American Bandmasters Association in
2020.

Jubilee Overture was commissioned for the fiftieth anniversary of the world-famous GUS
Brass Band in Kettering, England, and was premièred at the band’s Golden Jubilee Concert in
1983. Sparke transcribed the piece for wind band in 1984. In the words of the composer:
The work opens with a two-part fanfare—a brass flourish followed by a reflective chorale
for the winds. This builds to a climax as the flourish returns. A lively Allegro follows,
with many changes of meter and a robust tune from the horns and saxophones.
Eventually a cantabile tune emerges from the middle of the band, which everyone then
plays before the Allegro returns. A brief repeat of the opening fanfare precedes a Presto
coda.

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