Living Legacy

Lawrence Fogelberg was a band director in Peoria and Pekin, Illinois, and was the father of Dan Fogelberg. The Fogelberg Foundation wanted the music to represent the way a single band director becomes the catalyst behind the spreading of knowledge and technique from one student to the next until they have an ensemble filled with inspired musicians, then perpetuated from year to year into a legacy that reaches far beyond their singular band room. While this composition was commissioned to honor Lawrence Fogelberg, it really is intended to honor all band directors past, present and future. Since Lawrence Fogelberg was an oboist, the piece begins with an unaccompanied oboe playing a four-note statement. This melodic fragment evolves throughout the entire piece and is used in a variety of ways, first as the representation of a question which then expands into a complete melody full of passion and sincerity. This thematic gesture takes on new meaning much as teachers face a multitude of challenges and joyful moments they encounter every day with their students.