Farewell to Gray

Donald Grantham

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General Info

Year: 2001
Duration: c. 6:00
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Piquant Press
Cost: Score and Parts $300.00 (rental) | Score Only (print) - $55.00

Instrumentation

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Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

Farewell to Gray was commissioned by the United States Military Academy Band in celebration of the Academy's 200th anniversary. While considering which i could do to give this work particular resonance for West Point cadets, it was pointed out to me that following graduation, the cadet would no longer wear the distinctive gray uniform worn throughout his or her matriculation, and that this has long been a significant even in each cadet;s life and career. It is an ending and a beginning accompanied by all the ambivalent feelings such events entail, and this is what I have tried to reflect in the music.

- Program Note by composer

Donald Grantham's beautifully lyric Farewell to Gray, commissioned by the West Point Band, is a descriptive work based on a phrase from the traditional West Point song Army Blue: “We'll bid farewell to Kaydet gray and don the Army blue.” The title refers to that poignant moment in a cadet's life when he or she graduates, giving up the gray uniform in exchange for the dress blue of the regular Army -- a moment of profound, conflicting emotions. The West Point Band was actually rehearsing this work for its premiere when news reached them of the destruction of the Twin Towers. Hence, this work holds a special meaning for the band.

- Program Note from West Point Band CD liner notes

Media

Audio: West Point Band
Audio CD: United States Army Band (Thomas Rotondi, Jr., conductor) - 2005

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

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The Ohio State University (Columbus) Wind Symphony (Alex Mondragon, conductor) - 4 October 2022
Lone Star Wind Orchestra (Dallas, Tx.) (Eugene Migliaro Corporon, conductor) – 10 November 2019
Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge) Wind Ensemble (Damon Talley, conductor) – 29 September 2019
West Chester (Penn.) University Wind Ensemble (Andrew Yozviak, conductor) – 26 September 2019
United States Military Academy Band (West Point, N.Y.) (Tod Addison, conductor) – 20 May 2018
Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, Ohio) Symphonic Winds (Ryan Scherber, conductor) – 8 October 2017
Temple University (Philadelphia, Penn.) Wind Symphony (Timothy J. Holtan, conductor) – 17 February 2016
Indiana University of Pennsylvania bands (Matthew Morse, conductor) – 16 April 2013
CBDNA Small College Intercollegiate Band (Austin, Tx.) (Virginia Allen, conductor) – 28 March 2009 (CBDNA 2009 National Conference, Austin, Tx.)
University of Montana (Missoula) Wind Ensemble (Steve Bolstad, conductor) – 15 March 2006 (CBDNA 2006 Western/Northwestern Division Conference, Reno, Nev.)
United States Army Band (Washington, D.C.) (Thomas Rotondi, Jr., conductor) – 14 December 2005 (2005 Midwest Clinic)

Works for Winds by This Composer

After Hafiz (2016)
Amber Sky
Baron Cimetiere's Mambo (2004)
Baron Piquant on Pointe (2011)
Baron La Croix's Shuffle (2007)
Baron Samedi's Sarabande (and Soft Shoe) (2005)
Bum's Rush (1994)
Chant and Hymn for Our Lady
Circa 1600 (2018)
Cloudless Day, Bitter Sky (2002)
"Come Memory..." (2002)
Concerto in One Movement for Bass Trombone (1979)
Court Music (2005)
Don't You See? (2001)
Effulgent Light (2017)
Exhilaration and Cry (2008)
Fantasy on "In Dulci Jubilo" (2015)
Fantasy on "La Golondrina" (2003)
Fantasy on Mr. Hyde's Song (1998)
Fantasy Variations (1927/1998)
Farewell to Gray (2001)
Fayetteville Bop (2002)
From "An Alabama Songbook" (2007)
- Honey in the Rock (2008)
JS Dances (2003)
J'ai été au bal (1999)
Kentucky Harmony (2000)
Let Evening Come (Grantham) (2014)
Lone Star Twister (2008)
Music for the Blanton (2006)
Northern Celebration (2001)
Phantasticke Spirites (2002)
Shenandoah (2017)
Southern Harmony (1998)
- Wondrous Love (2008)
Sol y Sombra (2014)
Spangled Heavens (2010)
Starry Crown (2007)
Symphony for Winds and Percussion (2009)
- Stomp (Grantham) (2009)
Summer of 2008 (2008)
Thunderbird
Trumpet Gloria (2006)
Tuba Concerto (Grantham) (2012)
An Uneasy Mrch
Variations on an American Cavalry Song (2001)
What Comes Around... (2017)
A Winter Sky (2022)

Resources

West Point Band, Multimedia Accessed 31 January 2016