Fanfare For World Peace

The idea of our world being at peace is as old as the world itself. Since the beginning of time there has been some sense of difficulty between human beings. In the beginning we know that Cain and Abel fought (the sons of Adam and Eve.) This eventually ended with Cain killing his own brother, Abel. In more recent history we see the world wars, the war in Vietnam, and most recently the struggle in the Persian Gulf area. As humans we long for peace and harmony. As I began to think about this idea, the search for peace, it became very evident to me that according to the Bible there will be no true peace until what we know as “the end of times.” At this time Jesus Christ will return to the earth and we can look forward to the end of all war and hardship. This is the true peace that we seek and we can look forward to spending it in eternity with Him.

The work was written on December 9, 2017. I had been trying to construct a grade 3 fanfare to be played by the Fulton County Ohio All-County Band, which I had been invited to be the guest conductor in January 2018. As I attempted to write the work I began thinking of the world in which we live, and all of the musicians, visual artists, and others that each day create beauty to fill our world.

The work begins in the key of B-flat Major to represent harmony, but quickly dissolves into the relative G minor as we hear the daily struggle for peace in which we are unsure if it can ever be attained. After the G minor center section we find ourselves returning to B-flat Major. This is representative of the final sounding of the trumpet of God as our world as we know it ends, and the true peace that we long for is found in heaven, where we each have the ability to spend eternity ... in peace, with Him.

- Program Note by composer