Bryce's Vision

Bryce Taylor was inducted into the Phi Beta Mu Texas Bandmasters Hall of Fame in 1992. He was Texas Bandmaster of the Year in 1983, and he is Past President of the American Bandmasters Association and the Texas Music Educators Association. His numerous honors and accolades do not begin to measure his vast and profound impact on music education. The program he built at Alice High School served as a model emulated by countless others throughout the state! Having grown up in the same UIL/TMEA Region, Mr. Taylor had a tremendous influence on me! The very first time I heard major works like La Oreja de Oro, Music for Prague 1968, Feste Romane, Variations and Fugue, Dionysiaques, to name but a few, they were being performed by the Alice Symphonic Band. I was floored not just by the flawless execution but by the incredibly mature sound of the ensemble. As a young teacher I visited and observed Mr. Taylor in his final year as Director of Bands. At the conclusion of his rehearsal, he spent more than an hour graciously answering questions and "talking shop"! Always the teacher, he reminded my co-worker, Joel Weisberg, and me that "Rome wasn't built overnight." His generosity and willingness to share is a hallmark of the greatest of band directors in Texas! In composing this work, I chose the hymn, Be Thou My Vision, as a backdrop for interspersing melodic fragments from Mr. Taylor's life. The Marine Hymn represents his time in World War II serving our country. Taps is recalled as a somber reminder of his days stationed at Pearl Harbor where he was rowed one week each month over the remains of the USS Arizona to perform this military tribute to his fallen colleagues. Jalisco, fight song of the Texas A & I Javelinas, now Texas A & M University Kingsville, is quoted as a tribute to his undergraduate days, and the institution where he would later teach music education classes. The Alice High School Alma Mater is briefly quoted prior to the final restatement of the original hymn. The work concludes with fanfares and flourishes as an uplifting tribute to a man who has given so much of himself to so many for several decades! This work is dedicated to Mr. Taylor and his late wife of over 70 years, Diana. Special thanks to Kerry Taylor, Director of Bands, Westlake High School in Austin, and Scott Taylor, former Director of Bands at Richardson High School and a member of the Phi Beta Mu Texas Bandmasters Hall of Fame for the opportunity! Thank you to Brenden Steber, friend and engraver.