Hommocks School Band Premiere:
New Auditorium, New Musical Composition

by Terry Toll of the Mamaroneck Schools Foundation

(December 9, 2003) December 4 was opening night for the Hommocks band, for their auditorium, and for a new musical piece entitled "Dedication." With brilliant red poinsettias at center stage and white and gold balloons on their right and left, 160 Hommocks musicians were the stars of the evening. Performing in the first formal band concert in the school’s new auditorium, members of the seventh and eighth grade bands were joined by the jazz enembles in a program of holiday, jazz, American and original music. From rousing drum rolls at the start of the concert, to hot solos by saxophonists and drummers, to a peppy rendition of an upbeat movie score, these players delivered an evening's entertainment spanning Broadway, Hollywood, Harlem and Americana.

Band Director Tom Jordan Awaits His Cue

One of the most significant “firsts” of this concert was the performance of the commissioned piece, “Dedication,” by Carl Strommen. The young Hommocks musicians set a Mamaroneck record: this was the first instrumental group in the district playing a work commissioned for the district but published (by Carl Fisher) for the music world. Thanks to a grant from the Mamaroneck Schools Foundation and the guidance of Band Director Tom Jordan, these students made history at Hommocks.

“Dedication” is a band piece in five parts, featuring a bright fanfare section that alternates with two mellow sections in an English march style. “Each section of the piece highlights the strengths of a different section of the band. This gives everyone a chance to hear their instrument play a major theme,” noted Jordan.

The opportunity to learn a piece directly with its composer is also a unique milestone for these young musicians. As conductor Jordan explained, “Our students need models in the compositional process, as surely as they need models in the performance process. Carl Strommen is a prolific composer for band, orchestra, choir, small ensembles and solo music. While
teaching music in Mamaroneck schools for twenty five years, he composed a number of pieces for Choir. Having a composer of Strommen’s stature write for and work with our kids is roughly parallel to taking them to hear a professional performance, or bringing in a professional composer to do a master class.”

Judging from the bustle of energy on stage before the concert began, and the cheers and applause from proud relatives in the audience, the debut
of new music and sound at this dedication marked the start of something special for Hommocks' musical community.

The Mamaroneck Schools Foundation, founded seven years ago, is a volunteer non-profit community organization that provides schools with supplemental funds or innovative programs, materials and enhanced facilities and equipment beyond the regular school curriculum. MSF has awarded nearly $700,000 in grants to programs in every public school in the district.

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